From a FORD document dated 30/6/1989 this car was listed as "FOB Exhibitions RHD Rally Britain" - See "Frequently asked questions "How many were made?" for more information.
In October 2007 I was contacted by (CN) who owned #090 and has owned her since April 2000. The car was originally a 350bhp Rally Spec, which then had some soundproofing, carpeting electric windows etc added so that it could be used more comfortably on the road. He believed that it was used a Ford demo car for some time. It still had the fire extinguisher system in the passenger footwell. The steering wheel is the Stig Blomquist signed version, and he had the original tool kit and handbook.
She said that the car has been used very little over the past few years and for that reason, if the price is right, it might be for sale and he sent some images.
I did some digging on publicly available data and found that the car had 3 previous owners changing hands on 16/6/92, 1/4/99 and 1/5/2000, I also found that at some time she had worn the plate 200AG but it had been changed on 7/5/98.
She has the chassis number SFACXXBJ2CGL00090 and the following info:-
Make: FORD
Model: RS 200 4WD
Transmission & fuel type: PETROL
Body type: 2 DOOR SALOON
Engine no. GL00090
Colour: White
First Registered: 15/9/1989
Year of Manufacture: 1989
The year of manufacturer is another typo as the GL letters give a normal build date of Jan 1986.
Then I did some digging on E272AHJ and found it seems to be the same car although the chassis number has a space in the middle of it:-
SFACXXBJ2C GL00090.
This however gives details of:-
Make: FORD
Model: RS 200 4WD
Transmission & fuel type: MANUAL 5 GEARS PETROL
Body type: 2 DOOR SALOON
Engine no. GL00090
Colour: White
First Registered: 4/8/1987
Year of Manufacture: 1987
I have no idea what that actually means, maybe just DVLA errors ?
Then in January 2008 (CN) got back in touch and confirmed he was thinking of selling #090 and was looking for £60,000 which seemed about right if you consider that she had stripes, ears, lamp pod, Sabelts and heated front screen options and by July 2008 #090 had a new owner (FMP) who plans to be at a lot of shows from now on.
Jan 2015 - I was in conversation with someone who knows where the car is now and pointed me to a Bonhams advert where the car was up for auction in July 2013, from what he had been told the car did not sell. There are some great images on there. http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/20929/lot/332/
Some of the narrative read:-
2016 - The new owner (MB) made contact and confirmed he bought the car in 2012 and the car will stay in the UK.Car number '90' was first registered on 15th September 1989 and owned first by Mr Richard Rhodes of London NW3. In June 1992 the car was registered to its second owner, Alan Gove of Lightwater, Surrey, who kept it until April 1999 when ownership passed to John Bilbrough of Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, who was followed by Colin Needham of Ivinghoe, Buckinghamshire (the current registered keeper) in May 2000.
Offered with MoT to July 2014 and Swansea V5C document, 'G776 TJD' has covered a genuine 17,090 miles from new and is described as in generally excellent condition with serviceable engine and transmission. State-of-the-art automotive technology in its day and Ford's finest achievement since the GT40, the RS200 is the ultimate acquisition for the serious Ford collector.
2023 - (MB) confirmed that sadly it was car 090 that was lost in the fire in North Allerton in 2019, the day after it's MOT at the end of its restoration
justin.smith@rs200.org
Images