Light The Beacons, Ford Has Trademarked RS200

Fire up the rumour mill, as Ford has just trademarked RS200. Yep, the name from the legendary Group B rally special could be making an unexpected yet very exciting return.

We really don’t have much to go on at the moment, other than Ford filing the trademark for the word ‘RS200’ with the European Union Intellectual Office on 7 March. Not all that shockingly, it’s trademarked for us with “motor vehicles, namely gasoline and electric automobiles, pick-up trucks, sport utility vehicles and their structural parts.”

There’s no description of how exactly Ford intends to use the RS200 name, or any kind of logo. Although it has been filed both in English and French, perhaps not all that interestingly.

This could simply be a case of Ford protecting the trademark of one of its most legendary car names, but that’s boring to talk about. Instead, we’ll ignite the flames and hope this could pave the way for a modern take on the RS200.

How likely that is, we’re unsure. Ford is in a habit of reviving names at the moment, with Puma back in use and Capri on the cards, but it’s worth noting both of those are for electric crossovers. Now, we wouldn’t want to rule it out, but to see RS200 relegated to a family SUV would be criminal to the point that surely even Ford knows it’s a step too far.

We’d assume any new RS200 would be used on an electric vehicle of some sort rather than using a boost-heavy petrol engine like the original, and hopefully a sports car. To clutch at straws, it has recently been producing vehicles on Volkswagen platforms - namely the Tourneo Connect being a rebadged Caddy and the Explorer sitting on the MEB platform that underpins VW’s ID models.

Separate rumours have surfaced that the VW Scirocco is being reinvented as a mid-engined electric sports car, which perhaps could end up with a Ford RS200 badge if that turns out to be true.

This is all speculation for now, and more likely to be false than true, but it’s an exciting revelation nonetheless. Let’s hope Ford is putting RS200 to good use.