1. The Audi Sport quattro was a short-wheelbase version of the regular car. One of them was piloted by the most successful female rally driver of all time – Michele Mouton.
2. Toyota built a RWD Celica Turbo Group B car that had a dry-sumped 2.1ltr engine with two spark plugs per cylinder. It’s not a well-known Group B car but did well in African rallies and won six events over the years.
3. Another lesser-known Group B car was the Mazda RX-7, which had a 300bhp normally aspirated rotary engine and managed a third place overall in the 1985 Acropolis Rally. But by 1986 the other Group B cars were so fast that the RX-7 wasn’t competitive anymore.
4. Citroen Group B cars were a bit strange. The Visa 1000 Piste was a 1.4ltr, 145bhp 4WD car, and their BX4TC was a turbo 4WD version of the normal BX, complete with an unusual pneumatic suspension setup. Guess what? They were both pretty shit.
5. Lancia’s first Group B car was the mid-engined, RWD, supercharged 037. That proved successful, and they introduced the awesome 4WD DeltaS4 in 1986, which featured an engine that was fitted with both a turbocharger and a supercharger.
6. The biggest transformation from standard car to Group B machine was the Metro 6R4. The name was derived from it having six cylinders, being rear-engined and having 4WD. The engine was also used in Jag Group C racers and the XJ220.
7. Ford produced the RS1700T, based on the Mk3 Escort and running a turbocharged RWD engine. But they scrapped the idea and built the mid-engined, 4WD RS200 Group B car, which was based on the same BDA engine.
8. Renault’s Group B entry was the mid-engined Renault 5 Turbo. Despite having a 1.4ltr 8V engine (1.6 in late models) the car was quite successful, especially in Tarmac events.
9. Porsche built a Group B twin-turbo 959, the first 4WD Porsche. It never actually competed in a Group B rally event, although it was successful in the Paris- Dakar Rally, with 959s finishing 1-2 in the 1986 event. The support car was a 928-engined Merc G-Wagen.
10. Group B was banned after a series of high-profile accidents claimed the lives of drivers and spectators, blamed on the high speeds and lax safety. The cars have since competed in rallycross and hill climbing events.
10 things you didn’t know about Group B Rally Cars
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