Sunday 10th December 2023

Ford Mondeo ST200 | Spotted

Taking you back to the BTCC glory days

---

You can always bet on the British Touring Cars to deliver a close championship fight (and with an F1 season as dreary as 2023, we need the BTCC now more than ever). This year’s title again went down to the wire, with eight different winners across the season, seven manufacturers vying for victory and many, many prangs. And although the formula gets a decent shake-up once in a blue moon, it typically makes the already stellar racing even better.

More contentious, however, are the cars. There’s barely any factory support in the BTCC these days, and most of the cars you see plastered with manufacturer logos are usually branding deals. So while the cars look pretty wild these days, with side exhausts and ultra-wide body kits, the former is connected to a spec engine (though it’s open to various suppliers) while the latter is made from glass fibre. Still cooler than the cars of the late '00s, but a far cry from the Super Touring Car glory days of the '90s.

Yes, it was a prohibitively expensive ruleset which ultimately led to its demise, but the high level of manufacturer and Formula 1 team support delivered some of the coolest tin-top racers in history. Where else could you see (and hear) five-cylinder Volvos go up against Williams F1-developed Renault Lagunas? Best of all, they weren’t a million miles off the cars you could go out and buy (well, aside from the Laguna). Big Rickard Rydell fan? Get an 850 R. Crazy for Kristensen? The Honda Accord Type R has you covered. Mad about Mansell? This Ford Mondeo ST200 should have done the trick.

Now, admittedly, we’re not talking about a homologation special here. The Prodrive-built touring cars had 2.0-litre V6s, while the ST200 used the same 2.5-litre V6 found in the warmed-up ST24. The ST200 was considerably hotter, mind, with upgrades to the cams, throttle bodies, induction system and a freer flowing exhaust raising the bar from 170hp on the ST24 to 205hp. Adding to the BTCC appeal were stiffer dampers, a beefier body kit, Recaro sports seats and Imperial Blue paintwork. Throw in some stickers and a small wing and you’ve got a (sort of) Super Touring Car for the road.

Ford brought nearly 1,700 to the UK, and sales no doubt boomed during the Blue Oval’s dominant season in the BTCC in 2000. However, finding a good, clean example today is downright tricky. A quick Google search suggests fewer than 200 are registered on the road, and only a handful of those are likely in decent nick. This is very much one of them, though - it has reportedly cost the previous owner £10,000 to get it in that state. The seller suggests it’s undergone a “complete restoration”, backed up by how glossy it looks both inside and out. Given it’s covered 113,000 miles, it’s in mighty fine fettle.

The price? £9,999, presumably to recover most of the restoration cost. These are becoming collectable cars, and you could comfortably pay an extra 50 per cent on a lower-mileage example. Cheaper versions exist, too, but they won’t have undergone the sort of work this one has. So you get the best of both worlds: a car that should feel as fresh as it did back in 2000, with enough miles on the clock that won’t fill you with guilt driving it on the regular. Fords were never meant to be coddled, anyway…

---

SPECIFICATION | FORD MONDEO ST200

Engine: 2,495cc V6
Transmission: five-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 205@6,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 173@5,500rpm
MPG: 30
CO2: 235g/km
Year registered: 2000
Recorded mileage: 113,000
Price new: £23,000
Yours for: £9,999

See the original advert here

[Standish]

Nice. I put the mk1 mondeo in the category of "10 a penny when I was a kid" and now "cant remember the last time i saw one"

Except!... I always walked past an st24 on the way to/from work and could guarantee it was the only car that would make me look twice

[gotoPzero]

Back in the day (2000) I had a choice between the ST200 and the Vectra GSi.
Went with the GSi.

They were both great cars but I found the Mondeo to be a bit boring to look at. They drove very similar.

The GSi seemed to handle a bit better and the interior was more modern.

Cool story bro.

[EdmondDantes]

Can’t see anyone else other than a die hard blue oval fan buying that for 10k.

[Zad]

Well, your user name is Standish, and the car is in Standish...

I hope it isn't the "complete restoration" car that Drivetribe comprehensively f***ed up.

Engine originally designed by Porsche with Cosworth heads. Inlet manifolds extrusion honed (ground and polished), race cat, "hot" cams. Chassis by Richard Parry-Jones. I suspect a few years from now these will be genuinely sought after. A crying shame shame the tax is a killer £675 a year, when a 4-pot BMW 320 diesel with 180bhp can be had for £35 p/a. If anything points out the stupidity of vehicle duty, it is cars like these.

[soad]

Zad said:

A crying shame shame the tax is a killer £675 a year, when a 4-pot BMW 320 diesel with 180bhp can be had for £35 p/a. If anything points out the stupidity of vehicle duty, it is cars like these.

Almost makes sense to SORN it (as a second/third/weekend car) for six months, and avoid salty winter roads…

[Jon_S_Rally]

Love these. I think I'd find it hard to choose one over a later ST220, but a great car all the same.

I must say, I think the article is a touch misleading when it comes to super touring. The cars were about as far removed from their road-going cousins as it was possible to get. In the early days of the format, they were a bit closer but, from 1995-ish, they went bonkers.

[hiccy18]

Dad had one new, replaced it with an ST220 which he kept for many years. Directly before them he'd had a 2 litre Probe (which was ghastly) and a V6 Probe (which was low geared, but a lot better than the 2l), so he was on a run of Blue Oval having spent decades as a GM man. Dad loved the 220 and described it as a "business man's express" and it was certainly comfy, pacey and well made. The 200 needed winding up more to find those ponies and didn't cover long distances as well as the 220.

With that kind of mileage I don't see how it's worth anything like the asking price, I'd have figured about half that if I was feeling generous.

[Nickp82]

Zad said:

A crying shame shame the tax is a killer £675 a year, when a 4-pot BMW 320 diesel with 180bhp can be had for £35 p/a. If anything points out the stupidity of vehicle duty, it is cars like these.

I THINK it’ll be £325 Pa as it’s too old for the emissions based system.

[rossub]

Nickp82 said:

Zad said:

A crying shame shame the tax is a killer £675 a year, when a 4-pot BMW 320 diesel with 180bhp can be had for £35 p/a. If anything points out the stupidity of vehicle duty, it is cars like these.

I THINK it’ll be £325 Pa as it’s too old for the emissions based system.

That’s what I was thinking. Anything older than 2006 is no more than £325…

[WPA]

Nickp82 said:

Zad said:

A crying shame shame the tax is a killer £675 a year, when a 4-pot BMW 320 diesel with 180bhp can be had for £35 p/a. If anything points out the stupidity of vehicle duty, it is cars like these.

I THINK it’ll be £325 Pa as it’s too old for the emissions based system.

Yep correct it is £325 for the year

[Turbobanana]

I'm not sure citing Nigel Mansell as a temptation to buy one is going to work. He hardly covered himself in glory in a Mondeo. Paul Radisich, perhaps, or Andy Rouse if you must stick with a Brit.

[howardhughes]

Nice looking car. It's a shame, after spending all that money, they didn't get the headlights restored or replaced.
Even the exhaust tips could have done with clean and polish.

[Andy86GT]

Brings back memories of epic BTCC clashes, Mansell driving verses Tiff Needell

https://youtube.com/watch?v=aVvebZwmLKU&si=bLN...

Clelland verses Soper;

https://youtu.be/QI8litf5a2s?si=FC9WXe8L8ehZzAlK

Edited by Andy86GT on Sunday 10th December 09:36

[Firebobby]

The only good thing about the car is the colour! Big barge that will be lucky to see mid 20's mpg anywhere. £325 ved, perhaps you could get cheap insurance as a second car, apart from that it's a no go from me..

[TeeGTI]

Looks cool and looks clean.

As others have said - why not spend half an hour polishing up the headlights and exhaust tips?

I think I would rather by a cheaper, more honest example if such thing exists and spend the extra cash cleaning it up.

[GreatScott2016]

Nice, but as some have said, the price appears a little on the high side, at least to me

[Fastdruid]

Jon_S_Rally said:

Love these. I think I'd find it hard to choose one over a later ST220, but a great car all the same.

I must say, I think the article is a touch misleading when it comes to super touring. The cars were about as far removed from their road-going cousins as it was possible to get. In the early days of the format, they were a bit closer but, from 1995-ish, they went bonkers.

The later race cars were utterly bonkers, IIRC the engine was so low the driveshaft went through the V.

<google> https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[Jon_S_Rally]

Firebobby said:

The only good thing about the car is the colour! Big barge that will be lucky to see mid 20's mpg anywhere. £325 ved, perhaps you could get cheap insurance as a second car, apart from that it's a no go from me..

My ST220 would regularly see high 20s MPG. Of course it was less if you booted it, but that's to be expected of an old six-pot. These cars are from a different era.

Otherwise, they are brilliant. The sporting Mondeos were always a benchmark in handling terms.

Fastdruid said:

The later race cars were utterly bonkers, IIRC the engine was so low the driveshaft went through the V.

<google> https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Yeah they were mad. From any distance, the Laguna doesn't look like it has an engine because it sits so low. The Primera had its steering column mounted horizontally, so it was attached to the front strut tower, then went basically 90 deg down to the rack. The cars were all a work of art, but about as far removed from a production machine as it was possible to be.

[Bright Halo]

I do like this era of sports saloon.
I remember a group test conducted by racing driver Darren Manning (where did he end up?) between a Vectra GSI, Mondeo ST200 and an Accord Type R.
The Accord Type R won which I was very pleased about as I had one!

[Don Roque]

Fastdruid said:

The later race cars were utterly bonkers, IIRC the engine was so low the driveshaft went through the V.

<google> https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

The beer fact I was about to post about these. No wonder the development costs were high but seriously, the cars and the racing were both great.