Lancia Delta S4 Group B

Posted on May 8, 2020 by classiccarweekly

1985 Lancia Delta S4 Corsa Group B

For Sale by Girardo & Co.

The Lancia Delta is a car closely associated with rallying. The first-generation of the Delta was built from 1979 through 1994, and there were a number of variants of this five-door hatchback, including sporty ones.

The Delta S4 is related to the standard Delta hatchback mostly in name only. It was a mid-engined, all-wheel-drive near-supercar designed with one purpose in mind: to win in Group B rallying, which of course was the pinnacle of rallying when it was introduced in 1982. Group B was a little too extreme, and the FIA dialed back the regulations after 1986.

Power is from a supercharged and turbocharged 1.8-liter inline-four good for 550 horsepower. Sixty arrived in 2.5 seconds. This thing is a beast, even by today’s standards. And don’t forget: they built 200 road-going versions.

This car is chassis #208 and was a works Lancia Martini test car before being sold to a partner team. The car actually wears the Jolly Club team’s ToTip livery and is wrapped in a Martini livery. This is one of the most serious Group B cars, and it can now be yours. Click here for more info.

Lancia 037 Group B

Posted on August 4, 2019 by classiccarweekly

1983 Lancia 037 Rally Group B

For Sale at Girardo & Co.

Lancia, though a shell of its former self, has produced some cool cars over the years. Perhaps none more so than the 037 (yes, I include the Stratos in that assessment). The car was essentially a purpose-built rally car meant to dominate Group B – but the company had to build road cars in order to satisfy the FIA’s homologation requirement.

So Lancia built 207 of the road cars. Requirement satisfied. And then they dominated Group B, winning the 1983 WRC constructor’s title. It also won three consecutive European Rally Championships (’83-’85). The 037 holds the distinction of being the last rear-wheel-drive car to win the World Rally Championship.

Power is provided by a mid-mounted, supercharged 2.1-liter inline-four that makes 325 horsepower. This car has such a great, hunkered-down look. And check out photos from the rear. You can almost hear it barking. A competition car from birth, the race history for this chassis includes:

1983 Targa Florio – 2nd (with Carlo Capone)
1983 Rally Sanremo – DNF (with Andrea Zanussi)
1984 Rally Sanremo – 4th (with Fabrizio Tabaton)

This car competed in WRC events (the last two above), as well as other rounds of the European Rally Championship. It competed with multiple different teams and wore a few different racing liveries over the years. The Olio Fiat livery it wears today has been there since 1984. Oh, and this car is currently road registered in Monaco, so there’s that added bit of insanity.

A note on these cars… it would appear that Girardo & Co. is the world expert in the Lancia 037. A quick browse of their “sold” history shows three (!) 037 rally cars and four road cars. I think the only people to have sold more 037s was Lancia themselves. So I guess you can’t go wrong here. You can check out more on this car here.

205 Turbo 16 Evo 1

Posted on April 13, 2016 by classiccarweekly

1984 Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 Evolution 1 Group B

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monaco | May 14, 2016

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

The Peugeot 205 was a small car sold by the French company all over the world between 1983 and 1998. Versions of is became some of the best Hot Hatches of the era. It just so happened that during this car’s production run, the insane rally category – Group B – was thriving.

Between 1982 and 1987, Group B cars were the most over-the-top rally cars ever built. Peugeot entered the fray in 1984 and Group B regulations required homologation road cars. The hatchback road cars were front-engine, front-wheel drive – but the rally cars (and their road-going counterparts) are mid-engined and four-wheel drive. That engine is a 1.8-liter turbocharged straight-four making 345 horsepower. It’s a beast.

This was a works rally car, and as such, it’s competition history includes:

1985 Rallye Monte-Carlo – 1st (with Ari Vatanen)
1985 Swedish Rally – 1st (with Vatanen)

After the ’85 season (which included more races than those listed above), the car was sold to a collector in France. It has been recently serviced and is the perfect car for anyone with an insane amount of driving skill. Or you know, a collector. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Audi Quattro A1

Posted on March 17, 2015 by classiccarweekly

1982 Audi Quattro A1 Group B Rally Car

Offered by Bonhams | Chichester, England | March 21, 2015

Photo – Bonhams

Nobody did rally cars in the 1980s quite like Audi. They brought 4WD to the sport and revolutionized it. Their cars were boxy, powerful, and scary fast. The Quattro was a production car that was also sold as the Audi Coupe and they were introduced in 1980. The rally variant debuted that year as well.

This car was an Audi factory rally car that competed in Group 4 and Group B rally – the most famous (and awesome) period of rallying in history. It is powered by a turbocharged 2.1-liter straight-five making 300 horsepower in race trim.

Initially, it was built as a Group 5 rally car and it finished 2nd in the 1982 Monte Carlo rally with Hannu Mikkola at the wheel. He would go on to win the World Driver’s Championship that year. In 1983, Audi converted the car to the Group B spec you see here. It spent the next 12 years or so in Finland on the rally circuit and in a museum.

The current owner acquired it in 1995 and had it thoroughly gone over. It’s a pretty awesome example of the most intense years of rallying. You can buy it for between $370,000-$430,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this example.

Update: Sold $368,210.

A Ferrari Rally Car

Posted on May 16, 2014 by classiccarweekly

1976 Ferrari 308 GTB Group B by Michelotto

Offered by Bonhams | Francorchamps, Belgium | May 18, 2014

Photo – Bonhams

When one thinks of Ferrari race cars, they think of Formula 1 or sports cars. Hardly anyone pictures rally cars. And yet, that’s what we have here. Not only a Ferrari rally car, but a Ferrari 308 rally car – one of the cheapest Ferraris money can buy today.

But this car ain’t cheap. Let’s start with a little history… the FIA brought about Group B rally in 1983. Michelotto built and campaigned Ferrari race cars and they jumped at the chance race in Group B. But Ferrari didn’t want to build 25 homologation specials in order to take it racing. So Michelotto took standard road-going cars and turned them into rally cars. No specials needed if the road car is quick enough to be made into a racer. The engine is a 2.9-liter V-8 making 288 horsepower.

This is a 1976 Ferrari (the 308 was fiber glass until 1977, when it became steel) that Michelotto converted to rally status in 1983. They only built four of them and this is the first and most successful of those four, having won the Spanish rally championship and coming in as “Vice-Champion” in Italy (which makes it sound like a proponent of gambling and drugs). The other three cars all had more powerful engines.

You can pick up a road-going 308 for about $35,000. If you want a Michelotto Group B 308, be prepared to shell out between $760,000-$1,000,000. Yikes! Click here for more info and here for the rest of Bonhams’ Spa sale lineup.

Update: Sold $835,136.

Ex-Colin McRae Nissan 240RS Rally Car

Posted on February 12, 2014 by classiccarweekly

1984 Nissan 240RS Group B

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Stoneleigh, U.K. | February 22-23, 2014

The Nissan Silvia began life in 1964 as the Datsun Coupe 1500. The third generation (code name: S110) was introduced in 1979. In the U.S. it was called the Datsun 200SX. It was sporty looking with only two doors but lacked any real performance cred.

When the FIA introduced Group B regulations in 1982, Nissan found the Silvia’s calling for performance. Group B had homologation rules – so Nissan had to build some for the road too. Those are rare. This is the Group B race version.

It is powered by a 2.4-liter straight-four making 237 horsepower. The car you see here was owned by the late rally legend Colin McRae. It was the only Group B car he ever raced during the Group B era – even though he used it in 1987 and Group B was dismantled after 1986.

This car has been extensively rebuilt and prepped for events and is used occasionally (like at Goodwood). Only about 200 of these cars were built between 1983 and 1985 and only about 30 of those were competition models, making this very rare. And having one of rally’s legends as a former owner and driver just makes it even better. It should sell for between $83,000-$100,000. Click here for a more detailed history of this car and here for more from this Silverstone sale.

Update: Failed to sell.