Recollection Road: Group B rally cars

As outrageous as rally racing sounds, where cars battle the worst of nature's elements like dirt, snow, and extreme temperatures, and the drivers battle unfamiliarity with the course and only a codriver rattling off pace notes...

there was a time when it was twice as over-the-top as it is now.

Ask any ardent follower of rally racing when the 'golden days' of the sport were, and they will respond virtually unanimously: when Group B cars were permitted.

Group B cars ruled the rally world for three years, between 1983 and 1986. Held back only by the budget of the manufacturer, Group B rally cars were essentially allowed as much horsepower and technology as was possible. The only stipulation was that each manufacturer had to produce 200 examples of road cars based on the rally cars.

A total of nine manufacturers developed Group B rally cars: 

Audi Sport Quattro S1

Audi - Audi developed the Sport Quattro, a two-door coupe with a front-mounted 2.3L turbo 5cyl engine that developed 450hp in 1983 and grew to 600hp with the Quattro S1 in 1986. Stig Blomqvist won the driver's and manufacturer's championships in 1984 with this car, and at the end of Group B, Audi revealed they were working on a 1000hp version, but claimed it was virtually impossible to drive.

Citroen BX 4TC

Citroen - A late entry in 1986, Citroen tried to grab a piece of Group B action with its 4TC. Based on the BX coupe, it used a 2.2L turbo 4cyl engine derived from the Peugeot 505. But having only 380hp, the only four-door body in Group B, and using a monocoque chassis with a front-engine layout like the Audi, it was severely outclassed as soon as it was introduced. Jean-Claude Andruet drove the car in only three rallies in 1986, all of them plagued by mechanical failures. Due to its dismal performance, Citroen actually scrapped most of its remaining 4TC cars.

Renault 5 Turbo Maxi

Renault - Renault entered with the 5 Turbo, a mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive version of its 5 hatchback carried over from the previous Group 4. Boasting competitive power from the smallest engine, the Maxi version in 1984 managed to squeeze 350hp from a turbo 1.5L 4cyl borrowed from Renault's Formula 1 efforts. Jean Ragnotti won the Tour De Corse with it in 1985, but being only rear-wheel-drive prohibited it from keeping up with its four-wheel-drive rivals.

Austin Rover Metro 6R4

British-Leyland - Using the Austin Rover Metro as a loose basis for its insane 6R4 Group B car, BL bucked the trend of highly-boosted turbo 4cyl engines with a naturally-aspirated 3L 24v V6 engine producing 400hp at all four wheels. It debuted favorably, taking third place in the 1985 RAC rally with Tony Pond at the helm. But underfunding from BL hampered the 6R4's future success, and after Group B rallying ended, the engine was bored out to 3.5L and fitted with twin turbos to power the Jaguar XJ220 supercar. 

Toyota Celica TCT

Toyota - The RA63 Celica was developed into a Group B rally car (called the TCT) with a 2.1L turbo 4cyl engine developing 330hp. Hampered by a front-engined, rear-wheel-drive layout, the Celica was simply unable to compete with the European Group B cars on technical rally events. But its simplicity of service and soft, durable suspension made it a formidable competitor in grueling African events, taking Björn Waldegaard and Juha Kankkunen to wins at all three Safari rally events from 1984 to 1986. Toyota was rumored to be developing a 600hp Group B car based on its mid-engined MR2 when Group B rallying ended.

Porsche 959

Porsche - Strangely enough, and unbeknownst to most, the lusty and exotic 959 supercar was actually developed for Group B rallying. A 911 with four-wheel-drive, twin turbos, a six-speed transmission, and active suspension, the 959 was a very expensive Group B development, and when Porsche execs decided building the required 200 homologation cars would take too long, Jackie Ickx convinced them to enter the car into the Paris-Dakar rally instead. Three 959s won the 1984 Paris-Dakar. The subsequent year saw two of the cars crash out and the third one DNF with mechanical problems, but 1986 saw a 1-2 result for the 959, as well as a class win in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. 

Peugeot 205 Turbo 16

Peugeot - The 205 Turbo 16, when debuted in 1984, hit the WRC scene and quickly earned its reputation as the most successful Group B car. Using a mid-mounted 1.8L 4cyl engine sending 440hp to all four wheels, as well as having a spaceframe short-wheelbase chassis, it won its first event out at the Tour De Corse piloted by Ari Vatanen. It won 16 of its 26 entries in WRC events, and even after the Group B era, won the Paris-Dakar rally 4 times. 

Ford RS200

Ford - After abandoning its disastrous first attempt at Group B rallying, the RS1700T, Ford cooperated with Ghia on the RS200, which looked as good as it went. Like other competitive Group B cars, the RS200 was built on an advanced spaceframe and was powered by a mid-mounted 1.8L 4cyl engine that made a rumored 500hp in race form. It achieved a 3rd place result in the 1986 Swedish Rally at the hands of Kalle Grundel, but when driver Joaquim Santos lost control of his RS200 in the Portuguese Rally and plunged into the crowd, killing 4 and injuring 31, the writing began to appear on the wall for Group B rally cars. 

Lancia Rally 037

Lancia - By far the most successful manufacturer in rallying, Lancia actually developed two Group B cars, the 037 and Delta S4. The 037, based on the Beta Montecarlo, used a 2L supercharged mid-mounted 4cyl making 325hp to the rear wheels. Despite two-wheel-drive and low power, the 037 was a very successful rally car thanks to very light weight and an advanced space frame. Walter Röhrl drove it to the manufacturer's championship in 1983. 

Lancia Delta S4

But Lancia did not stop there. Deciding to pull out all the stops, they developed the Delta S4. For sure the most complicated drivetrain in all of Group B rallying, it produced 550hp from a 1.8L mid-mounted engine, using both a supercharger (for low-end torque) and a turbocharger (for high-end power). Although the car was an immediate success in its first outing in 1985, Henri Toivonen died in a horrendous crash when his Delta S4 careened off a cliff and burst into flames in 1986, thus persuading FIA to cancel Group B rallying.

Today's rally cars are serious performance machines, no doubt, with horsepower figures around 300hp out of turbo 2L 4cyl engines. Sequential gearboxes and extremely sophisticated suspensions mean their performance likely rivals that of the Group B cars of yesteryear, but what Group B represents is the 'no-holds-barred' approach to racing... when the cars were way too fast and way too dangerous, and the winner was determined simply by bravery.