The Greatest Cars Of Group B Rally

Group B was the best era for rally. There were fast cars with basically no restrictions and there were tons of teams competing. These were the “golden years of rally”, from 1982-86. The reason the class ended was that the cars became increasingly faster and the drivers were struggling to keep them under control, resulting in 30 spectators and 3 drivers and co-drivers killed due to accidents. Even though they were sometimes uncontrollable and too fast the era of Group B had some of the greatest rally cars of all time, and here a few.

My personal favourite car has to be the MG Metro 6R4. It’s just so good looking and the sound just ties it all together. It can rev up to 10,000 RPMs and its V6 engine was actually pretty reliable and it was pretty good on the dirt. The only problem was it had low horsepower so It was not as fast as all the other cars but it had a certain character to it that made it feel fast and nimble.

I could not write about Group B without mentioning the Audi Quattro. It was the first 4wd road car. and It really revolutionized 4wd for all cars. Because of the system, it was the fastest car that ever raced in Group B. It had a whopping 600 horsepower and had an unrivalled 0-60 time of 3.8 seconds due to its really advanced 4wd system (at the time). You could barely see its iconic yellow because it would fly past you going well over 100mph. It was the most successful rally car ever, winning 5 out of the 6 championships it entered. Its hands down the best rally car of all time and I think that title will stay for a while.

Photo Credit to Classic Driver for photo

The next car I really like is one of the cars people don’t consider when they think about group B. The Ferrari 308 GTB was a car you really would not expect in rally. It was in the highest class of group B and because it was Initially a road car so it was never that good on the dirt. It did do pretty well on the road though getting 1 or 2 victories along the way. But I would say the thing that made this car really amazing was the sound. It was a naturally aspirated Italian V8 and the sound was just so pure. (Click Here for sound. All credit to surfblue63 on YouTube). It was slow and it had low horsepower, but it was a big fan favourite just for that loud growly sound.

Even though it was only driven for the last year of group B the Ford RS200s ruled the dirt. It as small, light and even all-wheel drive. It had some of the best handling in Group B. In total, in only one year of racing the RS200 had 19 wins and 32 podiums. The mid-engined 4-banger had over 550 horsepower and held the fastest 0-60 time for over 10 years. It had a very awkward driving position where drivers had to crunch up their knees, Ken Block even has to take off his shoes every time he drove one because the pedal position was bizarre too. This has to be one of my personal dream cars, I just love the way it looks and how utterly fast it is. Although I don’t think I'm getting one soon because they sell for up to 600k at auctions and that’s a little pricey for a Ford that breaks down a lot. All jokes aside this crazy car was one of the fastest cars in Group B even though it only raced for one year.

Lancia was the underdog in Group B, they only had RWD cars for the first years but they still won the first-ever championship of Group B. The two cars they entered were the 037 (1982-1984) and the Delta S4 (1985-1986). The 037 was a very very fast car but it was only really good at the tarmac stages. So whenever there was a road course Lancia would bring three times as many 037s as they usually would. The Delta S4 on the other hand, was better on the gravel because it was all-wheel drive. It was an all-round faster car but It was also way more dangerous. In the last stage of the 1986 Tour De Corse track, the Delta was moments away from winning the championship when It came round the second to last corner and smashed into a brick wall tumbled over and both the driver and co-driver were killed in the accident. Just a few days later the FIA called off Group B.

Group B was later replaced with Group A which was renamed WRC in 2013. WRC has many new rules and engine limits that makes it way safer for spectators and drivers. Even though Group B was short-lived, it had some of the best rally cars of all time and it will go down in history as one of the best racing series of all time.

Cover Picture Credit: Motor 1