Yesterday Autoblog posted a short article about Group B rally racing in the mid 80's. As I didn't know anything about Group B it was an interesting read. There was also an awesome quote from a champion of the era, "WRX was for boys, Group B was for men". It was followed by a video from YouTube with highlights of said action. Unfortunately the video was a bit too artsy and all of the awesome sounds that these machines made were covered with soft "dramatic" music. After watching the video I started looking around for others and came across the following which is WAY better. I've always loved the WRC and this (I'm sure plenty of you were aware already) Group B craziness is even more amazing. The following video truly made me want to strap into a all wheel drive land rocket and tear down a tree lined road at top speed. I imagined grazing each apex perfectly as I execute flawless drifts with no margin for error. It was a great thought. The second video then reminded me that I would most certainly kill myself and that I should probably leave the racing to the professionals featured in these videos Enjoy the clips...
They abolished Group B because the minds of the drivers of these cars could not keep up with the speeds these cars were travelling at. There is a really cool movie about the evolution of rally. It's called "The Evolution of Rallying, 50 years sideways". It chronicles rally through some of the really cool times. There is alot of footage and interviews from the "old school" rallyists. It has a segment devoted to Group B.
I think I found it on YouTube, at least this appears to be what you described. I tossed together a play list if anyone else whats to check it out. Thanks for the info! http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=A873152F927B0295
That is one dedicated to Group B. The one I was talking about encompassed all of rally since the 50's. Either way, they are both great to watch!! Thanks for the playlist. Got it playing on the TV right now!!
The Group B cars were dangerously powerful, point proven after Toivonen and his codriver were killed in their S4. We never even got to see the even crazier Group S races. I have always been in love with the Group B cars. I even came close to getting an Integrale this year. The boxy Lancia is still my favorite, despite its grisly history above, and a modified one would make for the ultimate sleeper.
The Ford RS200 is what got me hooked when I saw my first rally in Norway. The Lancia's hold a spot in my favorites book too. We've thrown around the idea of building a RS200 from the ground up for a street car. Mmmm, group b daily driver!!!
It's interesting that you bring up GrpB cars, as I just watched a great video from the last ever GrpB event, the 1986 Lombard RAC Rally GB. If you have a Racing Underground account, search for Turbo Swansong. Rumour has it that it can also be found on Streetfire. I'm a big fan of the RS200 and the 6R4, but never liked the Lancia S4. The Delta Integrale Evo GrpA car always seemed better to me. GrpB cars live on in the various European Rallycross championships, although they're no longer a dominant force, as 600HP AWD Fiestas can kick their arses up down and sideways because they're quite a bit lighter. Stuart.
Thanks all for mentioning which Group B cars you liked the most. Now I can put a name to the "face" as I watch these videos. After doing an image search on everything mentioned I've gotta go with the 6R4. It just looks so scrappy, like a 5' 3" guy that that spends his days at the gym and then likes to get drunk on Jameson an start bar fights... View attachment 23970
