Who here also likes Group B cars?

Just proofing the upcoming issue and figured this story should be of interest:

Yes, those are real homologation cars.

And here's the plug: print and digital subscriptions start at just $10.

One of my favorite sounds in the whole world is a Group B in full blast mode.

And anything outlawed for being too extreme is always gonna draw me in

it would be a much shorter list if you asked 'who here doesnt like group B cars?'

edizzle89 wrote: it would be a much shorter list if you asked 'who here doesnt like group B cars?'

Okay, yeah, true.

Who here is a nerd and doesn't like Group B cars? (How's that?)

WRC needs a present day equivalent to group B. I know the current semi spec cars are the fastest ever, but man has WRC become boring.

In reply to HappyAndy:

I know, right? Seems sedate by comparison. Thank God for YouTube.

HappyAndy wrote: WRC needs a present day equivalent to group B. I know the current semi spec cars are the fastest ever, but man has WRC become boring.

Totally agree. I was reading something the other day about how the current cars aren't sliding through turns as much as in the past because the slide messes with the aero. It's actually quicker to drive the car more straight and let the aero do the work for you.

IMO the more aero = less entertaining.

I have some ideas to make a very entertaining premier rally class, I don't know if I want to threadjack this discussion though.

MOAR GROUP B PLEASE!

Sure, let's hear your ideas.

That reminds me, I want to talk to a local vinyl person about adapting one of the RS200 color schemes to my Focus RS.

Since I'll have the 924 in the garage, I might look at adapting the Audi scheme to it once I add a turbo to the Audi lump in it :)

In reply to HappyAndy:

Group B discussion is not a threadjack in a Group B thread!

ebonyandivory wrote: In reply to HappyAndy: Group B discussion is not a threadjack in a Group B thread!

Yeah, totally.

JG and I were discussing Group B. Yes, on paper it was totally cool. The problem was its sustainability. The cars went from fast to stupid fast in just a few short years. How do you keep that formula from killing everyone and running off the manufacturers?

In reply to David S. Wallens:

HANS devices and keeping spectators back from dangerous areas?

I bet the Group B cars would be much more safe now in 2017 than they were in the 80's cars with 80's safety equipment could possibly have dreamed of.

Seems like the Group B cars outpaced the safety equipment and it just couldn't keep up.

But now we have 30+ years of safety evolution behind us.

In reply to ebonyandivory: I'm dating myself here, but remember the episode of Speed Racer where Pops (or somebody, it's been a while) built a car so fast and powerful that it whoever drove it went insane and crashed? Group B was sort of a true-life version of that. World Rally mirrored what was happening in the Prototype - CAN/AM ranks (remember the Porsche 917/30) You're right that the technology outpaced the safety equipment, it always does at the cutting edge of motorsport and the engineers have to be reined in or put in check so to speak so the rest of us can catch up.

-I still get wood from thinking of Michele Mouton wrestling with the Sport Quattro though..

Another thing that makes me uninterested in modern WRC is the lack of homologation. A turbo AWD Hyundai shooting fire sounds pretty awesome, but they don't sell those. Lancia DID sell mid engined, twin charged delta S4's.

In reply to Rufledt:

Very good point. When they only use the bare shell of cars to build the WRC CARS, normal people like us have a hard time relating.

(Yup, I said normal!)

appliance_racer wrote:

HappyAndy wrote: WRC needs a present day equivalent to group B. I know the current semi spec cars are the fastest ever, but man has WRC become boring.

Totally agree. I was reading something the other day about how the current cars aren't sliding through turns as much as in the past because the slide messes with the aero. It's actually quicker to drive the car more straight and let the aero do the work for you. IMO the more aero = less entertaining.

Loeb pretty much proved that sideways is slower in any car.

^Sounds like the episode where they put the GRX engine in the Mach 5.

http://speedracer.wikia.com/wiki/GRX

They showed Speed Racer on antenna TV in the '90s.

In reply to 06HHR:

The GRX

Just realized that the drug in the later seasons of Future GPX Cyber Formula is a near-verbatim copy of V-Gas from Speed Racer.

Edit: And now we're really off-topic

On a related note, and for a kinda forgotten group b Car, there's a guy on facebook that just completed a fiberglass body shell kit to build a Toyota 222D Replica. They should be up for sale shortly.

I am so glad I got to spectate at the last rally the gpB cars ran in. Yeah, I'm braggin. Also old.

If I ever hit the lottery, I was going to take a new sti and build it out like an old group b entry.

I still get lost on YouTube during rainy weather watching whatever old rally I can find, wishing I was alive when these guys were still doing it. And while not exactly real life, they're still my preferred rally cars in pretty much every videogame.

The lack of modern homogolation cars is saddening.

David S. Wallens wrote:

edizzle89 wrote: it would be a much shorter list if you asked 'who here doesnt like group B cars?'

Okay, yeah, true. Who here is a nerd and doesn't like Group B cars? (How's that?)

They need to be bammed from the forum immediately amd have their subscription if they don't like them.

In reply to RevRico:

There are R3 kits for Fiestas - available in the US! You can turn your Fiesta into a top level front-driver.