SKODA 200 RS Preview

The car with the two-litre engine, which generated 163 hp at 6,000 rpm, was given the name 200 RS. In their search for a suitable gearbox, the designers opted for a manual five-speed gearbox from Porsche, type 915.003.133, paired with a single-disc clutch with diaphragm spring from Fichtel & Sachs. As a result, the very lightweight rally cars came in at just over 800 kilograms and achieved top speeds of up to 240 km/h, depending on the gear ratio. The 200 RS made its debut at the IDA Rally in what was then Czechoslovakia in May 1974, followed by the Barum Rally with two cars and the Rally ŠKODA in Mladá Boleslav, where the three red-and-white-painted cars competed alongside each other on 1 June 1974. A total of two ŠKODA 200 RS and one ŠKODA 180 RS were built. At first, it seemed that the engineers had developed a first-rate rally car that could hold its own against the most successful vehicles in motorsport. But things turned out differently; changes to the regulations brought the careers of the 180 RS and 200 RS to an abrupt end: the new regulations ruled out the homologation of rally prototypes, and instead, only cars based on production models were allowed to compete.