Homologated must-haves | Six of the Best
It's Monte weekend - no better way to mark it than the best road-going rally cars...
Prodrive P25, 2023, 26 miles… £849,995
Alright, so it's not a homologation car (or indeed a competition vehicle) in the strictest sense, but there are two Prodrive P25s currently on PH and it seemed only right to install one as the high bar. Both cars (see the grey one here) are right-hand drive, too, of which just 14 were specified. You’ll know the P25 by now, the cost-be-damned reimagining of the most famous Impreza of all (the 22B, inspired by the two-door rally car) by the folk that know Subaru rally cars better than any other. A feast of expensive hardware and obsessive attention to detail, it was little surprise that the entire run of 450hp flamethrowers sold out swiftly - even at half a million each. That a premium is now attached to the secondhand example was just as predictable; this one benefits from a wealth of desirable options, including the seats and harnesses, and looks utterly sensational. As well it might…
Lancia Delta Integrale Evo II, 1995, 24k, £120,000
Before the era of the Impreza and Evo was the Lancia Delta Integrale’s period of dominance. Back when rallying really mattered there was little to touch the Delta, which was pretty remarkable given the age of the fundamental design. Launched in the '70s as a Golf-rivalling family car and still winning international rallies in the '90s was quite some achievement. But constant tweaking and improving kept it competitive, both as a competition machine and an all-conquering mega hatch. Then and now, there really was nothing like a Delta Integrale for going very, very fast in all conditions and at any time - while looking very cool with it. Like the Impreza, the Integrale has enjoyed a restomod renaissance in recent years, though the originals remain extremely highly prized as well. There surely won’t be any better than this: a late, one-owner, Giallo Ginestra Evo II, it’s the stuff of Delta dreams.
Alpine A110, 1975, £68,000
There was no way that we could celebrate rally cars without an Alpine A110. Last year marked 50 years since the little French sports car won the inaugural WRC; not a Porsche, not a Lancia, not a Ford, but the Alpine-Renault. In the 13 rounds of that year’s championship, at least one A110 was on the podium eight times. At the Monte Carlo rally and the Tour de Corse, Alpines were on every step of the podium; in the right conditions, literally nothing could go faster. And you don’t need us to explain what 1-2-3s on French rallies for a French car with French drivers did for the A110’s reputation - Jean Rédélé’s Renault engined sports car became a legend. This one, interestingly, was built in Spain rather than France; number 718 of 908 cars spent the majority of its life there before coming to the UK in 2019. Seemingly loved at home and abroad, it looks wonderful.
Ford Escort 2.0, 1980, 82k, £39,990
Smoking might be bad for you, but goodness gracious did tobacco companies make for great motorsport liveries over the years. Many sponsors adorned rear-wheel-drive Escorts during its years of competition, and surely none of them looked better than the Rothmans white, blue, red and gold, perhaps most famously campaigned by Ari Vatanen to the 1981 WRC in an RS1800. The Rothmans Rally Team beat Audi Sport with its Quattro, which was enough to make a hero off every person (and Ford Escort) involved. This isn’t one of those original cars, it's an homage built from a 1.3-litre shell - but we're inclined to think a replica might be driven how an Escort should be (i.e. sideways) rather than locked in hermetically sealed storage. With 2.0-litre Vauxhall red-top power, a six-link back axle and beefed-up arches, it promises huge entertainment. For an awful lot less than the real thing.
Mitsubishi Evo VIII, 2003, 41k, £32,500
It can be easy to forget just how dominant Mitsubishi was in the WRC. Tommi Makinen won four consecutive WRCs with Lancer Evos in the late '90s; and while the later VII and VIII couldn’t make the same impression as rally cars, by that point UK sales of the road car had begun in earnest and the Evos were enjoying new triumphs: making supercars look not very fast up and down the land. On a British B road, nothing was faster than a mid-00s Evo, especially once power began to climb from the originally 280hp. Even 20 years later they can thrill like little else with four doors. This Palma Red car is an import and boasts just 41,000 miles, a Mitusbishi service history from new and the kind of condition that must be hard to find these days. It’s the price of a new GR Yaris…
Subaru Impreza WRX STI, 2002, 39k, £19,995
We all know why this one was so special. After years of Mitsubishi dominance, Richard Burns drove a bug-eye Impreza to the 2001 World Rally Championship, the first Subaru drivers’ title since Colin in 1995. For British rally fans, it really meant something, even if the new look for the 21st century still hadn’t entirely convinced everyone. Or many people at all. Indeed it’s typical to see that old cars lose a bit of impact over time, but there remains nothing shy or retiring about a blue and gold Impreza with a great big wing on the back. The big news with the replacement of the original Turbo was the introduction of more power with STI models; this 2002 example would have been the most powerful available back in the day thanks to the Prodrive Performance Pack that yielded 300hp. Told you those folk in Banbury now Subarus quite well. And we figured two blue Imprezas could make the list if a P25 is a Prodrive creation. A plain old STI is quite a bit less money, too.
The later Evos were certainly better looking than the earlier ones and I think this looks much fresher as a design than the bugeye WRX. Hopefully it'll get used properly.
https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/14314820
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