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The 5 greatest Group B rally cars of all time
30 years on from the final season of Group B WRC action, we look at the era’s most iconic machines.
It's three decades since those glorious Group B rally cars flew in the WRC. For many rally fans, the Group B era still represents the pinnacle of the World Rally Championship, a four-year period from 1982 to 1986 when cars were allowed unlimited amounts of boost and rallying came close to rivalling Formula One in popularity.
But with machines tuned to upwards of 600bhp and crowd control that was at best lax and at worst non-existent, Group B’s fate was grimly predictable. So when Finnish driver Henri Toivonen fatally crashed at the 1986 Tour de Corse, rallying had its wings clipped and it was all over for Group B.
But those ferocious cars live on as fabled monsters in rallying’s collective memory. So to celebrate, here's our five favourite Group B cars – out of the 56 that were ever planned for competition – from the WRC's history.
1. Audi Quattro
Walter Röhrl in the Quattro S1 E2
© Audi
Best moment: Hannu Mikkola and Stig Blomqvist winning consecutive Drivers’ titles behind the wheel of Quattros in 1983 and 1984
Worst moment: Audi’s decision to pull out of Group B immediately following a fatal crash at the 1986 Rally de Portugal
Why it’s here: Quite simply, the Quattro is the most important rally car of all time
There have been game-changers in rally, but nothing on the scale of the Audi Quattro. WRC manufacturers had initially resisted adopting four-wheel-drive on their cars, thinking that the extra weight and complexity of the systems would cancel out any advantages. But when the original non-Group B Quattro debuted in 1980, it immediately showed that a well-sorted four-wheel-drive system was the business.
When Audi brought out the Group B versions of the car, first the A1 and the A2 and then the radical Sport Quattro, the formula was refined; power figures were increasingly hiked to a reported 591bhp in 1986, and the blueprint of modern rally cars was set. But what really gets rally fans hot under the collar is the vision of the Quattro S1 E2’s enormous wings and the primordial timbre of the car’s five-cylinder engine howling at full chat. Pure. Rally. Heaven.
Watch Walter Röhrl piloting his Sport Quattro in between a wall of fans at the 1985 Rally de Portugal in the video below.
2. Lancia Delta S4
The Lancia Delta S4 was a beauty and a beast
© McKlein Image Database
Best moment: Henri Toivonen winning on the car’s debut at the 1985 Lombard RAC Rally
Worst moment: Toivonen’s fatal crash at the 1986 Tour de Corse
Why we picked it: The Delta S4 perfectly embodied the brute force of Group B
When Lancia unveiled their first Group B effort, the beautiful 037 coupé, it was love at first sight for rally fans. But by 1985, the rear-wheel-drive machine was starting to flounder against its four-wheel-drive rivals. The vicious Delta S4, turbocharged, supercharged, and with all four wheels driven, was Lancia's solution. Henri Toivonen took victory in the car’s first two events. But then at the 1986 Tour de Corse, Toivonen lost control of the 550bhp S4 and was killed, along with his co-driver Sergio Cresto. The crash brought Group B to an end, with the FIA – the sport's governing body – ruling that the regulations would be outlawed at the end of the 1986 season. Despite that, the S4 won three more times after Toivonen’s death, while its successor, the Group A-spec Delta, would go on to become the most successful rally car of all time.
Watch a Delta S4 prototype being tested in 1984 in the video below.
3. Peugeot 205 T16
Ari Vatanen with his Peugeot 205 T16
© Peugeot
Best moment: Claiming two straight Constructors' and Drivers' titles (with Timo Salonen and Juha Kankkunen) in 1985 and 1986
Worst moment: Ari Vatanen’s career-destroying crash in his 205 T16 at the 1985 Rally Argentina
Why we picked it: The little Peugeot was the dominant car of the late Group B era
When the Peugeot 205 T16 arrived in the World Rally Championship midway through the 1984 season, it immediately became the Group B car to beat. Taking its first stage win just two tests into its WRC debut at the '84 Tour de Corse, the 205 T16 would go on to claim one in two of every WRC rounds it was entered into. With legendary drivers like Ari Vatanen, Michèle Mouton and Juha Kankkunen behind the wheel, and future Ferrari F1 team principal Jean Todt at the helm, Peugeot and the 205 T16 were the true mid-80s WRC superpower.
Watch the video of gratuitous Peugeot 205 T16 highlights below.
4. Ford Escort RS200
The RS200 was a bit of a monster...
© Ford
Best moment: Kalle Grundel’s third place on the RS200’s WRC debut at the 1986 Rally Sweden
Worst moment: A privately-owned RS200 being involved in a fatal crash with spectators one event later at Rally de Portugal
Why we picked it: The RS200 is one of the classic Group B shapes, and the fact that it’s a Ford makes it the working man’s Group B machine
Having tried and failed to succeed in Group B with the rear-wheel-drive Escort RS1700T in 1983, Ford unveiled the four-wheel-drive RS200, a car purpose-built for rally competition, in late 1985. With a glass fibre body made by Reliant (they of Reliant Robin fame) and an engine that put out around 400bhp in race trim, the RS200 found itself down on power compared to its rivals – a fact compounded by chronic low rpm lag from the single turbocharger. Despite that, its iconic beautiful/ugly design and its later success in rallycross mean that the RS200 remains a true Group B hero, even if it never got to show its full potential.
Watch current M-Sport boss Malcolm Wilson competing in the 1985 Lindisfarne Rally with the RS200 in the video below.
5. MG Metro 6R4
The 6R4 was an unlikely rally star
© British Leyland
Best moment: Tony Pond’s third place on the car’s debut at the 1985 Lombard RAC Rally
Worst moment: Group B finished just six months into the 6R4’s competition life
Why we picked it: The dinky 6R4 is the most lovable Group B car
Austin Rover’s tiny, mad MG Metro 6R4 was a late arrival to the Group B party. Engineered by the Williams F1 team, the 6R4's non-turbocharged 2.9-litre V6 engine cranked out 410bhp, and later saw service in Jaguar’s XJ220 supercar. Despite the 6R4's shortness making it infamously difficult to drive fast, plus the fact that it suffered from serious reliability issues, the little Metro still managed to wriggle its way into the hearts of rally fans in its short WRC career.
Watch Kris Meeke pushing a Metro 6R4 to the limit on the streets of Donegal in the video below.
