Rally Group B - " Most Insane & Badass Rally"

Group B was a set of regulations introduced in 1982 for competition vehicles in sportscar racing and rallying regulated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The Group B regulations fostered some of the fastest, most powerful, and most sophisticated rally cars ever built and is commonly referred to as the golden era of rallying.However, a series of major accidents, some of them fatal, were blamed on their outright speed and lack of crowd control at events. After the death of Henri Toivonen and his co-driver Sergio Cresto in the 1986 Tour de Corse, the FIA disestablished the class, dropped its previous plans to replace it by Group S, and instead replaced it as the top-line formula by Group A. The short-lived Group B era has acquired legendary status among rally fans and automobile enthusiasts in general.





Group B was an era that defined rallying – but it came at a huge cost to those involved, with several drivers and spectators killed during it’s brief tenure. The search for supremacy amongst the manufacturers involved led to 500bhp monsters that were almost impossible to control…but it also produced some of the most memorable and iconic racing cars ever built. Here’s our pick of the Group B era: Group B cars are the legendary monsters of rallying, flame snorting beasts who dominated the stages for half a decade before, like the dinosaurs, they became extinct overnight on 31st December 1986.But they didn't quite disappear completely.Normally aspirated Group B cars hung around on national rallies for a while longer, and British fans enjoyed the Opel Mantas for a couple of years and the clubman's version of the Metro 6R4 for considerably longer. The big beasts though were banished from stage rallying and had to find other habitats. 

Rallycross had been home to boosted versions of the Group B rally cars for several years by the time of the ban. With extra modification allowed, the cars that came to the fore in rallycross turned out not to be the ones battling for top honours on the stages. 

Ford's RS200 had always had potential and the project was killed off prematurely. Fitted with the more powerful engine planned for 1987, it was soon leaving Peugeots and Lancias in its dust, and winning events at the hands of Norway's Martin Schanche.

The only man who could live with Schanche was our own Will Gollop in his Metro 6R4. The 6R4 project, like Rover at the time generally, was something of disaster. Underpowered and unreliable, the team had blundered through a disappointing 1986. However there had been signs of the cars's potential and future world champion Didier Auriel had had some success in a private Metro run by a German team. Gollop added twin turbochargers to his car, which at once wiped out the power disadvantage with Schanche's RS200.

Group B cars could be two-seaters and the minimum production was 200 cars/year. Manufacturers were allowed to homologate an evolution each year by producing 20 cars of that evolution. The cars entered in the races were further modified (same modifications allowed as in Group A). Group B could in theory be used to homologate production sports cars, which could not be homologated in Group N or A, because they did not have four seats or were not produced in large enough numbers (e.g. cars like the Ferrari 308, the Porsche 911, etc.). The designation used in the regulations ("Sports Grand Touring Cars") shows this intention.

The big manufacturers, however, used them in a different way: they designed a rally car, of which 20 were produced and designated the evolution model, and then built a limited series of 200 street cars for homologation. (Similar things have been done before in Group 4, for instance the Lancia Stratos. In some cases these cars were sold at a loss and journalists reviewing them now acknowledge that their development was not quite finished.

In each group there were classes based on engine displacement (with a 1.4 equivalence factor for forced induction engines). Each class had different weight limits, maximum tyre sizes, etc. The most important classes for Group B were the 3000 cc class (2142.8 cc with turbo or supercharger), 960 kg minimum weight (Audi Quattro, Lancia 037) and 2500 cc (1785 cc), 890 kg (Peugeot 205 T16, Lancia Delta S4).

Rallying’s Greatest and Most Dangerous Era 1982-1986

Although the Audi Quattro was still in essence a Group 4 car, it carried Hannu Mikkola to the driver's title in 1983. Lancia had designed a new car to Group B specifications, but the Lancia 037 still had rear wheel drive and was thus less consistent than the Audi over different surfaces (generally the Lancia had the upper hand on tarmac, with the Audi remaining superior on looser surfaces such as snow and gravel). Nevertheless, the 037 performed well enough for Lancia to capture the manufacturers title with a rally to spare, which was generally considered more prestigious at the time. In fact, so low was Lancia's regard for the Drivers Championship, they did not enter a single car into the season finale RAC Rally, despite the fact that driver Walter Röhrl was still in the hunt for the title.

The low homologation requirements quickly attracted manufacturers to Group B. Opel replaced their production-derived Ascona with the Group B Manta 400, and Toyota built a new car based on their Celica. Like the Lancia 037 both cars were rear wheel drive, but, while successful in national rallying in various countries, they were less so at World Championship level, although Toyota won the 1983 Ivory Coast Rally after hiring Swedish desert driving specialist, the late Björn Waldegård.

In 1984, Audi's Stig Blomqvist beat Lancia to the driver's title, although the victory was bittersweet: Midway through the year Peugeot had joined the rallying scene with its Group B 205 T16. The T16 also had four wheel drive and was smaller and lighter than the Audi Quattro. At the wheel was the 1981 driver's champion Ari Vatanen, with future Ferrari Formula One team manager and FIA President Jean Todt overseeing the operation. A crash prevented the T16 from winning its first rally but the writing was on the wall for Audi.

The search for supremacy amongst the manufacturers involved led to 500bhp monsters that were almost impossible to control…but it also produced some of the most memorable and iconic racing cars ever built. Here’s pick of the Group B era:

Audi Quattro S1The one that started it all, the S1 dominated rallying in 1983 and 1984 due to the now infamous Quattro four-wheel-drive system. Before the Audi came along, rallying was a rear-wheel-drive sport but the previous winner, the Lanica 037, would go down in history as being the last rear-wheel-drive car to win the WRC, so Audi’s influence is still being felt today. The Quattro is seen as the ultimate Group B car and was thought to be the most powerful when the era was killed off, with the car producing close to 600bhp.

Peugeot 205 T16The Quattro may have been the most powerful Group B car…but it was Peugeot that produced the most reliable and controllable car, and that combination led to two consecutive titles in the ’85 and ’86 seasons. The T16 was small but mighty, winning one-in-two of every rally event it entered – and thanks to the homologation rules, a road-going T16 was produced which had the flared arches and drivetrain of it’s rallying sibling, albeit with half the power!

Lancia Delta S4Lancia are rallying royalty but had their nose put out of joint when the Group B regulations were introduced, as their all-conquering 037 was suddenly being left in the other cars’ dust. Their response was the Delta…and even by Group B’s standards, it was insane. Capable of reaching 0-60 in under 2 seconds (on loose gravel!), the Delta S4 was a four-wheel-drive, turbocharged and supercharged beast that was partly responsible for the demise of Group B, as a crash at the 1986 Tour de Corse event led to the Group B regulations being outlawed. After this, the Group A-spec Delta went on to become the most successful rally car of all time.

Ford RS200After failing to make an impact on Group B with the rear-wheel-drive Escort, Ford introduced the four-wheel-drive RS200 to huge expectations…but unfortunately it never quite lived up to the hype. The RS200 produced around 400bhp, which was significantly down on it’s rivals and because of this, never placed higher than 3rd in a WRC event. After the demise of Group B, the RS200 went on to compete successfully in rallycross.

MG Metro 6R4The MG Metro was usually seen being driven to the shops by an elderly relative, so when it emerged in Group B guise, with huge front and rear spoilers and a 2.9l V6 engine, it shocked the rallying world. Unfortunately, despite an impressive 3rd place finish on it’s competitive debut, Group B regulations were binned just 6 months later…so the 6R4 also went on to become a rallycross legend, alongside the Ford RS200.

The stage was set for 1986 to be a very exciting season. Defending champion Timo Salonen had the new Evolution 2 version of Peugeot's 205 T16 with ex Toyota driver, Juha Kankkunen. Audi's new Sport Quattro S1 boasted over 600 hp (450 kW) and a huge snowplough-like front end. Lancia's Delta S4 would be in the hands of the Finnish prodigy Henri Toivonen and Markku Alén, and Ford was ready with its high tech RS200 with Stig Blomqvist and Kalle Grundel.

On the "Lagoa Azul" stage of the Portuguese Rally near Sintra everything went tragically wrong. Portuguese national champion Joaquim Santos crested a rise, turning to his right to avoid a small group of spectators. This caused him to lose control of his RS200. The car veered to the right and slid off the road into the spectators. Thirty-one people were injured and three were killed. All the top teams immediately pulled out of the rally and Group B was placed in jeopardy.

The crash came a year after Lancia driver Attilio Bettega had crashed and died in his 037. While that fatality was largely blamed on the unforgiving Corsican scenery (and bad luck, as his co-driver, Maurizio Perissinot was uninjured), Toivonen and Cresto's death, combined with the Portugal tragedy and televised accident of F1 driver Marc Surer in another RS200 which killed co-driver Michel Wyder, compelled the FIA to act: Group B cars were immediately banned for 1987. Audi decided to quit Group B entirely after Corsica.

The final days of Group B would also be controversial. The Peugeots were disqualified from the Rally San Remo by the Italian scrutineers as the 'skirts' around the bottom of the car were deemed to be illegal. Peugeot immediately accused the Italians of favouring the Lancias. Their case was strengthened at the next event, the RAC Rally, when the British scrutineers passed the Peugeots as legal in identical trim. France based FISA annulled the result of the San Remo Rally eleven days after the final round in America. As a result, the championship title was passed from Lancia's Markku Alén to Peugeot's Juha Kankkunen. Timo Salonen had won another two rallies during the 1986 season and became the most successful group B era driver with a total of 7 wins.

Although 1987 saw the end of the Group B cars on the world stage they did not disappear from motorsport. Peugeot adapted their T16 to run in the Dakar Rally. Ari Vatanen won the event in 1987, 1989 and 1990. Improved Peugeot and Audi cars also competed in the Pikes Peak Hillclimb in Colorado. Walter Röhrl's S1 Rally car won the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in 1987 and set a new record at the time. Audi used their Group B experience to develop a production based racing car for the Trans-Am and IMSA GTO series in 1988 and 1989 respectively. Ford sold off their RS200s to private buyers, with many being used in European Rallycross events from the beginning of 1987 till the end of 1992. The Metro 6R4 also became a frequent sight in Rallycross and the car was also entered in British and Irish national championship events. Porsche's 959 never entered a World Rally event, although it did compete in the Middle East championship and swept the Dakar. The category as a circuit racer never succeeded as the cars proved to be too expensive for privateer teams which they were intended for. At US$325,000 for 961, the 959's sister car, many privateers would rather opt for the less expensive clone 962 or Spice chassis and were never expected to win in the face of the well funded factory teams. The 961's career proved to be short as the only prototype Porsche built caught fire in the 1987 Le Mans race. The Ferrari 288 GTO was built and sold the minimum requirement of cars to the public, however it never saw action in its category. The WSPC grids it was intended for was filled up by a batch of Group C cars, but it saw limited use in an IMSA GTO race in 1989. The F40, a road car built to celebrate Ferrari's 40th anniversary, appeared in various GT races for a few seasons after the demise of the Gr. C category, but was to be made obsolete by the new generation GT1 cars such as the McLaren F1, and ultimately present-day GT3 cars.

Source:- wikipedia, google images,driveden,