9 of the maddest rally cars ever, Top Gear
The nine maddest rally cars ever
Fords, Ferraris, Mantas and Metros: we pick the nine craziest cars to ever go rallying
Mazda RX-7 Group B
Group B had ALL the noises. But up until 1984, the Golden Era of rallying lacked one of motoring’s finest: rotary engines.
Fortunately, Mazda entered in 1984. But this particular RX-7 never got to run, as Group B was over before it spotted a stage.
Audi Group S
Audi’s engineers secretly cooked up a dozen 1,000bhp, mid-engined rally prototypes in the Eighties.
But when the bosses found out (via the police) about some – ahem – dubious testing, they demanded all twelve prototypes were ruined. This one survived.
Toyota 222D
Here’s what happens when you have a wish to go rallying alongside a spare Le Guy’s engine.
It’s the mid-engined, four-wheel-drive 222D – a potent Group S MR2 that unluckily never turned a wheel in anger, as Group S was regrettably scrapped.
Ferrari three hundred eight GTB Group B
You don’t see many Ferrari rally cars, do you? That’s because Ferrari doesn’t do rallying.
That didn’t stop Italian race team Michelotto building around a dozen 308s to Group four regs in the late Seventies, however.
MG Metro 6R4
Wanting to combine the benefits of both the Audi quattro (4WD) and Renault five Turbo (mid-engined), the Metro 6R4 (that stands for 6-cyl, Rally car, 4WD) was Group B’s pocket rocket.
Plagued with mechanical failures, tho’, its best WRC result was third at the one thousand nine hundred eighty five Lombard RAC Rally.
Opel Manta 400
The Manta four hundred made its debut at Tour of Corsica in 1983. It lasted only one hundred miles before the head gasket failed, previewing the results of future rallies.
With Kevlar bodywork and 275bhp, it was lightweight and powerful for a rear-wheel-drive car.
Ford Escort RS 1700T
Group B’s disregard for limiting spectacle permitted Ford to design its very first silhouette rally car. It draped a MkIII Escort assets over a custom-made RWD chassis.
Its costly and slow development meant it was scrapped in favour of a 4WD car: the mid-engined RS200.
Citroen BX 4TC Evolution
As unsuccessful Group B projects go, the Citroen BX 4TC was pretty much the most spectacular. It didn’t hit the World Rally stage until one thousand nine hundred eighty six and only managed three competitive appearances.
Looked wonderfully mad, tho’.
Nissan two hundred forty RS
The 240RS was the Group B version of the lightly forgotten Violet GTS. What it lacked in spectacle, it made up in reliability.
And in the palms of Colin McRae, it brought results. Being a homologation car, two hundred infrequent, boxy-arched road cars had to be produced. Excellent.
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