Group B rally cars in the castle park
07/18/2015
Under the title "Let it B", some of the hottest and most interesting Group B rally cars will be on display in front of and behind the Schlosshotel at the Schloss Bensberg Classic.
Group B was known to be one of the craziest cars ever built for gravel roads and snow tracks. The cars mobilized up to 600 hp and stormed from 0 to 100 km/h in just over two seconds, regardless of whether the tires were gripping asphalt, gravel or snow. Walter Röhrl called the Audi sport Quattro S1 (1985, 510 hp, all-wheel drive) the most insane car of his rallying career.
However, the World Rally Championship had already been won by another Group B car, namely the Lancia Rallye 037 in 1983. Around 200 hp and rear-wheel drive were enough for the mid-engined car.
Lancia followed up the 037 with the Delta S4, which tickled a whopping 560 hp out of 1.8 liters in 1986 and, thanks to four-wheel drive and a large rear spoiler, took a total of five rally victories in 1985 and 1986.
The Citroën BX 4TC came too late in 1985 and was the only rally car of the time with hydropneumatics. Its 2.1-liter four-cylinder engine produced 380 hp.
The MG Metro 6R4 from 1986, which had been developed together with Williams and had a V6 engine in front of the rear axle that distributed 410 hp to all four wheels without turbocharging, looked truly brute. Unfortunately, it also arrived too late, as 1986 was the last Group B rally season.
The fate of being late also caught up with the 1986 Ford RS 200. Its 1.8-liter engine produced around 420 hp thanks to the turbo, and it too would have had a good chance of winning thanks to its low weight and all-wheel drive.
The Porsche 959 from 1985 was an exceptional model, which took too long to develop and was no longer able to compete in Group B due to a lack of homologation. However, with 600 biturbo horsepower and all-wheel drive as well as a suspension that could be adjusted in height from the inside, it would have been well equipped, as its victory in the Paris-Dakar Rally proved.
The only Japanese car in the park, the 1986 Toyota Celica TwinCam Turbo, was also successful in long-distance rallies. With around 370 hp from a turbo four-cylinder engine and driven rear wheels, its reliability and robustness were particularly impressive.
And who is missing from Bensberg Castle? The Peugeot 205 T16, of course, which was almost the king of Group B. The 1985 Renault R5 Maxi Turbo, which was only equipped with rear-wheel drive and had around 350 hp combined with a low weight, was also not on the course. But Opel, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Wartburg are also conspicuous by their absence. You can't have everything, so the exhibits can be viewed much more intensively. Until Sunday at Schloss Bensberg.
