The Group B era of world rally is legendary and rightly so, birthing some the maddest rally and road cars in history. The Group B regs where introduced in 1982 in an effort to shake up rally. Group A had become bogged down by the many restrictions of using production derived cars. The need for at least 5000 road car units to be produced, a minimum of four seats and restrictions on power served their purpose but led to less thrilling rallying for spectators and drivers. Group B offered a fine antidote for all this, with a mere 200 road going units needed for homologation allowing for high tech, low weight cars with no restrictions on boost and power output. Consequently, power output doubled between 1982 and 1986.
Along with offering incredible spectacle at the rally stages, this era gave the motoring public some of the greatest road cars ever conceived. Legends like the Ford RS200, Porsche 959, Lancia Delta and the Renault 5 turbo (worth it for the body kit alone!) Sadly, the horse power arms race that ensued could only end one way. After a series of fatal accidents during the 1986 season, the series was abandoned.