Hi Barry

Yes a real RS200 is 4x4 and apparently can be quite difficult to drive, the 200 replica’s that are mid engined are rear wheel drive only (unless someone has good engineering skills to convert to 4x4), and the kits were by Kara, Mercury Motorsport or RS Automotive (all the same the company just changed hands several times). If these replicas are set up correctly they can be very good to drive, it just depends on what you want to do with it (road/track).

Gary from RS Automotive told me that their version, if set up correctly, can handle better than the real thing and he has a real one to compare it with so he should know what he’s talking about.

As for second hand prices well maybe around 8k for a poor one up to whatever depending on the build quality and spec, the basic kit is well made but the person that puts it all together and depending on what other parts he uses can make the difference between a good car and a fantastic one.

There are two other kits that I’ve heard of, but not yet seen, the Banham uses Rover FWD components and the body is supposedly close to the real thing as you can get, just a pity they made it front engined. SPD do one based on Sierra components with the engine in the front, this means that you can have 4x4 and again just a pity they made it front engined.

I have a Mercury Motorsports version and I think it’s great, it’s been very well put together and good on the track. It still requires some development to improve it even more but that will take time.

Jim