Who Misses the 1990's BTCC? Long Post Warning ;)

[RatLad]

Recently, I’ve pondering cars that could potentially be a good investment;

http://www.tumblr.com/tumblelog/carsourcing

After reading some of my ramblings, one of my colleagues asked whether his Mondeo ST24 would ever go up in value.

Whilst I think not, it did get us reminiscing about the ST24’s Motorsport sibling competing in the heyday of the 90’s British Touring Car Championship.

Without a shadow of a doubt, it was the Sundays spent watching BTCC with my Dad, urging on the FINA liveried BMW’s (my dad had a 320i at the time) that cemented my love of cars and motorsport. The following years of playing TOCA on the Playstation certainly did nothing to abate this obsession!

First, to relive those days of watching thoroughly engaging motorsport;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiDlxqx-R9g&fea...

Appetite whetted, off I went to the classifieds to see how cheaply I can pretend to be my former driving heroes.

Unfortunately, most of the manufacturers didn’t make an ‘equivalent’ road going model as the Supertouers were essentially ‘silhoutette’ racers, sharing only the production shape with a custom built racing car underneath. That said, there are some fantastic bargains out there.

I’ll begin with the most successful Supertourer of the 90’s with 36 race wins, the Renault Laguna.



Unfortunately, there really was no ‘sporty’ Laguna, so this 3.0 V6 model with around 200bhp and a 0-60 in 7.7 seconds will do the job. There must be plenty of plush French velour to strip from this and with a decent set of coilovers and wheels/tyres purchased from here; http://www.touringcarspares.com/part_list.php?cat=... you could be onto a respectable track car.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1999-V-REG-RENAULT-LAGUNA-3-...

Or save yourself the hassle of modifying and go for this;

http://www.touringcarspares.com/car_details.php?id...




The Ford Mondeo ran for the longest period in BTCC, racing between 1993 to 2000, only clinching a title in it’s last year. The Mondeo’s debut was less than remarkable after opting to go for a RWD layout, based on the 4WD model that was due for production. (The road-going Mondeo was not formally released at this point) Ford had to carry a weight penalty for the RWD layout and due to the complexity of transferring power from a transverse engine to the rear wheels; they soon switched to FWD as the car was not competitive.


Fortunately, Ford are well practised in turning successful race cars into sales successes and they produced several performance variants along with the first of the ST line. This limited edition ST200, with 205bhp, stiffened shocks and a 0-60 in the low 7’s would be my choice;

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2237979.htm

Maybe, this front splitter will fit…

http://www.touringcarspares.com/part_list.php?cat=...

I also rather like the MK1 SI 24v, in this rather lary colour – but I can’t find any for sale.




My favourites at the time were BMW 318’s that took the titles in 1992 and 1994





This seems to be a very popular choice of track car thanks to the modification potential, prevalence of performance parts, RWD drivetrain and the low purchase price. A few PH’ers have already created incredible touring car replicas/track day cars that I am totally in awe of.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

If you want to start for the beginning:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1993-BMW-320-BLUE-/260708661...

But I would go this route;

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BMW-E36-M3-SALOON-/260708526...

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2301180.htm



Next up we have the Alfa 155, that was always driven with typical Italian ‘flair’ and with a very ‘flat-to-the boards’ approach that took Gabriele Tarquini to a controversial title in the 155’s BTCC debut in 1994.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roFusmBIOfc

Alfa Romeo were known to push championship rules to their limits, and it was common knowledge that they had a reputation for interpreting the regulations to provide them with an advantage over their rivals. So when Alfa Romeo joined the BTCC in 1994 with their 155, they did not disappoint.
What Alfa did was to build a "homologation special", a production car with additional aerodynamic devices that would provide them an advantage on the track. The car was called the 155 Silverstone and Alfa had to build 2500 of these to satisfy the championship rules. This was a hugely expensive undertaking, but was nothing to Alfa who had it's racing heritage to protect and who also has the financial backing of the Fiat Group.
PistonHeads SOTW featuring the Alfa 155 Silverstone.

http://www.pistonheads.com/doc.asp?c=162&i=213...


If you’re brave enough, the sound of that V6 is worth the compromise in running costs…

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2268639.htm

It just needs the rear wing added from here and you’re done;

http://www.touringcarspares.com/part_list.php?cat=...





The all conquering Audi A4 was the only car in BTCC to run their ‘Quattro’ 4WD system and very quickly continued Audi Sports dominance in European Touring Cars with the Audio 80 into a victorious 1996 debut for Frank Biela in the Audi A4. So successful was the 4WD Audi, they were given a weight penalty to ensure a level playing field.


With some weight reduction and improvements to the suspension wheels/tyres, this could prove a good buy to enjoy some turbocharged 4WD grip.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2280799.htm

Otherwise, if you’re feeling flush this would be even better;

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2211137.htm




The Honda Accord, is one of the cars that was unsuccessful at winning any of the BTCC series throughout the 90’s. That said, it’s no less impressive;

http://www.honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2359528


The closest performance variant of this would be the Type R, of which prices of have been tumbling at the moment.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2311363.htm

How about fitting the genuine touring car front and rear wings? Don’t mind if I do…

http://www.touringcarspares.com/part_list.php?cat=...




The Nissan Primera won the 1999 championship driven by Laurent Aiello, after entering BTCC in 1991 and assisting with many privateer entries.

For the 1997 season however Nissan realised that supporting a small team was not going to cut it against the strong competition like the Williams prepared Renault Lagunas. Nissan contracted specialist company Ray Mallock Limited (RML) to build new Primera racers from the ground up.

Even though the regulations allowed for limited modifications, there were still plenty of areas for RML to work their magic on. The production car shell was stripped completely and reinforced with a steel roll-cage. Although adapting the production car layout, the front and rear suspension was lowered and stiffened considerably. RML equipped the exterior with aerodynamic aids like a front splitter and a rear wing. Nevertheless, the racing car was still easily recognizable as a Primera. Nissan supplied the 'SRD20E' four cylinder engine. Displacing just under two litre, it produced in excess of 320 bhp; twice as much as the engine in the top-of-the-line Primera GT.

Over the following winter the Primera was further developed and turned into a race winner. Nissan won nine races out of a possible twenty-six in 1998; four more than any other manufacturer. Needless to say they clinched the manufacturer's title quite easily. Despite his seven victories Reid fell just short of winning the driver's title. His 239 points were not enough to beat the more consistently scoring Rickard Rydell, who won five races in his Volvo S40.


Sadly, the closest you can get is this 170 bhp Primera GT, 2.0

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2208175.htm




Vauxhall have always played a major part in Touring cars and in 1995 John Cleland took the RML run entry to the championship after two years of very impressive results in the Cavalier.

A quick scour of the classifieds, turned up these ‘equivalent’ examples;

It’s a BTCC replica, not sure I’d take a punt though!

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2346196.htm

I would rather start with this, of which could make a very capable track car with little work.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2259143.htm

Of course, some added Carbon Fibre bits to improve authenticity

http://www.touringcarspares.com/part_list.php?cat=...





For the following season RML was contracted to build the new Vectra's for Super Touring racing around the globe. The car was not initially as successful as it's predecessor and only one win came in the 1996 season. At the end of 1996 RML landed a new works contract, this time to run the Nissan's Super Touring effort for 1997 (as mentioned above), and thus it's partnership with Vauxhall ended

Here’s a video comparing the two ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orsgaJ_56MA


Personally, despite the image, I would really like one of these close ancestors of the BTCC Vectra’s – you’ve got to the love the touring car inspired front splitter…

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2295101.htm




In 1997, the svelte S40 replaced the 850 and was instantly heralded as a potential '97 champion when it made its test debut in September '96, but Rydell refused to get carried away.
'A lot of cars went faster that year and Alain Menu was very quick and won the championship. It's always the case when you build a car for the first time - you're not going to get 100% out of it because you notice things that you could have done better, which we did with the S40'. Nevertheless, fourth in the championship brought reward after a difficult season
The 1998 season was a real 'tour de force' for Rydell and his Volvo S40. The Swede won the BTCC crown, then took victory in the classic Bathurst 1000 endurance race at Australia's mighty Mount Panorama circuit, sharing with veteran local hero Jim Richards.

The closet road going equivalent would be this Volvo S40 T4. With 240 bhp, it’s not far off touring car power and could make a very different yet quick track car
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2225735.htm

Before the success of the S40, came my personal Favourite, the Volvo 850 Estate.

If the BTCC championship was decided by the amount of press coverage an individual car received over a season, then the Volvo 850 Estate would have won the title before it ever turned a wheel.
For many, the idea of racing an estate car was laughable but for Volvo it would provide them with the level of media exposure they were looking for.
Most thought that the estate model was purely a sales gimmick dreamt up by the clever marketing team within Volvo, however it was the result of a chance circumstance during the early stages of the 850 project.
In 1992, Volvo Senior Vice President Martin Rybeck looked at improving the image of Volvo cars by returning the marque back to motorsport, which they had quit in 1987. Rybeck commissioned a prototype 850 to be built by long term Volvo specialist Steffanson Automotive (SAM) to prove it could be turned into a competitive race car.
Volvo provided SAM with suitable technical resources and asked them to collect an engine and bodyshell on which to base their prototype. However, the day SAM came to collect them from the factory only estates were being built, so rather than delay the start of the project they decided to use the estate bodyshell instead.


Despite the estate body shape, the 20 valve, 5cylinder engine was moved inwards past the axle line with the driver pushed as far back an in the middle as possible, ensuring 50/50 weight distribution. At the end of 1995, the rules changed to allow the use of wings, meaning Volvo and racing team TWR switched to the saloon model.

Thanks to the massive amount of media attention around the 850’s, Volvo made direct road going equivalents that are very much on my radar for my next car.

The 850 T5R

With some touring car bits;

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2239085.htm

Estate version, I didn’t realise they were this cheap.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2296181.htm

I hope you found that interesting (I warned it was going to be a long post), the only question is where would your hard-earned go?

Edited by RatLad on Wednesday 22 December 20:29

[RatLad]

5harp3y said:

Great post!

Remember meeting Frank Beila when my dad worked for audi and sitting in the A4 BTCC car at brands hatch.

used to love BTCC!

is it wrong to be massively trempted by a volvo at 26 years old?

Thanks all for your replies, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks like this.

5harp3y, no it's not wrong, I'm 24 and NEED a T5R

[RatLad]

snowen250 said:

Yup i remember Patrick Watts in the 323F in 92, followed by the Xedos (spelling) in 1993.

Supertouring was excellent, but it was doomed, costs were mental and thus the rules had to be changed. The current NGTC rules are looking to be bringing in a similar, but cheaper era with confirmed:

Toyota Avensis x 3

Audi A4 x 2

Vectra x 2

Focus x 4 (prob)

Leon x 2

Civic x 2

Cruze x 2 (probably)

Plus many more by the time its all off again in April.

Good post but you forgot a few:

]

Good shouts on those snowen, totally forgot about the Carina.

www.supertouring.co.uk has certainly kept me amused in my time off!

[RatLad]

vecbtb said:

Great post. I was a massive BTCC fan as a youngster - my father had a Cavalier so you can imagine who I supported. Later in life I ran a Vectra SRi for a while as family transport. When it didn't need to do this job anymore I converted it into track day car with genuine 1998 BTCC 888 carbon aero kit. Had some nice suspension on it and a few engine modifications, but it never had enough power for the looks.

That's exactly what I was thinking when I stated the thread, fantastic work!

[RatLad]

IainW said:

david_b said:

RatLad said:

The Ford Mondeo ran for the longest period in BTCC, racing between 1993 to 2000, only clinching a title in it’s last year. The Mondeo’s debut was less than remarkable after opting to go for a RWD layout, based on the 4WD model that was due for production. (The road-going Mondeo was not formally released at this point) Ford had to carry a weight penalty for the RWD layout and due to the complexity of transferring power from a transverse engine to the rear wheels; they soon switched to FWD as the car was not competitive.

Don't think the RWD Mondeo actually raced, Ford/Rouse started that season late after swapping back to FWD.

Vauxhall also tried the same thing a few years before - they raced a RWD, 4WD and the regular FWD Cavalier over the course of the season. The RWD and 4WD versions didn't last very long... That was in the very early days of the 2-litre formula when the teams were still dealing with the challenges of making a 300hp FWD racing car work properly, which seems quite odd nowadays!

That's right. The Mondeo did the pre-season testing, before Andy Rouse decided it was losing too much power through the drivetrain and the weight penalties for RWD cancelled out any positives the car had. They turned up partway through the season at Pembrey with the FWD car, where Rouse was battered out of the race in a sort of initiation ceremony. Paul Radisich taking a quiet 8th place, then went on an amazing run and came away with third in the points and the world title at Monza by the end of 1993.

Charlie Cox did experiment with a 4x4 Mondeo 5 door in 1995 after his car was reshelled following his massive Thruxton crash, but not sure if he ever raced it in that configuration.

John Cleland said the RWD Cavalier was the best balanced car he had ever driven, but it simply lost too much power in the drivetrain to make it as a frontline BTCC car.

I always wanted a Cavalier GSi when I was growing up, because of the Cleland/BTCC connection. Wouldn't mind a GSi or Turbo 4x4 in this weather....

I love PH, thanks guys I stand corrected!

[RatLad]

Well the last BTCC race I watched was at Brands in 1999, and after a long time out I've just ordered my tickets for round 1 of the 2011 series - I hope it lives up to it's promises!