Unlike most other Group B rally cars, the Ford RS200 was designed to be a fairly practical road car, suitable to be serviced in any official Ford workshop. It was designed by Tony Southgate with the 1803cc Cosworth BDT engine in the power plant, which was derived from that of the Escort RS1700T project. In the road version the power was 250hp, while the racing configurations reached 450hp. Subsequently, Brian Hart developed a 2.1-liter version for rallycross.