“Type F.” “Rally car.” It`s fair to say that you wouldn`t normally combine the two. But in 2018, Jaguar built two F-Type convertibles to celebrate 70 years of the XK 120, which finished three consecutive Alpine rallies in the early fifties without a single penalty point. It turns out Jaguar also has a rally pedigree. The only reason automakers spend millions of dollars competing in motorsport stems from this theory: “race on Sunday, sale on Monday.” The idea expressed here is that if a car manufacturer can get their car into motorsport events and maybe even win, fans will want some of that pedigree in their own car. This is one of the reasons why rallies are so fascinating. Cars are assignable. The vast majority of people will never feel the dynamism of a Formula 1 car or a Le Mans prototype, as their architecture has very little to do with normal road cars. In rallies, cars can be heavily modified, but they are based on mass-produced road cars. Even cars from the exaggerated Group B era of the 1980s can be traced back to the conventional Audi and Puegeots sold at the time. This allows viewers to understand what professional drivers are doing to make the car perform. When compiling a list of the best road-legal rally cars, it was impossible not to mention this Japanese gem. Like the Audi Sport quattro, the Subaru Impreza has also created a new automotive niche. John Cooper knew the potential of the Mini after Roy Salvadori won an informal road race at the Italian Grand Prix and beat fellow driver Reg Parnell in an Aston Martin DB4 with an early Mini Cooper prototype.
It took a few years to achieve this gigantic capability on the world stage, but Paddy Hopkirk`s famous victory at Rallye Monte-Carlo in 1964 and subsequently for Timo Mäkinen and Rauno Aaltonen in 1965 and `67 sealed the Mini`s reputation on winding, snowy Alpine passes. The fact that you can see one that looked like the rally versions from your local BMC dealer – and on the left – is as important a part of the mini legend as Michael Caine and The Italian Job. After the excesses of Group B, the switch to Group A regulation meant rally cars based on production models, of which at least 5,000 were sold, ushering in a golden age of legal rally representatives for the street. With 46 WRC wins, six consecutive constructors` titles and four drivers` titles, the Delta Integrale has dramatically dominated this first Group A era. Thanks to its macho look, the Integrale transformed Giugiaro`s square sedan into an impressive road car that seemed just a stone`s throw from the rally scene. From its gearbox arches to its Speedline Monte Carlo blades and wheels, it has put owners in the shoes of legendary drivers like Juha Kankkunen and Miki Biaision and remains a definitive rally car for the road. Daily cars must also be reliable. The last thing you want is for your car to break down when you need it most.
This also applies to maintenance. A car that requires regular and expensive maintenance is a bad choice for a car that you have to use every day. Unfortunately, the F-Type rally car was never unveiled to the public, nor did it “officially” participate in a rally stage. Which seems like a real shame, similar to buying a sports car and never letting it out of the garage. Especially since he proved his rally qualities when we had the chance to put one to the test a few years ago. A great tourism when it is gnarled. Yes, in 2015, this V8 Vantage, which debuted in the GT4 series and competed in nine races, was converted into a competitor in the R-GT class by Finnish rally specialist Mäkelä Auto Tuning. What started as the 1990 Porsche 964 was transformed into a rally race car, with a 450-horsepower turbocharged six-cylinder, permanent all-wheel drive, carbon panels, eviscerated interior, monster truck ride height and lots and lots and lots of tire folds. And he showed promise in the first tests as well as in the opening of the series in Portugal. That is, before it has to withdraw due to an electronic failure and a subsequent minor accident. This should be the first and only time he has also appeared on the world rally scene, which leads us to ask ourselves a question.
When will we see a rally Emira? The Fédération Internationale de l`Automobile (FIA) required rally cars to be mass-produced. In this way, the race organizers wanted to allow everyone to buy the flame-breathing car that won Rallye Monte-Carlo last weekend. On the road and on the rally scene, the influence of the Audi quattro is undeniable, the combination of turbocharging and all-wheel drive is a fundamental model for rally cars that survives to this day. A favourite project of Ferdinand Piëch – grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, creator of the 917 and the overlord Volkswagen until his death in 2019 – the rally was the perfect way to demonstrate the value of Quattro all-wheel drive to Audi customers. The Quattro perfectly embodied Audi`s Vorsprung durch Technik-Mantra, the ideal timing for the transition to the legendary Group B era and proved decisively that technology is the path to global dominance, both in marketing and motorsport. The Subaru GTZ will cost about $28,000 and the Toyota GT86 about $1,000 more. The choice here is a more personal preference regarding the brand you prefer. Both cars are pretty much the same in appearance and performance, so it depends on which one you prefer.
