By Jeff Glucker
Bring A Trailer has been kicking out some amazing auctions over the course of the last few years. Right this moment, there are (at time of writing) 205 live auctions. And you can find something that would make you happy, if you had the cash to spend. Be it a low-mileage BMW M Coupe to a gorgeous Ford Fairline or Suzuki Jimny with faux wood, there’s something on there for everyone. The auction I’m watching closely, however, is for this perfect 1986 Ford RS200.
The listing on BAT states that this car is just one of 146 examples built in order to meet Group B homologation requirements. This specific car has just 1,135 miles on its odometer. Aston Martin Tickford were asked to provide the black paintwork, which makes it even more special. They also added special touches on the interior as well.
So this is a rare car made even more unique.
But the paint and the interior trim aren’t what make it such a wonderful machine. It’s the mid-mounted 1.8-liter four-cylinder turbo engine built by Cosworth. When ordered new, the car was equipped with an optional power kit. That bumps the total output up to 350 horsepower. It’s all sorted out via a five-speed manual gearbox and a four-wheel-drive setup.
With a svelte curb weight of just over 2,300 pounds, the RS200 is a ripper of a rally machine. According to some quick (Wiki-based) research, the car could rip off 11.4-second quarter mile dashes. It could probably do that on gravel too, with the right tires.
The ultra-clean example listed on Bring-A-Trailer already has a high bid of $150,000. And there are six days of bidding left to go. This is the second RS200 featured on Bring-A-Trailer. The first one was bid up to $210,000 but did not sell. That same car went to the RM Sotheby’s auction in Arizona. It once again didn’t sell, with a high bid of $200,000.
Where will the black car shown above wind up? It will certainly crest the $200,000 mark. It also has fewer miles than the prior auction listing. The Aston Martin Tickford finishing school bits make it more rare as well. Don’t be surprised if this one sells at $225,000 to $250,000.
Though that still might not be enough for the selling party.
[Lead image sourced from Bring-A-Trailer]
And to think Ford almost couldn’t give the things away at the time.
It is an interesting situation, the FIA were satisfied that there were 200 sets of parts manufactured, yet it seems that not all were built into cars, and some of those remaining unsold were stripped back down again. The cars ‘sold’ may not include the factory racers or some other motorsport units either.
There is actually one for sale in Australia currently, that was sold new to the USA (Colorado Springs), then went to NZ. It is also a very low mile unit, and at an asking price of AUD$400k it might remain for sale a while yet.
This sold at $280K, almost exactly what that Australian car is asking.
True, but that one doesn’t have the power upgrade or rare colour. I’d expect there is some negotiation to do to get to the real price.
Anyone know what they sold for new?
About $75k, I think.
About $75k, I think.
£61,289. The invoice is included in the photos, no idea what the exchange rate was in 1986, though.
Edit: 1986 exchange rate was ~1.4:1 for £:$, so invoice on this was around $85k, or around $195k in 2019 dollars.
Nope, not interested. Two weeks ago I specifically said I use BaT to look for “early ’80s BL Cars/Austin Rover Group” vehicles, not mid-’80s Fords.
The fact that it’s already about two orders of magnitude too spendy for me may or may not also be a consideration, of course.