Group B: Powerful, Fast and Deadly
Renault R5 Turbo
If you are a fan of the World Rally Championship (WRC) today, than you have undoubtedly heard of the notorious Group B class rally cars from the early 1980s. First introduced in 1982 Group B was a direct replacement for Group 4 and Group 5 modified grand touring and touring prototype cars. What made the group B class so special was the relatively open nature of the rules. Low homologation numbers (200 cars), low minimum weight, and the unlimited use of forced induction meant the group B cars were destined to be rockets, with some cars putting out over 600 horsepower in the final development of the series. As the series progressed this uncapped performance would show its downside in the form of serious wrecks several of which proved to be fatal. With both spectators and drivers getting killed Group B was unable to sustain itself, coming to an end in 1986.
Metro 6R4
One of the neatest aspects of Group B was how many manufacturers jumped into the fray to compete. Leading the way was Audi’s all wheel drive Sport Quattro S1; a vehicle which despite its all wheel drive traction advantage would quickly prove too heavy to dominate the sport. Lancia competed with both the cool looking and successful 037 Rally and the Delta S4. Peugot burst onto the scene with the all wheel drive 205 T16 which had plenty of traction without the weight of the Audi’s giving the car the competitive edge. Other notable cars include Ford’s RS200, the Austin (MG) Metro 6R4, the Renault 5 Turbo, and the Porsche 959. There were also several Japanese manufacturers who entered cars and although they enjoyed only moderate success overall, their race cars were damn cool: Mitsubishi ran an all wheel drive Starion, Nissan campaigned the 240RS, Mazda developed a 4×4 version of the RX-7 and Toyota competed in a modified all wheel drive Celica.
Now that you know a bit of the history, here is a great video with narration that can explain it further. But the best part of course is the on course action and the thrilling sounds of these Group B monsters.
If you want to read up on Group B some more check out this link: Group B
-Bill Mertz
WRC, World Rally, Group B, racing, motorsport, rally, Lancia, Renault, Audi, Metro, Peugot, RS200, Ford, Toyota, turbo, forced induction
