Rally History Archive

Audi's original long-wheelbase quattro, shortened Sport quattro and 1985 S1 E2 changed rally-car engineering through permanent all-wheel drive. The family helped secure Audi's 1982 and 1984 manufacturers' crowns and the 1983 and 1984 drivers' titles.

BMW's naturally aspirated rear-wheel-drive E30 M3 was homologated for Group A in March 1987. Bernard Béguin and Jean-Jacques Lenne won the 1987 Tour de Corse in a Rothmans-backed, Prodrive-prepared M3, its defining WRC rally victory.

The Citroën BX 4TC Evolution was a short-lived 1986 Group B car with a 2,141 cc turbocharged longitudinal engine and hydropneumatic suspension. Jean-Claude Andruet and Annick Peuvergne finished sixth in Sweden; the works programme ended after three WRC events.

The Renault 12-derived Dacia 1300 was homologated for FIA Group 1 as a 1,289 cc front-wheel-drive car in 1973. It remained a practical Romanian rally platform into the early 1980s, but a specific works WRC victory or fixed competition power rating is not documented.

The Abarth-developed, Bertone-bodied Fiat 131 Rally was a rear-wheel-drive Group 4 world champion. Fiat's third manufacturers' crown and Walter Röhrl's drivers' title came in 1980, with Christian Geistdörfer navigating, the high point of its final works-era campaign.

Ford's Mk2 Escort RS1800 was a rear-wheel-drive Group 4 stalwart. Despite Ford withdrawing its full works team after 1979, David Sutton's Rothmans-backed Escorts carried Ari Vatanen and David Richards to the 1981 WRC drivers' crown.

The mid-engined, four-wheel-drive Ford RS200 received FIA Group B homologation B-280 in February 1986. Kalle Grundel and Benny Melander finished third in Sweden, but Ford's short WRC programme ended without a win before the category was banned.

Ford's rear-wheel-drive Sierra RS Cosworth won the 1988 Tour de Corse with Didier Auriol and Bernard Occelli. The distinct four-wheel-drive Sierra Sapphire Cosworth was homologated in August 1990, outside the 1980s.

Developed by Lancia, Abarth and Pininfarina, the mid-engined, supercharged, rear-wheel-drive Lancia Rally 037 won the 1983 WRC manufacturers' championship. It was the last rear-drive car to secure that title.

Lancia's Group A Delta HF 4WD, Integrale 8-valve and Integrale 16-valve evolutions secured manufacturers' championships in 1987, 1988 and 1989. Juha Kankkunen won the 1987 drivers' title and Miki Biasion the 1988–89 crowns.

The mid-engined Lancia Delta S4 was a twincharged, four-wheel-drive Group B prototype in hatchback disguise. Toivonen and Neil Wilson won its 1985 RAC debut; 1986 successes and Toivonen/Cresto's fatal Tour de Corse crash preceded Group B's cancellation.

Developed by Austin Rover with Williams Grand Prix Engineering, the MG Metro 6R4 was a rear-mid-engined 4WD Group B car with a naturally aspirated 2,991 cc V6. Tony Pond and Rob Arthur finished third at its 1985 RAC WRC debut; the prototype's cut-down V8 engine is a different specification.

The 1980s Mazda 323 4WD Turbo/GTX was the BFMR Familia Group A hatchback, not the later BG 323 GT-R. Timo Salonen won Sweden in 1987 and Ingvar Carlsson won Sweden and New Zealand in 1989, giving Mazda three WRC round victories.

The Nissan 240RS (BS110) was a naturally aspirated 2,340 cc FJ24-powered, rear-drive Group B Silvia derivative. Timo Salonen/Seppo Harjanne finished second in New Zealand in 1983; Mike Kirkland/Anton Levitan added a Safari third in 1985.

Opel's rear-wheel-drive Ascona 400 was a Cosworth-influenced four-cylinder Group 4 rally car later homologated for Group B. Walter Röhrl and Christian Geistdörfer won Monte Carlo and Ivory Coast in 1982, securing the drivers' title while Audi took the manufacturers' crown.

Peugeot's mid-engined, all-wheel-drive 205 Turbo 16 won the 1985 and 1986 WRC manufacturers' titles with drivers' crowns for Timo Salonen and Juha Kankkunen. The 1985 Evolution 2 is distinct from the original 1984 T16 and later rally-raid conversions.

Renault's mid-engined, rear-drive 5 Turbo won Monte Carlo in 1981 and Corsica in 1982. The cost-reduced Turbo 2, FIA Group B client evolutions and 1,527 cc Maxi 5 Turbo that won Corsica in 1985 are related but technically distinct variants.

The Subaru Leone RX Turbo combined a 1.8-litre EA82 turbo flat-four with four-wheel drive for Subaru's pre-Legacy rally effort. Mike Kirkland/Robin Nixon finished sixth, and Frank Tundo/Quentin Thomson seventh, at the 1986 Safari Rally in Group A cars.

The rear-wheel-drive 2,174 cc Talbot Sunbeam Lotus secured Talbot's 1981 WRC manufacturers' title. Henri Toivonen/Paul White won the 1980 RAC Rally; Guy Fréquelin/Jean Todt won the 1981 Rally Codasur in a Group 2-classified Sunbeam.

Toyota's Group A Celica GT-Four ST165 debuted internationally in 1988 and earned its first WRC victory with Juha Kankkunen/Juha Piironen at the 1989 Rally Australia. Carlos Sainz's first drivers' championship came in 1990, not during the 1980s.

Volkswagen's front-drive Golf GTI carried rally competition from the Mk1's 1980 Monte Carlo fifth and 1981 German title to the Mk2 GTI 16V's inaugural 1986 Group A drivers' world championship, won by Kenneth Eriksson/Peter Diekmann. That was separate from the overall WRC title.

The rear-engined, rear-drive 1,290 cc Škoda 130 LR obtained FIA Group B approval effective January 1985 and won the 1986 Günaydin Rally outright in the European Championship. Its provisional 1986 Sanremo sixth place was invalidated when the whole WRC event was annulled.