- Ford CEO Jim Farley, speaking to Top Gear, said the automaker wants to “democratize the rally car.”
- Farley explained that Ford wants to offer an affordable rally car option, but it is not clear if this refers only to Europe or all markets.
- Ford has a strong motorsports program right now, and a rally car would fit perfectly into that portfolio.
Ford’s motorsports division wants to conquer virtually every form of racing. There’s a hypercar in development, Raptor trophy trucks in Baja, and the wild T1 taking on the Dakar Rally. You even have GT3 and GT4 versions of the Mustang.
But Ford might also want to take a more aggressive step by competing in the World Rally Championship. And that could lead to a new production car that would make any rally fan smile.
Speaking to Top Gear, CEO Jim Farley says Ford wants to “democratize the rally car.” He specifies that notion for both Ford and Europe, but lately Ford has opted to make many more of its cars available to the global market.
Skip to the ten minute mark if you want to hear Farley’s comments:
So could Ford be preparing a modern version of its Ford RS200? Or would a “democratized rally car” be something more like an Escort or a souped-up Puma?
Either way, talking like this excites us. Homologated production car options, or even rally-inspired ones, tend to be quite entertaining machines. Farley goes on to say that there is also a new supercar in the works and that it needs to differentiate itself from what he considers an already well-served segment.
That’s great… just tell us more about your potential vision for an affordable rally car for the road.
Motor1’s opinion: Words like these are music to our ears. There was a time when many manufacturers offered road-going versions of everyone’s favorite rally cars. We’d love to see Ford bring such a car back to the market, but we’re very curious about what it will look like, what model Ford will base it on, and what the automaker really means by “affordable rally car.”
