Group B: seemingly, the benchmark against which all rallying is measured in terms of the excitement and pure thrills it delivers. And this snippet of video, a tribute to the fabulous
Audi Sport Quattro S1
, certainly has both those things in spades. It splices together a selection of clips of Stig Blomqvist, Hannu Mikkola and Per Eklund all tonking through the forests of Finland at the sort of pace you'd expect from Group B drivers at the top of their game, which is spectacle enough in itself. But the real appeal of this piece of video is the noise. Unfettered by any backing track or commentary and in its most raw form, the sound of the S1 is almost other-worldly, a broad wail that's interspersed by the chittering of compressor stall and the occasional flame-thrown crack from the exhaust.
Group B
was canned altogether, these clips show arguably the peak of the series, and Audi's rally legend in - almost - its finest and most extreme form. Only the later E2 variant was more potent. That's not to say that this... er... "basic" S1 is anything of the sort, though. With power estimates varying anywhere between 450hp and 500hp, it was a blisteringly quick machine - as you can see quite clearly. If you need something to make you feel... ooh, all warm inside on a grim and wintry Monday afternoon, you've found it. Enjoy!