Words: Richard Heseltine
Lancia Fulvia
Harry Källström took the European Rally title in 1969 aboard a Fulvia 1.6 Coupé HF, the same year that he also won the RAC Rally of Great Britain for Lancia. The Swede bagged repeated honours in 1970. Other championship titles included the International Championship for Manufacturers in 1972, Sandro Munari having won that year’s Monte Carlo Rally along the way.
Did you know? Munari also won the European Rally Championship in 1973 in a Fulvia.
Fiat 124 Abarth Sport
‘Project SE026’ made its competition debut on the October 1972 Rally of Portugal, Alcide Paganelli and ‘Nini’ Russo coming home in fifth place. A year later, Achim Warmbold and Jean Todt opened the 124’s WRC account with victory on the Rally of Poland, admittedly against scant opposition. The Fiat was also a force at home and in the European Rally Championship.
Did you know? The 124 won umpteen events including two further rounds of the WRC (the Rally of Portugal in 1974-75).
Vauxhall Chevette HS/HSR
A much-loved rally staple in the UK during the late-1970s and beyond, the Chevette in its various guises provided a stern challenge to the hitherto dominant Ford Escorts. They were campaigned by a roll-call of stars, too, such as Tony Pond, Jimmy McRae, Terry Kaby and Pentti Airikkala.
Did you know? Airikkala claimed the 1979 British title in the evolutionary HSR.
Talbot Sunbeam Lotus
Conceived by Des O’Dell, this Lotus-engined, rear-wheel drive hot hatch nevertheless didn’t show well initially. With Tony Pond doing much of the development in the UK, and likewise Jean-Pierre Nicolas in France, it had a lousy finishing rate in 1979, but a better one in 1980 (Ford having withdrawn as a works outfit). The undoubted bright spot was the extraordinary1-3-4 finish for the model on that year’s RAC Rally of Great Britain.
Did you know? Underfunded and under resourced relative to its rivals, Talbot nevertheless claimed the WRC Manufacturers’ Championship title in 1980.
Audi quattro
Audi famously ushered four-wheel drive and forced induction into top-flight rallying with the quattro with devastating effect. Hannu Mikkola claimed maiden honours for the marque on the 1981 International Swedish Rally. Success spawned success, Audi taking further scalps a year later, while A1 and A2 variants continued to be frontrunners in 1983-84.
Did you know? The evolutionary S1 was visually similar to the original car, but with 320mm removed from its wheelbase.
Toyota Celica GT-Four
It is easy to forget that before Subaru and Mitsubishi owned the WRC, Toyota had blazed a trail for Japanese marques in the WRC with the shapely GT-Four. Strictly speaking, there were three iterations, all fielded by Toyota Team Europe which operated out of Cologne. The model made its WRC debut in ‘ST 165’ form on the 1988 Tour de Corse, and claimed its first series victory during the following year’s Rally Australia with Juha Kankkunen at the helm.
Did you know? Toyota was mired in a cheating scandal in 1995. It was stripped of its points and banned from the WRC for 1996.
Subaru Impreza
The Impreza made its debut on Rally Finland in 1993. In no time at all, the mighty Impreza in blue ‘555’ livery with gold wheels became intertwined with Colin McRae in the mind’s eye. The Scot emerged victorious on the 1995 RAC Rally of Great Britain to claim the WRC title.
Did you know? The Impreza in its many guises claimed 46 WRC victories.
Lancia Delta HF 4WD/Integrale
With 165bhp from its two-litre twin-cam turbo ‘four’ and an advanced all-wheel-drive system, the Delta HF 4WD took the 1987 World Championship of Makes title at a canter. It also won the first two rounds of the following year’s series before the Integrale took over. This new strain of Delta dominated in 1988, sealing manufacturer honours well before the end of the campaign.
Did you know? Works involvement in rallying ending in 1992 after Lancia had taken its sixth consecutive manufacturers’ crown.
Mitsubishi Lancer/Carisma ‘Evo’
Officially, there were ten distinct model designations of this four-wheel drive bruiser, but also various subspecies and market-specific editions. And not all of them were campaigned, but those that were left an indelible impression on rallying. Never more so that when steered by Finnish superstar Tommi Mäkinen.
Did you know? The Ralliart Mitsubishi versus Prodrive Subaru battle was a high point of mid- to late-1990s rallying, with Mäkinen claiming four titles from 1996-99.
Ford Escort RS Cosworth
We could have filled the top ten just with Escorts but plumped for this WRC classic. The RS Cosworth was in-build before the mainstream production car on which it was rooted had been launched, such was the Blue Oval’s desire to return to prominence in rallying. It was built with the singular purpose of winning the WRC. It failed, which isn’t to say that it didn’t enjoy success.
Did you know? It almost won first time out on the 1993 Monte Carlo Rally, and went on to claim victory in five rounds that season (including a privateer win on the San Remo Rally).
See more:
Buying guide: Lancia Delta Integrale
Group A Rally Heroes Without the Cost
When a Rally-Bred Celica Was an Arcade Hero
