Ask rally fans to name their favourite rally cars and their first suggestions are likely to come from the Group B era. It’s not surprising really, as the Group B era (1982-1986) brought about some of the most amazing, outrageous and scariest rally cars that have ever been made.
But what if we ignore the cars from Group B or any prior period - have there been great rally cars in the thirty years since Group B was scrapped? We say absolutely.
Also, with major changes to the technical regulations coming to the World Rally Championship (WRC) in 2017 - set to make the cars the quickest and most extreme they've been since the Group B era - more future classics could very well be arriving soon.
Here’s a look at six of the coolest and best rally cars to compete since the Group B era ended.
Lancia Delta HF Integrale
Following the scrapping of the Group B era after 1986, Group A regulations, which focused on more mass-produced production cars, became the standard in the WRC.
Lancia, which had stunned many during the Group B years with its colossally fast and insane Delta S4, needed an all-new car for the next era of rallying. Cue the Lancia Delta, which has become one of the most recognisable rally cars ever thanks to its gorgeous Martini livery and immense success.
There were multiple versions of the Delta which competed between the late eighties and early nineties, including the HF 4WD and HF Integrale.
Between 1987 and 1993, the various evolutions of the Delta won 46 rallies in the WRC and led to Lancia taking six consecutive manufacturers’ titles plus four drivers’ titles.
Toyota Celica GT-Four ST185
Toyota proved to be the manufacturer to beat in rallying during the early 90s, thanks to the turbocharged and very successful Celica GT-Four.
The ST185 model proved particularly impressive, winning 17 rallies as well as the 1993 World Rally manufacturers’ title.
Carlos Sainz, who took the 1990 WRC drivers’ title with the preceding ST165, grabbed the 1992 title in a ST185. Then Juha Kankkunen took the drivers title (the fourth of his career) in the ST185 the following year.
Subaru Impreza 555
When trying to pick out the best Subaru rally car, you could point to the cars which Petter Solberg and Richard Burns drove to championship glory during the early 2000s. Prior to those models though was the Impreza 555, named after the team’s sponsorship with the cigarette brand State Express 555 which inspired the Impreza’s iconic blue and gold livery.
In the hands of Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz, the Impreza 555 proved very competitive and McRae took his single WRC drivers’ title with this car in the 1995 season.
Subaru credits its time in rallying with boosting its car sales and there’s no doubt the Impreza, which has gone on to establish a cult status, played a massive part in that sales boost.
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI
We couldn’t mention the Subaru Impreza without also bringing up its arch rival, the similarly iconic Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.
This super saloon powered Tommi Makinen to four consecutive WRC drivers’ titles between 1996 and 1999, and gave Mitsubishi the 1998 manufacturers’ title too.
Of all the incarnations of the Lancer Evo which competed, we would pick the Evo VI which Makinen used to win his fourth title. He even managed to win the Monte Carlo rally in the same car during the following season.
An evolved version of the Evo VI, known as the Evo 6.5, was also used during the 2001 season and won three rallies.
The road car version of the Evo VI received a special edition in 1999 called the Tommi Makinen Edition - a car we had the chance to drive earlier this year.
Citroen Xsara F2
Since the Group B era ended there have been some really successful rally cars from Citroen, particularly the Xsara WRC, C4 WRC and DS3 WRC, all of which Sebastian Loeb used to become the most successfully WRC driver ever.
Before all of those Citroens though was the Xsara F2 Kit Car from the late nineties. This particular car was designed to compete in a category below the WRC big boys. But at the 1999 Spain and Corsica rallies, Phillipe Bugalski took stunning victories in the Xsara.
Whereas the WRC cars were using four-wheel drive and turbos, the Xsara F2 only had front-wheel drive and a naturally-aspirated engine. But its mechanics and lightweight build made it into a monster of a car on tarmac rallies like the ones Bugalski won.
Volkswagen Polo R WRC
While Citroen and its main driver Sebastien Loeb dominated the WRC between the mid-2000s and the first few years of the 2010 decade, more recent years have been all about Volkswagen.
After mixed success using Golfs in rallying between 1978 and 1990, VW returned to the sport full-time in 2013 with its Polo R WRC. The car spent a long time prior to this year being developed with the help of two-times WRC champion Marcus Gronholm.
The lengthy development time paid off immediately. The Polo R WRC went on to achieve four consecutive manufacturers’ titles for VW and four straight drivers’ titles for lead driver Sebastian Ogier.
With Volkswagen quitting the WRC at the end of 2016, due to cost cutting measures made in response to VW’s dieselgate scandal, it’s proven to be a successful but all-too-short stint for the Polo R.
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