Group B Rally Cars

[Devinda_Z]

The beginning of Group B

Rally cars before the Group B era were, for the most part, rear-wheel-drive with about 250 horsepower, because any more power merely resulted in wheelspin. The two classes at the time were Group 2 and the more popular Group 4. The rules for Group 4 mandated a minimum production run of 400 copies of a car to meet homologation requirements, in order to encourage the manufacturers to use mass-produced cars. Some of the more famous rally cars from this period were the Lancia Stratos, the Fiat 131 Abarth, and the Porsche 911.

However, in 1979, FISA (Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile, the sanctioning body for rallying) legalized all-wheel-drive for rallying. The manufacturers involved in rallying at the time considered four-wheel-drive too heavy and complex to be successful. They were all proven wrong when Audi launched its new Quattro in 1980, and announced its intention to use the 1980 and 1981 seasons as development years. The full potential of four-wheel-drive was realized when Audi pilot Hannu Mikkola used a Quattro as a course opening vehicle for one rally. Had Mikkola been entered, he would have won by nine minutes!

When the Quattro entered (and won) its first rally, the 1980 Janner rally in Austria, most of the other manufacturers in rallying realized the two-wheel-drive era of rallying had come to an end. Audi continued its development during the 1981 season, winning several rounds of the WRC, including the San Remo rally, which was an historic event because it was the first ever international rally won by a woman, Michèle Mouton. 1982 firmly established Audi as the team to beat, although Mouton narrowly lost the driver's crown to Opel rival Walter Röhrl. The 1983 season saw the creation of Groups A and B, and the first real Group B car arrived on the scene - the Lancia 037 Monte Carlo. Audi's first major rival had arrived.

The evolution of Group B

The 037 was different from the Quattro in several key respects - it was supercharged instead of turbocharged, and it still had rear-wheel-drive, due to Lancia's uncertainty about the potential of four-wheel-drive. It was, however, a Group B rally car (the Quattro was still built to the Group 4 specifications), and the new Group B class only required 200 copies of a car for homologation. The Group B rally teams could also produce "evolution" versions of their cars - and only twenty copies would be required! Group B also had minimal weight restrictions, plus the use of high-tech materials was permitted in the construction of the cars. These elements, plus manufacturers with unlimited resources, allowed Group B to evolve extremely quickly. The cars' performance levels increased at a rapid pace.

The new 037 was instantly at a disadvantage due to its lack of four-wheel-drive. Four-wheel-drive allowed Audi to run with a lot more power, due to the increased traction. Four-wheel-drive also proved to be much gentler on the tires, so Audi could run much softer compounds and further increase its traction. However, the Quattro had a number of flaws which allowed the 037 to win the Manufacturer's title in 1983: the Quattro was unreliable, it was clumsy and unwieldy to drive, and its front-engine, monocoque chassis was soon rendered obsolete by the mid-engine, space frame design of the Peugeot 205 T16, the new king of the hill once it arrived at the Tour de Corse rally in 1984.

The 205 T16's pace in Corsica shocked the rally community. Peugeot had built a strong team, with Ari Vatanen as the driver and Jean Todt (now the manager of the Ferrari F1 team) running the rally program. Vatanen crashed out of the Corsican rally, but went on to give the 205 its first win at the 1000 Lakes rally in Finland later that year. By this time, Audi had introduced its Sport Quattro, while the 037 was already showing its age. Peugeot looked set to walk away with the 1985 titles after an impressive year of preparation during 1984.

Peugeot did dominate most of the 1985 season, but things didn't go according to plan. Peugeot lost Ari Vatanen in a near-fatal crash in Argentina, but his teammate Timo Salonen took up the challenge and brought both titles to Peugeot. However, the 1985 RAC rally saw a whole pack of new challengers hungry to challenge Peugeot's dominance. Lancia debuted its new Delta S4, which was supercharged and turbocharged, Ford unveiled the RS200, Austin-Metro launched its new Metro 6R4, Audi entered its radical S1 Quattro, and Peugeot countered the newcomers with the 205 T16 Evolution 2. Lancia's new S4 came away with first and second places; by this point, wings had to be added to the cars to keep them on the road.

The end of Group B

The pace of technology in Group B was astounding, but FISA was planning Group S. Group S was to be a class which would allow manufacturers to produce highly futuristic cars, and only ten copies would be required for homologation. However, the inevitable finally happened: during the 1986 Port Wine rally in Portugal, a Ford RS200 left the road on a spectator stage, killing three and injuring dozens; after the crash, all the works teams withdrew from the rally. But the final blow for Group B came on May 4, 1986.

Lancia's lead driver, Henri Toivonen, was dominating the 1986 championship and the Tour de Corse rally when his S4 left the road during a twisty tarmac stage. The car went off the edge of the road, hitting trees and rocks while sliding down a hillside. Toivonen and his navigator, Sergio Cresto, were killed. There were no witnesses to the crash, and the subsequent fire completely destroyed the car, leaving the remains unrecognizable as a vehicle. The heat from the fire was so intense that all that remained of the car was a blackened space frame. Group B and Group S were instantly cancelled for the 1987 season; Ford and Audi withdrew from Group B immediately. The other works teams decided to see the season out.

Rallying after Group B

Rallying after Group B looks a bit different. The replacement cars, the Group A and WRC classes, are getting close to the speeds of the Group B cars, but they aren't quite there yet. One only has to look at the fastest times up Pike's Peak for a comparison between the speed differences of the Group A & B cars. But the modern rally cars are very spectacular and exciting to watch. Modern rally drivers are among the best drivers in the world. Plus, rallying today has more factory teams already participating or planning entries in the WRC.

Was it right to ban the Group B cars? Personally, I think so. If FISA had done a better job of regulating the cars, then maybe the Group B cars could have stayed. But since FISA focused the majority of their attention on F1, they didn't realize how fast the Group B cars had become; it took an accident like Toivonen's to get FISA's attention. The Group B cars had reached the point where they belonged on a racetrack, not on a rally stage. The cars were so fast that a driver's eyes didn't have time to adjust their focus properly between corners. Group B lived a short, but very interesting, life.

http://www.stormloader.com/groupb/history.html

Edited June 2, 2008 by Devinda_Z

[Devinda_Z]

Vote for your Favourite Group B Rally Car - Mods, i added a poll with all 20 cars listed but its not showing ne

Edited June 2, 2008 by Devinda_Z

[Devinda_Z]

The Cars

Audi Sport Quattro S1

Despite having won Audi the constructor’s championship in 1982, the original quattro’s design had some drawbacks that the use of four-wheel drive couldn’t overcome. The car was unreliable and heavy and its front-engined, monocoque design gave it clumsy handling characteristics. In response, Audi created the Sport quattro by chopping 320mm from the standard car’s wheelbase, swapping steel panels for the composite materials allowable under Group B regulations and extracting 450bhp from the five-cylinder, turbocharged engine. Now a much wieldier machine, Stig Blomqvist piloted it to the driver’s and constructor’s championships in 1984. Development didn’t stop there however, the Sport quattro S1, boasted over 600bhp by 1986, the year Group B was banned. Ingolstadt engineers later revealed that they had constructed a 1,000bhp prototype but that it was nigh on impossible to drive.

Citroën BX 4TC

Rarely remembered now, the Citroen was a late comer to Group B having witnessed the success of domestic rival Peugeot with the T16, and was already outclassed when it appeared in 1986. Based on the road going BX, it featured a front-engined, monocoque structure like the Audi Quattro and was instantly off the pace when compared to the space-frame, mid-engined group leaders. The car actually featured the hydropneumatic suspension of the BX and competed in just three WRC rounds before the class was banned. Its best result was a sixth place in the 1986 Swedish Rally

Citroën Visa 1000 Pistes

Ferrari 288 GTO Evoluzione

Ford RS200

Ford’s first crack at Group B, the Escort RS1700T was an abject failure and the company retreated to develop an all new contender from the ground up. The car would also be sold to the public as a road going range topper. Design house Ghia was commissioned to style the car whilst Reliant worked on the chassis. The car used a space-frame chassis, four-wheel drive, Kevlar bodywork and a mid-mounted, 1.8 litre, turbocharged four-cylinder engine. Developed by race tuner Bryan Hart, it was said to put out over 500bhp in full rally spec despite the modest displacement. 24 cars were converted to ‘Evo’ spec, bored out to 2.1 litres; they produced a massive 650bhp, enough for them to hit 60mph in a mere 2.1 seconds in the hands of Stig Blomqvist. With sophisticated suspension, a front-mounted gearbox for better weight distribution and a variable torque split, the RS200 looked like being the car to beat. Its best result was third in the Swedish Rally of 1986. Tragedy struck the Ford team shortly afterwards when driver Joaquim Santos lost control of his RS200 on the Portuguese Rally, plunging into the crowd, injuring 31 spectators and killing four and putting Group B’s future in jeopardy.

[Devinda_Z]

The Cars Continued

Ford Escort RS 1700T

The Ford Escort RS 1700T was a prototype RWD car designed by Ford Motor Company in 1980 to compete in Group B rallying. Prototypes were based on the MKIII Escort and featured a turbocharged 1.8 litre four cylinder engine producing over 200 horsepower.

Persistent problems during the vehicle's development prompted Ford to drop plans for its production and instead begin work on an all-wheel-drive model designed and built from scratch, resulting in the famous RS200.

Lada VFTS

Lancia 037 Rally

By far the most successful manufacturer in rallying history, Lancia was ready with the first car built specifically to take advantage of the looser regulations of Group B, the 037 which appeared in 1983. Only 200 examples of each car needed to be built, weight restrictions were low and the use of hi-tech materials was allowed for the first time. The car was loosely based on the Beta Montecarlo, using its centre section with new front and rear subframes. The mid-mounted two-litre four-cylinder engine from the Lancia Trevi used a 16 valve head and a supercharger to ultimately produce 325bhp. This meant that the 037, despite being rear-wheel drive was able to take the fight to the previous year’s champion, the Audi Quattro and win Lancia the manufacturer’s championship in 1983.

Lancia Delta S4

The ultimate expression of the Group B regulations, the Delta S4 was also the machine that killed the class. Bearing little resemblance to the Delta hatchback that lent it its name, the S4 was a four-wheel drive spaceframe design with a mid-mounted 1.8 litre four cylinder engine. This modest powerplant was fitted with both a supercharger and a turbocharger to produce well in excess of 550bhp. The supercharger boosted power at low RPM, reducing lag until the turbo was up to speed at higher engine revs. The car was instantly successful on its first outing, giving Lancia a 1-2 in the 1985 RAC Rally with Henri Toivonen and Markku Alen respectively. This briefly gave Alen the driver’s championship until he was stripped of his points from the San Remo rally, handing victory to Kankkunen and Peugeot. The S4 was capable of hitting 60 from rest in just 2.3 seconds on a gravel road and in the hands of Toivonen lapped the Estoril Formula One circuit so quickly he would have qualified sixth on the grid for the 1986 Portuguese Grand Prix.

Sadly the S4 was Toivonen's, and Group B's, undoing when he left the road and plunged down a rocky hillside on the Tour de Corse in May 1986. The car’s lowslung fuel tanks ruptured and the car burst into flames, trapping Toivonen and co-driver Sergio Cresto inside. By the time emergency services reached the scene, little that was recognisable was left. FIA immediately announced the scrapping of the Group B class for the 1987 season. Ford and Audi withdrew immediately leaving Peugeot to claim a hollow victory in both titles.

MG Metro 6R4

In typical Rover fashion, the firm decided that it wanted to demonstrate that a normally aspirated car could compete successfully against the turbocharged opposition. Nominally based on the Metro supermini, the 6R4 used a three-litre, 24-valve V6 developed by the Williams Grand Prix team and which put out 400bhp. The engine was mounted amidships, driving all four wheels and the car pioneered the use of spoilers in the class. Never hugely competitive due to underfunding, the Metro’s best result was on its debut when it took third place in the 1985 RAC Rally. The engine went on to be developed further by Tom Walkinshaw Racing for the Jaguar XJ220 supercar who bored it out to 3.5-litres and added twin turbochargers to take output to 540bhp.

[Devinda_Z]

The Cars Continued

Mitsubishi Starion 4WD

Mazda RX-7 4x4

Nissan 240RS

Opel Manta 400

Peugeot 205 T16

The T16 appeared at the 1984 Tour de Corse rally and instantly made the rest of the field look obsolete with its mid-engined layout and spaceframe chassis. Blisteringly quick, driver Ari Vatanen led the first two days of the rally before crashing out. The Peugeot won the 1984 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland and looked set to dominate in 1985. This it did easily despite a near fatal crash for Vatanen in Argentina when the car rolled and his seat mountings gave way. Vatanen was out for the remainder of the year but team mate Timo Salonen went on to win the constructor’s and driver’s championship for Peugeot. The tiny Pug also went on to win both titles the following year and in modified form won the Paris Dakar rally.

[Devinda_Z]

The Cars Continued

Peugeot 305 V6

Porsche 911 SC RS

Porsche 959

Built specifically to take advantage of Group B regulations - the original prototype was named Gruppe B – Porsche had rally victory firmly in its sights. Developed from the 911, the 959 was a technological tour de force of its day with four-wheel drive, ABS, six speed transmission, tyre pressure sensors and on board computers that automatically lowered the car at high speeds. However the Stuttgart firm decided it would take too long to build the required 200 examples allowing rivals to steal a march on the car. Porsche works driver Jackie Ickx persuaded his employers that the Paris Dakar would make a better showcase for the 959’s talents. Three 911s converted to 959 specifications won the event in 1984 and Porsche returned with three proper 959s the following year. Unfortunately two of the cars crashed out of the event while the third was sidelined with a broken oil pipe. The plan came together in 1986 with a Porsche 1-2 in the event. The car proved its versatility by also going on to win its class at the 24 Heures du Mans.

Renault 5 Turbo

Initially developed for the old Group 4 regulations, the Renault R5 Turbo took the popular front-engined, front wheel drive Renault 5 shopping car and turned it around, mounting the engine amidships driving the rear wheels. The 1.4 litre engine was borrowed from Renault’s Formula 1 programme and the car proved successful in Group 4, winning the 1981 Monte Carlo rally, a dream come true for a French team. In 1984 the ‘Maxi’ version appeared to take advantage of Group B rules. Now boasting over 350bhp from a 1.5 litre turbocharged engine but disadvantaged by being rear wheel driven the car nevertheless won the Tour de Corse in 1985 in the hands of Jean Ragnotti.

Škoda 130 LR

[Devinda_Z]

The Cars Continued

Toyota Celica Twin-Cam Turbo

Toyota used a development of their Celica twin-cam turbo to enter the Group B WRC and was handicapped by the car’s front-engined, rear-wheel drive layout in comparison to the purpose built machines. However the car was extremely rugged and simple to work on helping it achieve a sixth place at the 1983 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland in the hands of Juha Kankkunen and winning the Ivory Coast Rally with Bjorn Waldegard. However by the RAC Rally of the same year the Celica was seriously outclassed. However its toughness was to prove valuable in Africa where it won three consecutive Safari Rallies, the harshest of the lot, from 1984 to 1986, where the conditions defeated the more exotic machinery. The company was working on a 600bhp Group B version of its mid-engined MR2 when Group B was canned.

[Nuwan B4]

good infor thanks machan

[GTAm]

Great post DZ.

My Favourites are,

1. Delta S4

2. 037

3. 205 T16

4. RS200

5. Quattro

[GTAm]

Great post DZ.

My Favourites are,

1. Delta S4

2. 037

3. 205 T16

4. RS200

5. Quattro

[Devinda_Z]

Great post DZ.

My Favourites are,

1. Delta S4

2. 037

3. 205 T16

4. RS200

5. Quattro

i tried to add a poll but for some odd reason it doesn't seem to come out right

[Devinda_Z]

pick you favourite Group B Car

[Supra_Natural]

Dont you have to study?

Here btw, I;m not sure the 288 GTO Evoluzione was a RALLY car.....

[Pericles]

i tried to add a poll but for some odd reason it doesn't seem to come out right

Seems to be ok now.

I'd normally not pick French, but due to fond memories of all the fun we had on Colin McRrae Rally 2 (or was it 3?) on Madmax's PC, I'll go with the Pug 205. Impreza's? Evo's? Forget it. That Pug was the best in the game by a long shot. Damn difficult to to drive due to low weight, high power and loose surfaces. But DAMN it was fun!

Guess its even more fun when running time trials against your friends. Don't remember anyone ever actually trying a rally. Just trying to set the top stage times in different stages.

[Devinda_Z]

Seems to be ok now.

I'd normally not pick French, but due to fond memories of all the fun we had on Colin McRrae Rally 2 (or was it 3?) on Madmax's PC, I'll go with the Pug 205. Impreza's? Evo's? Forget it. That Pug was the best in the game by a long shot. Damn difficult to to drive due to low weight, high power and loose surfaces. But DAMN it was fun!

Guess its even more fun when running time trials against your friends. Don't remember anyone ever actually trying a rally. Just trying to set the top stage times in different stages.

i know what you mean - do the same now with Sega Rally Revo on the XBox360

&yes got the poll working finally

[Devinda_Z]

btw, I;m not sure the 288 GTO Evoluzione was a RALLY car.....

well its both yes and no...in the sense that it was conceptualizied with dreams and aspirations of Group B Race stardom which then fall to Group B Rally sucess , but the sudden and sad demise of the Group B class meant that only a Handful of cars were ever built and none of them actually raced afaik...

i'm going with the "its the though that counts" line of thinking ,cuz some of the other cars either didn't meet specifications for homologation or never got beyond the development stage

[Devinda_Z]

i read somehwere once that in the 1986 season Henri Toivonen made two laps around the Estoril circuit, during a stage of the Portuguese rally, the fastest of which, in 1 minute and 18.1 seconds, would have qualified him in the sixth position of the F1 Grand Prix that same season.

Ayrton Senna had the Pole Position in the 1986 Portuguese Grand Prix in 1 minute and 16.7 seconds!

Toivonen was using the Lancia Delta S4 and was accompanied by his usual co-driver Sergio Cresto

[KLM]

I love the entire Gruppe B generation but I would have to say that the 205T16 and it's successor the 405T16, although it was not strictly a Group B car. Trivia - Mika Hakkinen's first go-kart used to belong to Henri Toivonen. The 959 was also fantastic, to have won the Dakar and Le Mans with essentially the same car is an unbelievable feat.

[GTAm]

pick you favourite Group B Car

My choice - Delta S4 for the twin charger 600bhp engine and ultra light body weight. Winning 1-2 on its debut. And would have definitely dominated the season if Toivonen did not crash and die.

When the rules switched to group A Toivonen's team mate Makku Alen said that coming down from 600bhp to 250, the Delta HF Turbo (later Integrale) did not seem to have an engine .

[GTAm]

i read somehwere once that in the 1986 season Henri Toivonen made two laps around the Estoril circuit, during a stage of the Portuguese rally, the fastest of which, in 1 minute and 18.1 seconds, would have qualified him in the sixth position of the F1 Grand Prix that same season.

Ayrton Senna had the Pole Position in the 1986 Portuguese Grand Prix in 1 minute and 16.7 seconds!

Toivonen was using the Lancia Delta S4 and was accompanied by his usual co-driver Sergio Cresto

Yep I remember the story very well. Pity they just banned them calling them thinly disguised 4WD F1 cars (which they were of course ). They (FIA) should have created a closed circuit racing for Group B on a gravel track. I remember there was a series a bit later in the UK that was dominated by a Metro 6R4.

[Devinda_Z]

I love the entire Gruppe B generation but I would have to say that the 205T16 and it's successor the 405T16, although it was not strictly a Group B car. Trivia - Mika Hakkinen's first go-kart used to belong to Henri Toivonen. The 959 was also fantastic, to have won the Dakar and Le Mans with essentially the same car is an unbelievable feat.

testament to Porsches engineering prowess no doubt

OT , but have any Rally drivers made it over to F1 and made an impact?

[Devinda_Z]

Yep I remember the story very well. Pity they just banned them calling them thinly disguised 4WD F1 cars (which they were of course ). They (FIA) should have created a closed circuit racing for Group B on a gravel track. I remember there was a series a bit later in the UK that was dominated by a Metro 6R4.

the power : weight ratios were insane on those cars and they were develishly quick , but whats crazier than the cars n drivers were the crowds!

its insane how close the spectators get to the cars - think of the risk and presure on the drivers having to virtually dodge spectators while man handling (or in the case Audi & Michelle Mouton : of woman-handling ) those monsters!!

- as you said if the authorities had taken steps to but keep the spectators out of the stages and just plomped them in specific spots behind a crash barrier it would have negated a fair portion of risk...

[KLM]

the power : weight ratios were insane on those cars and they were develishly quick , but whats crazier than the cars n drivers were the crowds!

its insane how close the spectators get to the cars - think of the risk and presure on the drivers having to virtually dodge spectators while man handling (or in the case Audi & Michelle Mouton : of woman-handling ) those monsters!!

- as you said if the authorities had taken steps to but keep the spectators out of the stages and just plomped them in specific spots behind a crash barrier it would have negated a fair portion of risk...

Ya man, rallying was like the wild wild west. Check out the YouTube videos of the Group B guys going through veritable seas of spectators, and you'll see them step away just as the cars gets close - the drivers relied extensively on the navigators' pace notes I guess. If you can find it, check out the Audi TT ad featuring Michele Mouton - it's ridonkeylous how dangerous it was back in the day.

testament to Porsches engineering prowess no doubt

OT , but have any Rally drivers made it over to F1 and made an impact?

I can't seem to think of any rally drivers that have made it over to F1 and done well, although F1 drivers have impressed in rallying on occasion. Jim Clark famously won stages in the very competitive RAC Rally one year in the sixties, in a Lotus Cortina, before rolling the car and retiring. More recently, Minardi and Prost driver Stephane Sarrazin tried his hand at rallying when his single-seater career died, with some success. He won the French national rally championship and was signed by the works Subaru team to contest select WRC rounds in a third factory car. I believe he even made it onto the podium at least one. He has since gone back to circuit racing, with the works Aston Martins in the Le Mans Series.

Apparently Colin McRae had once tested Martin Brundle's Jordan in the mid-nineties and had been astoundingly quick, but never considered a switch. Valentino Rossi also tested Ferrari F1 cars several times and was very very fast for a neophyte - he lapped Fiorana under a second slower than Michael but when push came to shove he decided to stay with bikes for a few more years. Last month he said he wondered what might have been had be switched to cars, although he seems dead set on a career in top-flight rallying after his bike days end.

[Devinda_Z]

Valentino Rossi-He seems dead set on a career in top-flight rallying after his bike days end.

any idea which team he's set to join??

[Devinda_Z]

Ya man, rallying was like the wild wild west. Check out the YouTube videos of the Group B guys going through veritable seas of spectators, and you'll see them step away just as the cars gets close

check out the Audi TT ad featuring Michele Mouton

i found a 70 mintue video on Group B Rallying - put it to download now , cuz it just wasn't practicle to try to buffer n watch...lets hope its good

do post the link to the Advert if you have it please- did some light youtube searching but didn't come across it