Those were the days
Group B rally cars have had a bad rap, but I still remember the raw thrill of watching them compete.
It was a short but very exciting time.
It began as a cost-effective way for manufacturers to get involved in rallying at the highest level.
Back in 1983, you needed a mid-engined or rear-wheel drive car to be competitive — but most companies didn’t have a car like that.
So FISA slashed the number of homologated cars from 400 to 200 and all hell broke loose.
Peugeot dropped a 1.8-litre turbocharged engine in the boot of its 205, fitted lightweight panels and all-wheel drive.
Ford unveiled its mid-engined 460bhp (343kW) RS200; Audi chopped 257mm out of the middle of the Quattro to create the Quattro Sport; Austin Rover released its bi-winged MG Metra 6R4 and Lancia came up with the turbocharged and supercharged Delta S4.
The Peugeot 206 T16 Evo had 500bhp (373kW), weighed 910kg and went from zero to 100km/h in 2.6 seconds, as did the Lancia S4 and Audi Sport Quattro E2.
The new cars attracted bigger crowds, intent on getting close enough to touch the cars.
Inevitably, tragedy occurred in the Portugal Rally when Joaquim Santos swerved to avoid spectators and lost control of his Ford RS200, killing three and injuring dozens.
In the next round, Henri Toivonen lost control of his Delta S4 and crashed down the hillside.
Both he and his co-driver were burned alive.
FISA boss Jean-Marie Balestre immediately announced the cancellation of Group B from January 1, 1987.
The production-based Group A (with a 300bhp/224kW limit) replaced Group B in 1987.
Juha Kankkunen, winner of the 1986 title, commented that swapping from a Group B car to Group A car was “like getting into a pedal car”.
Crowds were never as big again. And the short-lived Group B will always be remembered as the most spectacular era of rallying.
All it takes is a great idea
Lee Iacocca will forever be remembered for the Ford Mustang.
The youthful head of Ford recognised a younger and wealthier population in the 60s and created the Mustang to cater to them.
The first attempt, a mid-engined two-seater prototype in 1962 sent fans wild, but Iacocca decided the small, space-framed aluminium-bodied car was “too far out” to be a volume car.
Instead, the new car was to be based on Ford’s new compact, the plain-Jane Falcon.
Originally called the Cougar, it had a battle to be accepted so soon after the $300 million Edsel fiasco.
Executive engineer Don Frey finally approved it for production, saying: “It’s your ass if it doesn’t sell!”
And so the Ford Mustang launched in April, 1964.
One hundred thousand were sold in the first four months and a million in two years (by comparison, the Mini took nine years to sell a million and the Morris Minor took 12).
Two thirds of Ford Motor Company’s profits came from the Mustang in the first year it was on sale.
The first 500,000 were sold at an average of $US3500, 50 per cent more than the car’s base model price.
Sales peaked in 1966, but the Mustang always outsold its rivals.
Rather than include a photo of an everyday Mustang, we’ve included a photo of the mid-engined two-seater, the “Mustang that got away”.
How things have changed
Way back in 2007, electric cars were mostly still in the future, but manufacturers were still trying to best each other in the performance stakes.
Bugatti held the crown for a moment, with its 1001bhp (735kW) Veyron but Bristol topped that with 1012bhp (740kW) in its Fighter T.
The Bristol was a development of the Fighter S, using twin turbochargers to extract an additional 332bhp (244kW) from the 8.0-litre V10.
Top speed was a governed 225 mph/362km/h (the Veyron would do 250 mph/402km/h).
But here’s the rub: the Fighter T would reach 100km/h in 3.5 seconds, a figure that in these days of EVs seems quite tame.
The fastest electric car in the world is currently the BYD Yangwang with a top speed of 496km/h.
Fastest to 100km/h is the Aspark Owl that gets there in a barely credible 1.72 seconds.
Someone can always do it better
I’ve always thought the MGB GT a well-balanced design and quite attractive, but before the factory MGB GT was built, someone came up with the same idea.
Belgian coachbuilder Jacques Coune took a standard MGB roadster chassis and, 20 months before the factory produced an MGB GT, created this car — the MGB Coune Berlinette.
There are hints of a Ferrari 275 GTB about it, but design is always a personal matter.
Only one right-hand drive version was built and it was bought new by the chairman of BMC.
It was evaluated by BMC who rejected it in favour of a prototype designed by Pininfarina.
Fifty-six Coune Berlinettes were built, only six were in steel.
One sold at Bonhams in 2024 for $US147,000.
The factory MGB GT went on to sell 125,000 units.
The background to car badges
Sadly, SAAB (Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolagets) is no longer producing cars, but it had a rich history for 70 years before ceasing production in 2011.
The 1950 Model 92 wore a logo of uppercase letters spelling SAAB above silver wings in a rectangular housing.
For the 95 and 96 models, the head-on view of the plane had circles over the wings denoting spinning propellors.
The SAAB red griffin logo first appeared in 1974, some surmising that the griffin was inspired by the coats of arms of Swedish provinces Skåne and Östergötland.
Over the years, SAAB’s logo underwent several changes.
In the 1980s, the logo featured a stylised version of the griffin with “SAAB” in bold letters underneath.
In 2000, General Motors acquired a majority stake in SAAB and launched a new version of the logo with a more stylised version of the griffin and the word “SAAB” in lower case below, in an attempt to reposition the company as a premium automaker.
In 2013, another new version of the logo was introduced, similar to that of 2000 but with “SAAB” written in gold.
While the brand lives on in the defence industry, it remains to be seen if the logo will be used in any meaningful way.
And that’s how the fight started…
My wife is a saint. Sometimes she forgives me, even when I’m not guilty.
Paul who?
Paul Murrell has a fascination with cars. Like the rest of us at Cars4starters he has been writing about them for a long time. He’s found the best stories are sometimes the small ones. Look no further.
Paul is a freelance motoring journalist who contributes to seniordriver.au, SA Life, Highlife, Survivor Car and a number of other motoring publications. Readers are encouraged to agree, disagree or express contrary points of view in writing at any time.