The 1980s was peak for rallying internationally, the Group B regulations provided an exciting, yet death defying spectacle to the many drivers, teams, manufacturers and fans lucky to watch this era in action.
Unfortunately Australia never did, but the Group B era is fondly remembered for pushing the barrier on what was acceptable in terms of a regulation ruleset, but it captured the imagination of fans across the world.
Popularity for the sport rose ten fold with the introduction of Group B and allowed the sport to prosper into the 1990s as heroes such as McRae, Makinen, Sainz and co emerged to push rallying into stratospheric proportions.
The Killer Bs as they were to be termed afterwards were deemed Formula 1 cars for off-road and fans were so desperate to be connected that many held their hands out to touch the panels while it was hammering through a stage. As a result fingers were lost, many removed from the various vents and spoilers by the service crew in between stages.
Introduced in 1982, Group B allowed manufacturers to make prototype versions of road going models. Homologation required 200 of the model to be produced making it more accessible for manufacturers, while an Evolution only permitted 20 and also allowed manufacturers including Porsche to enter. Another feature was the use of space frame chassis was encouraged.
Lancia was the first manufacturer to develop and compete in a Group B model, the rear-wheel-drive and brutal 037, but it lost the title to Audi’s four-wheel-drive Quattro built to the previous Group 4 regulations.
An influx of manufacturers followed for 1983 including Opel with the Manta 400, Toyota in its Celica and Audi.
For 1985, there was a shift when the struggling French marque Peugeot chucked a bet on rallying to improve its sales in a factory operation led by former rallying co-driver Jean Todt. The 205 T16 changed the game, much as its road equivalent did to raise Peugeot out of its slumber where its success on the rally stages was matched in the showroom.
The smaller, lighter 205 T16 with its rear-mounted engine proved a turning point as Audi soon followed with an evolution of its Quattro featuring a shorter wheelbase and big aero imrpovements.
Lancia progressed to the Delta S4 hatchback powered by a turbocharged and supercharged engine, as the requirements for horsepower output to be at more than 600bhp was a necessity.
Entering the equation were Ford and the Rs200, Citroen’s BX 4TC in addition to the Rover Metro 6R4.
Concerns regarding Group B’s pace and safety were apparent before Italian Attilio Bettega’s fatal accident on the Tour de Corse in 1985 driving an 037, but this began a tragic run events in the World Rally Championship.
Local driver Joaquim Santos lost control while avoiding spectators on the 1986 Portugese Rally, as he instead ploughed into another group resulting in 31 injured and three deaths.
This was followed by the biggest tragedy. In May, Lancia’s Henri Toivonen and co-driver Sergio Cresta lost their lives on the Tour de Corse after plunging down the steep, unguarded hillside, with the Delta S4 bursting into flames.
Formula 1 driver Marc Surer also crashed heavily on the ADAC Rally-Hessen resulting co-driver Michel Wyder being killed. It is estimated the Ford RS200 left the road at 200kmh and hit two trees side-on, bursting into flames. Surer was severely injured, leading to a long rehabilitation.
The FIA banned Group B for 1987 as Juha Kankkunen goes down in history as the final championship winner and the final round took place of in all places, the USA.
So where did these Group B monsters end up?
Most went onto live successful careers in rallycross, others were adapted to Dakar or in Audi’s case the technology ended up in circuit racing.
Group B’s demise also ended Group S, angering many rally insiders as it was expected to be not only more exciting than Group A, but safer as opposed to the Killer Bs. These regulations limited power to 300bhp and 10 examples were to be produced to acquire homologation.
Lancia, Toyota, Opel and Lada produced prototypes, while plans were well underway from Audi and Ford to update existing models.
Group S did come to life 10 years later in the form of the World Rally Car regulations, but for the later 2500 examples needed to be produced and common parts were shared with the production model.