Wednesday, February 25, 2015


Ford lendsrally prototypestoboost Beaulieu’snew motoringexhibition


freepressseries.co.uk


Women more likely to speed in rental cars


WOMENaremorelikelytogoover thespeedlimit inarented car,new researchhasrevealed,butmenare much more prone to cause dam- age. Telematics provider In-Car Clev-


ernessmonitoredmorethan10,000 rental cars over a six-month pe- riod, installing speed monitoring technologyinto 100 of them. Women were found to have bro-


ken the speed limit 17.5 per cent more often than men, but it seems they pay more attention to their surroundings as five times more


men than women returned cars withfreshdamage. In fact, 84 per cent of the cars


that sustained dents, scratches and punctureshadbeenrentedbymen. However, while men broke the speed limit an average of 57 times during the average six-day rental period, women did so 67 times. There was a direct link between speedanddamagecaused,too,with men who returned cars with fresh damage having broken the speed limit82timesintheirdayswiththe cars.


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THE NATIONAL Motor Mu- seum has welcomed two new rallying exhibits in support of its new exhibition, A Cheq- uered History, celebrating the history of motor sport. The Ford GT70 and the Ford RS200, which belong to the Blue Oval’s heritage collec- tion, are both prototypes of fascinating designs with their own ‘chequered histories’, echoing the bitter-sweet na- ture of motor racing and ral- lying. Both were designed to win rallies, but success eluded them. Doug Hill, manager and chief engineer of the muse- um, said: “I am both delighted and grateful that Ford Herit- age has offered on loan to the National Motor Museum two of its important historic mo- tor cars, the RS200 and the GT70.


“These rally cars will greatly enrich our already fabulous collection of competition mo- tor vehicles, continuing a long- standing and much valued as- sociation and friendship with the Ford Motor Company.” The GT70 was conceived in


1970 to rival the giants of Eu- ropean rallying, such as the Renault Alpine and the Por- sche 911. Its steel platform chassis was clad in an aero- dynamic fibreglass body, with independent suspension all- round. The mid-mounted engine powered the rear wheels


through a five-speed transax- le. Only five examples were constructed before the project was scrapped to cut costs. Joining the GT70 is the third


of six RS200 prototypes, one of the most remarkable ral- lying machines of the 1980s. The RS200 was also designed to be competitive in European rallies, using a mid-engine lay- out. However, this all-new de- sign used four-wheel drive and a turbocharged 1.8-litre four- cylinder engine, creating a fast, lightweight car. The body, made by fibreglass specialists Reliant, was assembled over a rigid platformchassis. To prove that the RS200 was


a true production car, 200 ex- amples were built – a require- ment of the stringent Group B rallying regulations. However, despite getting off


to a promising start, its mo- tor sport career was cut short when the governing body for motor sport events ended the Group B class from 1987 fol- lowing a number of fatal acci- dents. These unsold rally cars were converted into exclusive road-going performance cars, with the addition of upmarket interior trim. A Chequered History will be opened by Sir Stirling Moss on March 5. Visitors will be able to enjoy A Chequered History as part of a visit to the whole Beaulieu attraction from March 6. More details at www. beaulieu.co.uk.


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