4 ms·

It was amazing what the drivers did with these Group B monsters in the mid 80s, considering how different of a sport rallying was back then. The cars were at be

by Nr7 12y ago

It was amazing what the drivers did with these Group B monsters in the mid 80s, considering how different of a sport rallying was back then. The cars were at best several hundreds of horsepowers more powerful than current wrc cars, with much inferior handling. Most cars, if any, didn't even have power steering back then. Also the races were much longer taking place over about 5 days compared to the 3 day events nowadays. One event had about 40-50 special stages back then when now there are about 15-25 and most of those are just the same stages repeated. In addition they used to drive both day and night while while getting only a few hours of sleep per night. I'm sure current rally races are still pretty grueling events, but those drivers in the 80s must have been superhuman. I'm still glad that things have changed. If they hadn't cancelled Group B the fatality count would have just increased. The cars were getting totally out of hand. Some rumors say that some prototype cars already built for the 87 season had close to 1000 horsepowers.

mauricemir 12y ago
I recall seeing and hearing a group B audi during a road transit stage - the sound of the engine crackling and poping as the driver drove slowly through town was amazing
- Nr7 12y ago
  That 5 cylinder engine makes such amazing sounds. I saw the Finnish rally legend Juha Kankkunen drive his own Sport Quattro S1 in a spectator event in Helsinki last summer. It completely blew my mind. :)
exDM69 12y ago
These cars were crazy difficult to drive, they had a "locked" four wheel drive system that is similar to an agricultural tractor so you have to slide the car around slow corners or the engine stalls (spectacular and noisy, but not really fast). They had an unsynchronized H-shifter gearbox that requires double declutching on downshifts and careful power application given the huge turbo boost. The driver has to be able to use the left and right foot for braking and be able to press all three pedals at once momentarily when downshifting under braking (left foot on the clutch, right foot toe on the brake and blipping the throttle with the outside of the foot, misleadingly called "heel'n'toe"). Here's a really good clip of Walter Röhrl putting an Audi Quattro through its paces: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyVHj3sHVHQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyVHj3sHVHQ
- quickdraw46 12y ago
  I thought Senna was gifted when I saw that video of him driving the NSX. But this is something else!
  - exar0815 12y ago
    Yeah, that is no driving, that is Art... One thing I really would love to see once is Bellof beating his 956 around Nordschleife with an average of 200 km/h... Sad that there is no real Video of it...
- onion2k 12y ago
  These cars were crazy difficult to drive, they had a "locked" four wheel drive system that is similar to an agricultural tractor so you have to slide the car around slow corners or the engine stalls (spectacular and noisy, but not really fast). That makes it sound like there are tractors that can do powerslides.
  - jessaustin 12y ago
    Really slow powerslides. When operating in mud, turning the front wheels won't turn the tractor, so many tractors have separate brakes for the left and right rear wheels. It's kind of amazing how quickly the tractor turns when you stomp just one of those brakes. The resulting effect is like a powerslide in that the front of the tractor "falls behind" the rear.
  - Intermernet 12y ago
    I learnt to drive on a Massey Ferguson 35. They can be "power-slid". It's just not very spectacular at 10km/h.
  - ayuvar 12y ago
    Speaking as someone who spent too much time on a farm as a kid, you can do a lot with a tractor. The only thing you really have to watch out for is popping a wheelie and crushing yourself under it. Imagine my surprise when I found out that real cars aren't like that.
CWuestefeld 12y ago
Most cars, if any, didn't even have power steering back then. And I recall a few years ago listening to Marcus Gronholm - two-time WRC champ himself - asking his team for permission to drop out after his power steering failed.
- lm2s 12y ago
  Turning a non powered steer and turning a non working powered steer are two _very_ different things. When the power steer fails, it gets really heavy.

by Nr7 12y ago

mauricemir 12y ago

I recall seeing and hearing a group B audi during a road transit stage - the sound of the engine crackling and poping as the driver drove slowly through town was amazing

Nr7 12y ago
That 5 cylinder engine makes such amazing sounds. I saw the Finnish rally legend Juha Kankkunen drive his own Sport Quattro S1 in a spectator event in Helsinki last summer. It completely blew my mind. :)

exDM69 12y ago

These cars were crazy difficult to drive, they had a "locked" four wheel drive system that is similar to an agricultural tractor so you have to slide the car around slow corners or the engine stalls (spectacular and noisy, but not really fast). They had an unsynchronized H-shifter gearbox that requires double declutching on downshifts and careful power application given the huge turbo boost. The driver has to be able to use the left and right foot for braking and be able to press all three pedals at once momentarily when downshifting under braking (left foot on the clutch, right foot toe on the brake and blipping the throttle with the outside of the foot, misleadingly called "heel'n'toe"). Here's a really good clip of Walter Röhrl putting an Audi Quattro through its paces: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyVHj3sHVHQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyVHj3sHVHQ

quickdraw46 12y ago
I thought Senna was gifted when I saw that video of him driving the NSX. But this is something else!
- exar0815 12y ago
  Yeah, that is no driving, that is Art... One thing I really would love to see once is Bellof beating his 956 around Nordschleife with an average of 200 km/h... Sad that there is no real Video of it...
onion2k 12y ago
These cars were crazy difficult to drive, they had a "locked" four wheel drive system that is similar to an agricultural tractor so you have to slide the car around slow corners or the engine stalls (spectacular and noisy, but not really fast). That makes it sound like there are tractors that can do powerslides.
- jessaustin 12y ago
  Really slow powerslides. When operating in mud, turning the front wheels won't turn the tractor, so many tractors have separate brakes for the left and right rear wheels. It's kind of amazing how quickly the tractor turns when you stomp just one of those brakes. The resulting effect is like a powerslide in that the front of the tractor "falls behind" the rear.
- Intermernet 12y ago
  I learnt to drive on a Massey Ferguson 35. They can be "power-slid". It's just not very spectacular at 10km/h.
- ayuvar 12y ago
  Speaking as someone who spent too much time on a farm as a kid, you can do a lot with a tractor. The only thing you really have to watch out for is popping a wheelie and crushing yourself under it. Imagine my surprise when I found out that real cars aren't like that.

CWuestefeld 12y ago

Most cars, if any, didn't even have power steering back then. And I recall a few years ago listening to Marcus Gronholm - two-time WRC champ himself - asking his team for permission to drop out after his power steering failed.

lm2s 12y ago
Turning a non powered steer and turning a non working powered steer are two _very_ different things. When the power steer fails, it gets really heavy.