Jay Leno Goes For A Joyride In Tim Allen's Ultra-Rare Ford RS200

It's not every day you get to see a Ford RS200 being driven on US soil, but we now have the chance to see Jay Leno share his verdict on one owned by comedian Tim Allen.

The Ford RS200 is a rare Group B homologation gem, built only in roadgoing form to allow Ford to compete it in the most insane class of rally racing. 200 were required, of which 20 were to be Evo specification. It's believed only 148 were delivered to customers and, in total, 24 were converted to Evolution spec.

While these special cars were deified in Europe, they never officially came to the US, making them absolute unicorns if you do find one. Tim Allen is one such lucky owner, and he brought his car down to Jay Leno's Garage, making for some entertaining viewing.

Allen is a massive car guy with a fascinating automotive past and is particularly enamored with the RS200's design, saying that it still holds up in modern times. It seems Leno was equally as pleased with the car, particularly highlighting how its decent ground clearance makes it usable on Californian roads.

Unsurprisingly, the celebrity owner is quite knowledgeable about this rally-spec Ford's mechanicals, highlighting that the AWD system is actually a four-wheel drive system with a selectable power bias transfer case to better handle gravel, sand, and soil compared. Allen put it simply: "This would be a great street car if you like driving over people's yards."

Under the shapely rear clamshell, the car's double damper suspension design is a mechanical work of art. We also get to see the car's 1.8-liter turbocharged Cosworth inline-four engine, originally rated at 250 horsepower.

In taking the vehicle for a ride, Leno initially stalls it. Once he gets it going, however, we get to hear the full song of its rally-ready turbo engine, which is a far cry from the refinement of modern turbo motors. At 5,000 rpm, the turbo spooling is noticeably audible.

While it sounds great, Allen implied that he doesn't like driving it on roads. He shared that it has a "gap" in the RPMs regarding power delivery, referring to the high boost threshold of the turbo. This becomes more apparent in slow traffic. Allen even noted that he preferred dailying a Tesla S Plaid. But while it's less likely to appeal as a daily driver, Leno really liked "the way the wheel fights you."

Sadly, we can no longer get cars like these in the modern age with road cars and racing cars so heavily removed from one another. The Toyota GR Corolla is the closest we get to such a car in the US, and that pales in comparison to Group B icons like the RS200.