Friday Fun—Pick Your Obscure Group B Rally Car Homologation
Welcome back to Choices, where seemingly similar cars are pit against one another in a battle for your affection. It’s like trying to choose your favourite hamburger (they’re all great, right?) Your task, if you agree to accept it, is to determine which of the four cars below belongs nestled in your garage:
Group B rally racing is automotive folklore. Fanatics talk about this era with fondness and awe. The Audi S1 Quattro, Ford RS200, MG Metro 6R4, and Lancia Delta S4 have become mystical automotive creatures. Some folks get a little teary-eyed thinking of those four-wheel drive, sideways-sliding monsters.
The Contestants
- Citroën BX 4TC
- Nissan Silvia 240RS
- Opel Manta 400
- Toyota Celica GT-TS
But not all Group B rally cars were beasts or all that successful. Many manufacturers created Group B cars that were either problematic, outclassed, or both. A few may have found limited success, but none were frontrunners like the cars mentioned above. Four such cars were the Citroën BX 4TC, the Nissan Silvia 240RS, the Opel Manta B 400 and the Toyota Celica Twincam Turbo.
For this week’s challenge we are selecting the four road-going homologation versions of these cars for you to decide what to do with. The means the Citroën BX 4TC, the Nissan Silvia 240RS, the Opel Manta 400 and the Toyota Celica GT-TS. Which car is going to be your daily driver, which will be your racer, which is going in storage and which will sadly be left behind?
My Choice
I am going to make my selection purely based on the least important aspect of a car when it comes to racing – looks. I love the blocky, wide-body design of the 240RS, so it is the one I would choose. The Citroën BX 4TC is even cooler looking, but keeping one of those running is an absolute nightmare.
Become an AutoGuide insider. Get the latest from the automotive world first by subscribing to our newsletter here.
A 20+ year industry veteran, Mike rejoins the AutoGuide team as the Managing Editor. He started his career at a young age working at dealerships, car rentals, and used car advertisers. He then found his true passion, automotive writing. After contributing to multiple websites for several years, he spent the next six years working at the head office of an automotive OEM, before returning back to the field he loves. He is a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC), and Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA). He's the recipient of a feature writing of the year award and multiple video of the year awards.
More by Mike Schlee
Comments
Join the conversation