http://www.ianhardy.net/ford_rs200.php

 

The Audi Sport Quattro S1 was the benchmark by which ALL other manufacturers measured their ability to race in the premire (Gruppe B) Rallye class. The RS200 was Ford's attempt to stay buy into in teh high-stakes game. Hot l'il car. There are still a few homogulation "street" cars on the road in Europe. Every once in a while, if you're VERY lucky, you'll see on bombin down teh Autobahn/Strada/Route's... The street cars din't look nearly as homely as teh rallye car. But they weren't qute by any stretch of the inagination.

Gruppe B's, also known as the "Killer B's," were almost the downfall of modern rallye competition. A handful of spectators were killed, on more than one occassion, as the outrageously powered (imagine an A3 Q with 600WHP and you have some idea of the power/weight ratio Killer B's competed at) cars sometimes literally FLEW off teh road into crowds of people lining teh rallye routes.

I STILL dream of driving around with 3-5 pounds/whp. Lessee, my 8 weighs about 3800 pounds, give or take, so, figgR upwards of 15,000 hp. How much does rocket fuel go for per gallon?

 

god damn, that is an insane power/weight ratio!.........awd, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find a video of these "killer b" monsters in action...

 

Yeah, this car just put out insane #'s! 0 - 60 in as low as 2.1 seconds... thats effin insane!

Agreed though, regarding the spectators being killed... 600 hp in a 2000 lb car is a wee bit excessive... still though, spectators like to be where the action is... and unfortunately, thats where the danger is as well.

 

My neighbor raced scca rallye with a mazda 323 gtx ( insane power out of this car ) I remember watching those videos at his house of the classe B rallye cars...

If my memory serves me correctly were'nt they banned from racing the gruppe B cars?

I have a video on VHS but that doesnt do to good for you guys. It has a classe B car staged up against a stock audi quattro just as comparision... awesome

 

you mean 700hp for 2000 pounds... right Chris?

Oddly enough... they state 2 0-60 times on that site. 2.1 and 1.8. Regardless... wow

 

I'm on it. I'll post to sights & sounds when I track down some vids.

Headshook, what isn't mentioned in the spectator deaths is that, usually, in Euorpean rallying, spectators crowd the course kinda like they do in teh Tour de france. I mean they're RIGHT ON TEH FRIKKIN ROAD, FERCRYINOUTLOUD!!! It wasn't like the cars went hundreds of feet off the road to plow the over. Usually it was contact w/i 5ft of leaving teh road. INSANE is right. Some of the drivers simply couldn't handle that much power. I know I wudn't be able to, no matter how good I thiink I am...

The Killer B's were finally outlawed after three fatal incidents during teh same season, one where 5 spectators (i think), and a driver/co-driver were killed at the same event.

Still, it started my infactuation with AWD that remains to this day. AWD Baybee!!! (Life begins at 100... MILES PER HOUR!)

 

Haven't found N-E vids, YET, but I did run across THIS.

 

these class b cars are f*#kin amazing...i'm fascinated with these things...

 

Like I said, "S'why I love AWD so much..." Back N'da day, ABC sports would occassionally show a RAC rallye. The group B's with a rooster-tail of mud/dirt/snow being thrown up 20-30 ft behind it was an AWSOME sight. I may hafta order a couple of the vhs tapes that are avail and convert the umage to something postable so I can show you guys. Check back for further updates, as they occur...