Tony Southgate

A racing-car designer who drew the chassis of the Ford RS200, the most balanced car of the Group B era, and the only chief engineer to have won motorsport’s Triple Crown with his cars.

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Tony Southgate.
Tony Southgate.Photo: NRF101 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

A racing-car designer

Born in Coventry on 25 May 1940, Southgate came to rallying from circuit racing, where he had been chief designer or technical director at several Formula One teams.

The racing-car designer who drew the Ford RS200’s chassis.

Ford RS200

When Ford’s Stuart Turner set up a design competition for a new four-wheel-drive rally car in 1983, the in-house proposal from Boreham engineer John Wheeler won. Southgate was engaged to design the chassis. The RS200 used a mid-mounted engine with the gearbox at the front for better weight distribution, and double-wishbone suspension with twin dampers at each corner. The car was widely regarded as the best-balanced of its generation.

In pictures 1 photos

A Ford RS200.
A Ford RS200.Photo: Calreyn88 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

More from Designers and engineers

Sergio LimoneThe Abarth engineer behind the Lancia 037, and the Delta S4.Read more →Claudio LombardiLancia's engine designer for the 037 and the twin-charged Delta S4, later Ferrari team manager.Read more →André de CortanzeTechnical director of Peugeot Talbot Sport, later designer of the Toyota GT-One.Read more →John WheelerFord's Boreham engineer who won the RS200 design competition.Read more →Ferdinand PiëchThe Audi engineering chief who made the quattro possible.Read more →Walter TreserProject leader and namer of the Audi quattro, first head of Audi Sport.Read more →

Sources

  1. Wikipedia (EN), Tony Southgate — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Southgate
  2. Wikipedia (EN), Ford RS200 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_RS200
  3. Road & Track, Ford's RS200 Is Built On the GT40's Legacy — https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a39572640/fords-rs200-is-built-on-the-gt40s-legacy/

All text is original writing for Grouve Sports Management Group, based on the sources above. Facts checked on 21 October 2026.

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Thumbnail photos on this page: KKPCW（Kyu3） (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Steven Straiton from UK (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Calreyn88 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Nicky Clarke (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0).