WRC = BORING ROAD CARS
Discussion
mat205125 said:
All escort cosworths were sold at a loss.
In the current economic climate no manufacturer will make such a car, and would walk away from the series if they needed to homologate without making a profit through retail price and economics of scale.
Really? I doubt that seeing as how it was just a cut down sierra cosworth, it was certainly worth it for the halo effect though, the mk5 escort was utter crap yet still sold brilliantly. The mk1 focus RS was certainly sold at a loss though.In the current economic climate no manufacturer will make such a car, and would walk away from the series if they needed to homologate without making a profit through retail price and economics of scale.
deevlash said:
mat205125 said:
All escort cosworths were sold at a loss.
In the current economic climate no manufacturer will make such a car, and would walk away from the series if they needed to homologate without making a profit through retail price and economics of scale.
Really? I doubt that seeing as how it was just a cut down sierra cosworth, it was certainly worth it for the halo effect though, the mk5 escort was utter crap yet still sold brilliantly. The mk1 focus RS was certainly sold at a loss though.In the current economic climate no manufacturer will make such a car, and would walk away from the series if they needed to homologate without making a profit through retail price and economics of scale.
Ford engineers have been pushing for more specialist niche machinery since and rarely get approval. Escort Cosworth and Racing Puma were both loss leaders but the halo effect is hard to quantify and therefore hardly affects the financials when the go / no go decision is made.
I don't think Ford would consider it good value to continue in WRC if cars had to be homologated as in the nineties. Better to rally prototypes than not rally at all.
That's not so stupid actually - roll out the FIA GT3 and GT4 regs for rally, spectators would like that.
Keep GrpA/WRC for the 4WD/premier class.
In European Rallycross they have been trialing a RWD category for 2 seasons. Hasn't taken off but it is building momentum. Consists of some RWD cars and some converted ones under similarly loose regs that allow them to convert a Focus to 4WD for WRC spec cars. One wonders whether they're keeping an eye on it for possible introduction into WRC in 4/5 years time.
Keep GrpA/WRC for the 4WD/premier class.
In European Rallycross they have been trialing a RWD category for 2 seasons. Hasn't taken off but it is building momentum. Consists of some RWD cars and some converted ones under similarly loose regs that allow them to convert a Focus to 4WD for WRC spec cars. One wonders whether they're keeping an eye on it for possible introduction into WRC in 4/5 years time.
Cara Van Man said:
It'ws a shame British Leyland never got to make a roadgoing Metro 6R4 
That would have been the boy racers heaven.
Group B cars had to be homologated (200 units I think) so I imagine that some were sold to the public. From what I understand, many cars that are built solely for the purpose of homologation (e.g. MB CLK-GTR) are a bit crap compared to similar cars that are designed for the road.That would have been the boy racers heaven.
Edited by SamHH on Wednesday 15th October 22:42
xspencex said:
Is it in France or Belgium where they race rally spec Aston N24's and Porsche GT3's....now that's what I want to see... a GT3 being hammered over a tarmac stage
The Aston rally car I saw a video of some time ago certainly looked, went, and sounded good.The problem with GT3 cars I believe is that rallying doesn't suit the brands' images.
The car would have to do rallies other than tarmac ones, and mud-covered cars in forests doesn't really tie in with the image of Porsche / Aston etc.
Even Audi aren't in it any longer - this is probably due to the image problem too.
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