Motorsport specials, the ones that got away.

[_Batty_]

Simple thread. Cars designed for motorsport that never made it into competition.

Heres a starter:
Group 'S' Audi, based on the S2 but with 'only 300bhp

305 'group B' prior to work on the 205:

Talbot lotus Sunbeam, 5 door RWD, mid engined:

[mini me]

Good thread!

[Ozzie Osmond]

Those bonkers "Group B" Metros and Escorts never did much actual racing IIRC. Rear engine, 4wd, very very fast.

[Twincam16]

Just about anything in the aborted 'Group S', that would have seen a kind of motorsport class that blurred the boundaries between rallying and endurance racing. My two favourites are:

Lancia ECV:


and the Toyota MR2 4WD Turbo:


I really wish something like Group S could be organised nowadays, to bridge the racing and rallying worlds and see who truly is the greatest driver in the world.

Raikkonen would probably be in with a shout, surely.

[Save Ferris]

Lada Samara Grp B rally car

[aeropilot]

_Batty_ said:

Talbot lotus Sunbeam, 5 door RWD, mid engined:

It was a Horizon, not a 5dr Sunbeam.

[supertouring]

Ford RS1700T



Lancia Group S

[aeropilot]

Ford GT70

[Roop]

Cracking thread

[Marf]

Daihatsu 926r. Mid engined turbocharged and RWD.

[interloper]

Ozzie Osmond said:

Those bonkers "Group B" Metros and Escorts never did much actual racing IIRC. Rear engine, 4wd, very very fast.

Scratches head? The Metro 6R4 was heavily campaigned from its was launch in late 85. It competed in most rounds of the WRC plus the British and French rally championships. After Grp B was banned the 6R4 (in clubman spec) was allowed to continue rallying in Britain under MSA regs, not to mention being used for Rallycross and even a bit of circuit racing.

Ford's Group B MK3 Escort project was abandoned, they only built a handful of RS1700Ts, these weren't mid engined or 4wd. That didn't stop other people building various Escort specials, notably Gartrac with there G3s and 4s.

[tuffer]

supertouring said:

Lancia Group S

End of thread, perfect.

[interloper]

For some reason I quite like the Citroen BX 4TC, it probably doesn't fit the strict criteria of the thread but the fact it was a bit of failure appeals to me.



Sticking closer to the point, Opel Kaddet 4S looked great (especially in Vauxhall colurs) but was late to the party and ended up as a bit of a cock up.

[anonymous-user]

Group S? Didnt vauxhall build a mk2 astra for these regs? IIRC john welch used it to compete in rallycross events

[interloper]

snowy slopes said:

Group S? Didnt vauxhall build a mk2 astra for these regs? IIRC john welch used it to compete in rallycross events

That was the idea behind the Astra/Kadette in the post Above. Click the link below for a bit more back ground.

http://www.groupbrally.com/opel.shtml

[RB26DETT]

_Batty_ said:

305 'group B' prior to work on the 205:

I like that alot.

[aeropilot]

A.G. said:

You are both half right. It was basically a mid engined Talbot Horizon BUT oddly it was called the Sunbeam Lotus Horizon Turbo.

Called by who....?

[JR]

Road going TVR Tuscan (3528 FI V8)

[gmk666]

I could be wrong, but the 288GTO Evoluzione never actually raced did it?

[Randy Winkman]

Perhaps not quite what the OP was after but ....

did the twin chassis Lotus 86/88 ever race?