Your favourite Group B car?

[Barrie]

Tell me what your favourite Group B car was and your favourite memory of it. I loved the RS200, Peugeot 205T16 was superb, but my personal favourite is the Audi Quattro Sport S1, what a brutal hooligan of a car, Ive seen 1 or 2 in action in rallycross, I can honestly say I was mesmerized watching and the sound was just awesome. Olle Arnessen competing for the lead with Jan Iversens RS200 at Brands is my best memory, and the master Stig Blomqvist with the driving skill to tame be beast.

[Danielsun]

As much as I love RS Fords (not that anyone didn't already know that) I think this one has to go to one of the 205 or Quattro. They were just so totally dominant in their time. The Lancia 037 is another of my faves...

[TimD]

MG Metro 6R4.

I like the idea of taking one of the nastiest small cars ever made, dropping a mid-mounted V-6 into it and then hitting it lots with the ugly stick.

Pedigree motorised nutter. A rollerskate on steroids. What more can I say?

[Danielsun]

I'm just waiting for RickP to arrive and start talking about the Renault 5 Turbo...

Tim's found another gem in the 6R4, however.

[chunder]

No doubts here. The Delta S4 has to be the best GpB car. Seeing one in full flow left me in total awe. The sound is what did it.
The compressor and the high revs of the engine. Total sex on wheels.
Rally cross wise, the Quattros were always good but my favourite was Arne Rasmushaugen's stupidly powerful twin turbo 6R4. The thing was just an accident waiting to happen, sheer power and beauty.
We need more brute force formulas like this

[Barrie]

The Delta S4 was also an awesome bit of machinery. I was lucky enough to see one in the hands of Finnish driver Matti Alamaki, and would agree with chunder, the noise was awesome, standing of paddock hill bend hearing it approach hairy hill, from top speed to slow 2nd gear right turn, compressor, turbo waste-gate sounds, completed with a full 4 wheel slide, just magnificent.

[KC]

The Gruppe B era was the best. All of the cars are awesome, but I must say my favorite is the Lancia Stratos HF. That car had such a distinct look and Ferrari Dino power.

[elephino]

I'd say the 205T16 for me and the Audi quattro. They were all just awesome cars. Makes me wish I could have seen them in person flying through the forests.

[chunder]

Barrie, sounds like, like me, you are a fan of rallycross.
THe late eighties,early nineties were the real golden age of the sport me thinks. I remember going to Croft and having a C Final for the supercars there were so many of them.
Such a shame that the sport is suffering a little now.
Would love to hear more from you and any other rallycross fans out there.
THe sounds and smells of GpB will stay with me forever.
Did you ever stand right next to the guys when they were on the rollers warming up? I remember being next to Sven Lestanders Quattro S1 when he was running in a new engine, watching six foot flames come out of the side exhaust over my foot and Sven happily telling me what he was doing. Those were the days, tar for the memories

[Barrie]

Firstly, nice to here from you again Chunder, and yes it would be great to talk with like minded people about the glorious sport of rallycross. I regularly write to Arthur Debenham, great ambassador for the sport, and he agrees more public awareness of the sport can only be a positive thing, and the internet is just the tool to do that, perhaps even a rallycross forum on ten-tenths. Great to read your story of Lestanders Quattro. I am 27 now and have closely followed rallycross since I was a small boy, that mainly because my uncle was competing in the British Championship from the early eighties onwards, so I would say there isnt alot I dont know about rallycross.
I would have to disagree when you say the sport is suffering now. The British championship will be very good this year, and as for the Euro-championship it is at its best again, as a result I will be travelling to watch the Norwegian Euro round, cant wait. hope to here from you and other rallycross fans soon,
e-mail....Heidi.morris@btinternet.com

[Zep]

It's shame I never did see S1 in action. I've always loved it's aerodynamics... Pikes Peak 88 Walter Rörhl with S1 and Ari Vatanen in 205T16, both car with a massive wings. Wow! But I'm happy to say that I saw in 1986, 1000 Lakes: 205T16, S4 and 6R4. I was 9 years, but I can still remember them... Talking about Matti Alamäki's S4... I have picture of it in my homepages as also RS200 and 405T16. The pictures are from AUTO 89 car show. S4 was owned then by Jarmo Lähteenmäki.

personal.inet.fi/surf/mpuumala/autourheilu

I'm also about to put a picture of 405T16 Pikes Peak.

[DAVID PATERSON]

I find it hard to choose between the Audi Quattro and Puegeot 205. Both awesome cars.

Group B created far more diversity than the homogenous WRC/Group A cars of today.

[woodyracing]

I like the 6R4 and the RS200, both are awesome

i've seen a few stationary RS200's but no 6R4s yet.

Woody

[Neil Bye]

The S4 was my fave, It smelt brill too, 11pm in Keilder and then all of a sudden pop pop scream bang pop, and then just a lingering smell of Finas finest!

Not a Group B car I know but the 306 Maxi is bloody gorgeous looking.

[rdjones]

As I was about 8 or 9 I do not really remember the Group B cars. But can remember being on the RAC in either '85 or '86 at Clumber Park and being s*** scared by the Lancia Delta S4, as it was far far lound than the rest of the cars. But they where wonderful cars and wonder what the current cars would look like in Group B configeration.

[Devlin]

My personal favourites are the 405 T16 (too bad it never had the chance to shine in the WRC), and the Delta S4. Speaking of Group B monsters, I recently saw a photo of a rally version of BMW M1. Apparently, it was driven by Bernard Beguin in the French national championship (in 1983, I think), but that's about all I was able to find about the particular car. Hints anyone?

[Ian Jones]

Group B,
Toivonen in the S4 was a master,the 6R4 underpowered,
Mark Lovell and Stig Blomqvist brilliant in the Rs200s,205T16s driven by Kankkunen & Timo Salonen were awesome but the noisiest and wildest was the Quattro S1
driven by anybody from Rohrl,Mikkola,Olle Arnesson,Herbie
Breitneider<in rallyX>just awesome.
Have a look at my site for a few golden oldies from GroupB
also watch out in 2001 for Pat Doran in the British Rallycross in his RS200,he is fast,be warned.
The good and bad old days from the 80's never to return.
Ian Jones

[KA]

Originally posted by Devlin
My personal favourites are the 405 T16 (too bad it never had the chance to shine in the WRC), and the Delta S4. Speaking of Group B monsters, I recently saw a photo of a rally version of BMW M1. Apparently, it was driven by Bernard Beguin in the French national championship (in 1983, I think), but that's about all I was able to find about the particular car. Hints anyone?

Think I've got some info on the M1- I 've definitely got a model of it (Quartzo did a 1/43 a couple of years back in various liveries- mostly racers, but including the rallycar)- I know it wasn't too successful. I'll get back to you on this.

Personal favourite Group B- without a doubt the 6R4- I'm a rallycross fan too....

[racer69]

My favourite was the Opel Manta 400, especially the likes of Russel Brookes and Jimmy Mcrae throwing them around British rallies, how Brookes won the 1985 BRC i'll never know, pity they didn't do more on the world scene.

The best was the Peugeot 205T16, although if Group B had continued the Delta S4 and RS200 would have challenged it.

[AdrianG]

Originally posted by Devlin
My personal favourites are the 405 T16 (too bad it never had the chance to shine in the WRC), and the Delta S4. Speaking of Group B monsters, I recently saw a photo of a rally version of BMW M1. Apparently, it was driven by Bernard Beguin in the French national championship (in 1983, I think), but that's about all I was able to find about the particular car. Hints anyone?

The BMW M1 first competed at world championship level on the 1982 Tour of Corsica, the same event as Lancia's 037. It produced 430Bhp from it's 3.5l 6cyl engine, and weighed 1150kg. The car was actually run by the ORECA team, and had best results of two second places, one on the 1983 Lyon-Charbonnieres rally and the Antibes rally.
Main problems with the car were reliability and size. It was a good twenty cm wider than anything else competing at the time. The car never competed on a gravel event.

Also the 405 T16 was just a rebodied 205 T16. The 205 actually competed on the Paris-Dakar until being rebodied for marketing reasons.

Hope this info satisfies you Devlin.

[AdrianG]

My favorite Group B rally car?

Without a doubt it would have to be Citroen fine BX 4TC!!!



Yeah right!

The car was ugly, underpowered, unreliable and did not handle. It only competed on three world championship events, with just one finish, sixth in Sweden. In the Acropolis rally all three cars had retiered by the end of stage two, one car had an accident and the other two had suspension failure.


Seriously my favorite Group B car would have to be the Ford RS200. Although this car did get much sucess due to a short competitive life and the fact it was competing in original form against cars that had already had an evolution it gained a reputation for being the best handling of the Group B cars. It was also a stunning looking car due to it being a car started from scratch and not supposed to represent a small hatch or family size saloon.

[Devlin]

Thanx AdrianG, that was informative. The history of Peugeot's 205/405 T16s is well known, but this Beemer was a bit of a mistery to me. I knew they created a whole new (circuit) racing series back in the early eighties to race those things, and they were in support role to F1, but I never knew that someone actually used them to go rallying. I guess that was just one of those doomed projects, much like the BX 4TC you mentioned. Who knows what else we would have seen had Group B not been banned? Some say Ferrari were about to get involved in the whole thing with their 288GTO...

[twin 40's]

yeah, Ferrari and Jag both got into Gp B the year it was banned. THe F40 was created after Gp B was banned, they detuned and strengthened their racer and hey presto. I thinkthe XJ220 was also born under Gp B rules.

I noticed no-one has mentioned the Manta, that one was also a Group B car. I was 5 years too late though. It did also get one international win on some french rally, but they changed the rules so it was disqualified, notice a pattern, Mini, Jag (coulthard and XJ220)Manta.

Now that I have got politics out on my system, I loathe my Renault 5 campus but would quite like a Corsica spec. Renault 5 Turbo 2, they look like an giant roller skate and I would get cheaper insurance as is only 1400cc hahaha.

My favoutite is either the 205T16 or the Quattro S1. given the cash I would probably buy a Quattro as the sound of the engine at full chat is stunning, but the 205 would be nice to have. DECISIONS I HATE 'EM!!!!!!!!