Misplaced Pages

#340659

118-612: Group B was a set of regulations for grand touring (GT) vehicles used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World Sportscar Championship alongside the more popular racing prototypes of Group C , Group B are commonly associated with the international rallying scene during 1982 to 1986 in popular culture, when they were

236-694: A pilota da corsa at the 1949 Mille Miglia . The A6 1500 was the first road going production car to be offered by the Maserati factory, featuring a tubular chassis with independent front suspension and coil springs , the 1500 cc six-cylinder being derived from the Maserati brothers pre-war voiturette racing engines. The body of the A6 1500 was an elegant two-door fast-back coupé body, also by Pinin Farina. Enzo Ferrari , whose Scuderia Ferrari had been

354-405: A unibody or monocoque design, the body serves as part of the structure. Tube-frame chassis pre-date space frame chassis and are a development of the earlier ladder chassis . The advantage of using tubes rather than the previous open channel sections is that they resist torsional forces better. Some tube chassis were little more than a ladder chassis made with two large diameter tubes, or even

472-695: A "much abused and confused term") are typically more "crude" compared to "sophisticated Grand Touring machinery". However, the popularity of using GT for marketing purposes has meant that it has become a "much misused term, eventually signifying no more than a slightly tuned version of a family car with trendy wheels and a go-faster stripe on the side". Historically, most GTs have been front-engined with rear-wheel drive , offering more cabin space than mid-mounted engine layouts. Softer suspensions, greater storage, and more luxurious appointments add to their appeal. The GT abbreviation—and variations thereof—are often used as model names. However, some cars with GT in

590-617: A 100 mph car. Lancia chose the Gran Turismo name for its new model and the suggestion could only have come from Vittorio Jano himself, for had he not been responsible for the original 1750 Alfa Romeo of the same name back in 1929? Four semi-ufficiali works B20 GTs, together with a number of privateer entrants, were sent to the Mille Miglia in April 1951, where the factory Bracco / Maglioli car finished second overall, behind only

708-572: A 6C Alfa Romeo and Maserati in 1948, along with the Fiat 1100 S coupé with its rear accommodation for children. The original Aurelia had been under-powered and, in 1951, the V6 was enlarged to 1991 cc, which was also extended to the coupé, though in 75 rather than 70 bhp form as the B20 was developed as a sporting model in its own right. In addition the B20 had a shorter wheelbase and a higher rear axle ratio, making it

826-463: A Ferrari sports racer of twice the engine capacity. Lancia Aurelias swept the GT 2.0 Liter division. In June 1951, Bracco was partnered with the "father of GT racing" himself, Johnny Lurani , to race a B20 GT at Le Mans, where they were victorious in the 2.0 liter sportscar division, placing a very creditable 12th overall. A 1–2 finish at the famous Coppa d'Oro delle Dolomiti, among other victories including

944-548: A GT car", was winner of the Vetture Chiuse category at the 1931 Mille Miglia. An improved and supercharged version, the 6C 1750 GTC Gran Turismo Compressore , won the Vetture a Guida Interna category of the 1932 Mille Miglia. The Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 was designed by Vittorio Jano, who would later be instrumental in the design of the 1951 Lancia Aurelia B20 GT. From the basic Fiat 508 Balilla touring chassis came

1062-463: A car like windscreens or rear view mirrors. Article 256 covered the specific regulations for Group B with 5 paragraphs over half a page and includes most of the 7 pages of article 255 (Group A). The first two paragraphs of 256 covered the definition of (Sports) Grand Touring Cars (with a minimum of two seats) and the homologation requirements. The section, "3) FITTINGS AND MODIFICATIONS ALLOWED" states, "All those allowed for Group A..." These rules give

1180-600: A car would have been required for homologation , rather than the 200 required for Group B. By the time of its cancellation, at least four Group S prototypes had been built: The Lancia ECV , the Toyota MR2 -based 222D, the Opel Kadett Rallye 4x4 (a.k.a. Vauxhall Astra 4S) and the Lada Samara S-proto, and new cars were also planned by both Audi (the 002 Quattro) and Ford (a Group S modification of

1298-401: A common feature in modern building construction; they are often found in large roof spans in modernist commercial and industrial buildings. Examples of buildings based on space frames include: Large portable stages and lighting gantries are also frequently built from space frames and octet trusses. The CAC CA-6 Wackett and Yeoman YA-1 Cropmaster 250R aircraft were built using roughly

SECTION 10

#1732780259341

1416-662: A home in the World Endurance Championship , a new name for the World Sports Car Championship, though were secondary to the racing prototype Group C cars. The 1983 season had the first significant entry list including Porsche 930 , BMW M1 and Ferrari 308 GTB LM vehicles. Porsche won the FIA GT Cup in 1983, handing it over to BMW in 1984 and 1985. From 1986 the championship retired Group B in favor of IMSA regulated cars and

1534-678: A position similar to the Bugatti 57SC of 1939. In 1962 the GTO Ferrari coupés had a remarkable season of successes in G.T. racing and have become the standard by which any competition coupé is measured, and by steady development [the Ferrari 250GT] has become one of the world's greatest cars. 1953 saw the first serious attempt to series produce the Ferrari motor car, two models of the Type 250 Europa being produced. The cars were an evolution of

1652-500: A racing car space frame was the Cisitalia D46 of 1946. This used two small diameter tubes along each side, but they were spaced apart by vertical smaller tubes, and so were not diagonalised in any plane. A year later, Porsche designed their Type 360 for Cisitalia . As this included diagonal tubes, it can be considered a true space frame and arguable the first mid-rear engined design. The Maserati Tipo 61 of 1959 (Birdcage)

1770-662: A rigid space frame. An earlier contender for the first true space frame chassis is the one off Chamberlain 8 race "special" built by brothers Bob and Bill Chamberlain in Melbourne, Australia in 1929. Others attribute vehicles produced in the 1930s by designers such as Buckminster Fuller and William Bushnell Stout (the Dymaxion and the Stout Scarab ) who understood the theory of the true space frame from either architecture or aircraft design. A post WW2 attempt to build

1888-561: A single tube as a backbone chassis . Although many tubular chassis developed additional tubes and were even described as "space frames", their design was rarely correctly stressed as a space frame and they behaved mechanically as a tube ladder chassis, with additional brackets to support the attached components, suspension, engine etc. The distinction of the true space frame is that all the forces in each strut are either tensile or compression, never bending. Although these additional tubes did carry some extra load, they were rarely diagonalised into

2006-437: A stronger matrix, in part by rotating an alignment of tetrahedral nodes in relation to each other. Space frames are typically designed using a rigidity matrix. The special characteristic of the stiffness matrix in an architectural space frame is the independence of the angular factors. If the joints are sufficiently rigid, the angular deflections can be neglected, simplifying the calculations. The simplest form of space frame

2124-423: A team of prototype cars of extremely advanced and interesting design. By 1954 these had undergone sufficient development to be placed on the market as the "300SL" , one of the costliest and most desirable cars of our time. The conventional chassis has been abandoned in favor of a complex structure of welded tubes , although the coil spring suspension is retained, and exceptionally large brakes are fitted, inboard at

2242-469: A true space frame chassis until the Mark VIII , with the influence of other designers, with experience from the aircraft industry. A large number of kit cars use space frame construction, because manufacture in small quantity requires only simple and inexpensive jigs , and it is relatively easy for an amateur designer to achieve good stiffness with a space frame. A drawback of the space frame chassis

2360-581: Is a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive two-door coupé with either a two-seat or a 2+2 arrangement. Grand tourers are often the coupé derivative of luxury saloons or sedans. Some models, such as the Ferrari 250 GT , Jaguar E-Type , and Aston Martin DB5 , are considered classic examples of gran turismo cars. The term is a near- calque from the Italian language phrase gran turismo , which became popular in

2478-464: Is a horizontal slab of interlocking square pyramids and tetrahedra built from Aluminium or tubular steel struts. In many ways this looks like the horizontal jib of a tower crane repeated many times to make it wider. A stronger form is composed of interlocking tetrahedra in which all the struts have unit length. More technically this is referred to as an isotropic vector matrix or in a single unit width an octet truss. More complex variations change

SECTION 20

#1732780259341

2596-717: Is a rotary or similar, then the capacity is considered to be "twice the volume determined between the maximum and minimum capacity of the combustion chamber." The equivalent capacity, C {\textstyle C} , for a turbine engine is much more complicated, derived with the formula C = S ( ( 3.10 × T ) − 7.63 ) 0.09625 {\textstyle C={\frac {S((3.10\times T)-7.63)}{0.09625}}} (1982) or C = S ( 3.10 × R ) − 7.63 0.09625 {\textstyle C={\frac {S(3.10\times R)-7.63}{0.09625}}} (1986), where S {\textstyle S}

2714-618: Is often thought of as the first but in 1949 Robert Eberan von Eberhorst designed the Jowett Jupiter exhibited at that year's London Motor Show ; the Jowett went on to take a class win at the 1950 Le Mans 24hr. Later, TVR , the small British car manufacturers developed the concept and produced an alloy-bodied two seater on a multi tubular chassis, which appeared in 1949. Colin Chapman of Lotus introduced his first 'production' car,

2832-451: Is recognized as the first Ferrari gran turismo . After that race, the national governing body of Italian motorsport, CSAI ( Commissione Sportiva Automobilistica Italiana), officially introduced a new class, called Gran Turismo Internazionale , for cars with production over thirty units per year, thereby ruling out Ferrari's hand-built berlinettas . Ferrari's response for the new Italian Gran Turismo Internazionale championship in 1951

2950-410: Is that it encloses much of the working volume of the car and can make access for both the driver and to the engine difficult. The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL “Gullwing” received its iconic upward-opening doors when its tubular space frame made using regular doors impossible. Some space frames have been designed with removable sections, joined by bolted pin joints. Such a structure had already been used around

3068-590: Is the "high pressure nozzle area" (cm), and T {\textstyle T} / R {\textstyle R} is the "pressure ratio" of the compressor. Ultimately, there were few restrictions on technology, design or materials permitted. For example, fibreglass bodywork was used in the case of the Ford RS200 , a car without a commercially available counterpart, though silhouette race cars using space frame chassis were still common even when consumer car equivalents were mass produced, for example in

3186-399: The 159 and 166 models, including the 1949 Ferrari 166 Inter , a road-going berlinetta coupé with coachwork by Carrozzeria Touring and other coachbuilders. The Ferrari 166 'Inter' S coupé model won the 1949 Coppa Inter-Europa motor race. Regulations stipulated body form and dimensions but did not at this time specify a minimum production quantity. The car was driven by Bruno Sterzi, and

3304-431: The 250 GTO . A full Testa Rossa engine was employed (albeit with black crinkle-finish engine covers) with six twin-choke Webers. Power was up to 300 b.h.p. at 7,400 r.p.m. and with a lightweight 2000 lb body and chassis: the car was an immediate winner. Remarkable as it might be on the circuit, it is also a remarkable machine on the road. One American Ferrarist, who owned and raced many G.T. Ferraris, commented that

3422-455: The Fiat -based 1100 cc four-cylinder Cisitalia was no match on the race track for Ferrari's new hand-built 2000 cc V12 , and Ferrari dominated, taking the first three places. An 1100 cc class was hurriedly created, but not in time to save Cisitalia's business fortunes—the company's bankrupt owner Piero Dusio had already decamped to Argentina. The Cisitalia 202 SC gained considerable fame for

3540-714: The Fiat 8V "Otto Vu" was unveiled at the Geneva Salon in March 1952 to international acclaim. Although not raced by the factory, the Otto Vu was raced by a number of private owners. Vincenzo Auricchio and Piero Bozzinio raced to fifth in the gran turismo category of the 1952 Mille Miglia, and Ovidio Capelli placed third in the GT 2000 cc class at the Coppa della Toscana in June, with a special race-spec lightweight Zagato coupe;

3658-519: The Mark VI , in 1952. This was influenced by the Jaguar C-Type chassis, another with four tubes of two different diameters, separated by narrower tubes. Chapman reduced the main tube diameter for the lighter Lotus, but did not reduce the minor tubes any further, possibly because he considered that this would appear flimsy to buyers. Although widely described as a space frame, Lotus did not build

Group B - Misplaced Pages Continue

3776-745: The Pikes Peak Hillclimb in Colorado . Walter Röhrl's S1 Rally car won the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in 1987 and set a new record at the time. Audi used their Group B experience to develop a production based racing car for the Trans-Am and IMSA GTO series in 1988 and 1989 respectively. Many ex-rally cars found homes in European Rallycross events from the beginning of 1987 until

3894-453: The post-war era especially, have since become valuable cars among wealthy collectors. Within ten years, grand touring cars found success penetrating the new American personal luxury car market. The terms grand tourer , gran turismo , grande routière , and GT are among the most misused terms in motoring. The grand touring designation generally "means motoring at speed, in style, safety, and comfort". "Purists define gran turismo as

4012-467: The "Lagoa Azul" stage of the Portuguese Rally near Sintra , Portuguese driver Joaquim Santos crested a rise, turning to his right to avoid a small group of spectators. This caused him to lose control of his RS200. The car veered to the right and slid off the road into another group of spectators. Thirty-one people were injured and three were killed. All the top teams immediately pulled out of

4130-515: The 1950s, driving a Zagato-bodied Fiat 8V, Elio emerged as the consummate gentleman racer in Italian GT championship events. Zagato, his father's firm, provided the lithe, lightweight aluminium bodies for many of the Lancias, Alfa Romeos, Abarths and Maseratis that dominated these meetings. Elio won 82 races out of the 150 he entered, and won four of the five championships he entered. Working with

4248-614: The 1955-1965 Chrysler 300 . Despite this, the United States, enjoying early post-war economic expansion , became the largest market for European grand-touring cars, supplying transportation for movie stars, celebrities and the jet set ; notably the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (imported by Max Hoffman ), the Jaguar XK120 , and the Ferrari berlinettas (imported by Luigi Chinetti ). Classic grand-touring cars from

4366-478: The 1985 season. Although not without mishap: Vatanen plunged off the road in Argentina and was seriously injured when his seat mountings broke in the ensuing crash. Timo Salonen won the 1985 champion title with five wins. Although the crash was a sign that Group B cars had already become dangerously quick (despite Vatanen having a consistent record of crashing out while leading), several new Group B cars entered

4484-596: The 250 chassis was employed for improved handling and road-holding in corners, and top speed was up to 157 m.p.h. In 1957 Gendebien finished third overall in the Mille Miglia, and won the "index of performance". Alfonso de Portago won the Tour de France and GT races at Montlhéry and Castelfusano in a lightweight Carrozzeria Scaglietti 250 GT. Gendebien became a gran turismo specialist in 250 GTs when he wasn't driving sports racing Ferrari Testa Rossas ("Red Heads" for their red engine covers), achieving success in both

4602-481: The 3000 cc class (2142.8 cc with turbo or supercharger), 960 kg minimum weight ( Audi Quattro , Lancia 037 ); and 2500 cc (1785 cc), 890 kg ( Peugeot 205 T16 , Lancia Delta S4 ). The original Renault 5 Turbo had a 1.4 L engine so it was in the 2000 cc class. Renault later increased the size of the engine somewhat for the Turbo Maxi, so as to be able to fit larger tires (at

4720-602: The 6 Ore di Pescara, rounded out an astonishing debut racing season for this ground-breaking car, winning its division in the Italian GT Championship for Umberto Castiglioni in 1951 . Lancia B20 GTs would go on to win the over 2.0 liter Italian GT Championship in 1953, 1954 and 1955 with the B20-2500 . A surprise to the international press, who were not expecting a gran turismo berlinetta from Italy's largest manufacturer of everyday standard touring models,

4838-476: The April 1951 Coppa Inter-Europa, driven by Luigi Villoresi, and in June (chassis no. 0092E) was first in the gran turismo category at the Coppa della Toscana driven by Milanese Ferrari concessionaire and proprietor of Scuderia Guastalla, Franco Cornacchia. The 212 Export continued to serve Ferrari well in the Sports and GT categories until replaced by the 225 S, and although it would later be overshadowed by

Group B - Misplaced Pages Continue

4956-456: The CSAI were raced with the original chassis and engine layout as specified in the factory catalog and available for customers to buy; engines could be tuned and bored out, but the bodywork had to conform to regulations. The CSAI were concerned that FIA (known as AIACR at the time) ' Annexe C ' Sports cars were becoming little more than thinly-disguised two-seat Grand Prix racers, far removed from

5074-837: The Corsica rally. The final days of Group B were also controversial. The Peugeots were disqualified from the Rally Sanremo by the Italian scrutineers as the 'skirts' around the bottom of the car were found to be illegal. Peugeot immediately accused the Italians of favouring Lancia. Their case was strengthened at the next event, the RAC Rally , when the British scrutineers passed the Peugeots as legal in identical trim. FISA annulled

5192-611: The English language in the 1950s, evolving from fast touring cars and streamlined closed sports cars during the 1930s. The grand touring car concept originated in Europe in the early 1950s, especially with the 1951 introduction of the Lancia Aurelia B20 GT , and features notable luminaries of Italian automotive history such as Vittorio Jano , Enzo Ferrari and Johnny Lurani . Motorsports became important in

5310-405: The G.T.O. is an even more pleasant car on the road! He maintains that it is most tractable and overheating in traffic congestions is no problem. In its short lifetime the 250GTO has established an enviable record. It is also one of the most sought after competition cars as evidenced by recent European suggestions that "black market" G.T.O.s bring higher prices than new ones. The demand is greater than

5428-526: The GT category overall at this event was won by Franco Cornacchia's Ferrari 212 Export (refer above). Capelli and the 8V Zagato topped this accomplishment by winning the GT category of the Pescara 12 Hours in August, ahead of two Lancias. The new Fiat 8V garnered sufficient competition points over the season to become the national two-liter GT Champion (a feat it repeated every year until 1959). Elio Zagato ,

5546-602: The Giro Sicilia and Tour de France. In 1958, sports racing Testa Rossas swept the Manufacturer's Championship , and in 1959 the T.R. engine was adapted to the 250 GT. The spark plugs were relocated and each cylinder now had a separate intake port . Larger Weber twin-choke carburetors were employed in a triple configuration (sports racing T.R.s employed six) and some special customer cars had three four-choke Webers (one choke per cylinder). Dry-sump lubrication

5664-682: The Group B era as the Golden Age of Rallying. Many racing video games feature Group B cars for the player to drive. The 2017 video game Gran Turismo Sport features a rally car category known as "Gr. B", an obvious homage to Group B. This particular category features predominantly fictional rally cars based on newer models, such as the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X and the Subaru WRX STI , although it does include

5782-599: The Group N, A and B rules were decided, the weight/engine displacement restrictions were thought the only way to control speed. Nowadays, the power of turbo engines is limited by mandating a restrictor in the intake, and the Groups Rally hierarchy for example, each have limits on weight/engine power (kg/hp). Within all the groups, there were 15 classes based on engine displacement with a 1.4 equivalence factor applied for forced induction engines. Each class had weight limits and wheel sizes. Notable classes for Group B were

5900-609: The Lancia had the upper hand on tarmac , but the Audi remained superior on looser surfaces such as snow and gravel). Nevertheless, the 037 performed well enough for Lancia to capture the manufacturers title, which was generally considered more prestigious at the time, with a rally to spare. In fact, so low was Lancia's regard for the Drivers Championship, they did not enter a single car into the season finale RAC Rally, despite

6018-498: The Mille Miglia was an epoch-making event, which told a wonderful story. The Mille Miglia created our cars and the Italian car industry. The Mille Miglia permitted the birth of GT, or grand touring cars, which are now sold all over the world. The Mille Miglia proved that by racing over open roads for 1,000 miles, there were great technical lessons to be learned by the petrol and oil companies and by brake, clutch, transmission, electrical and lighting component manufacturers, fully justifying

SECTION 50

#1732780259341

6136-612: The Pikes Peak version of the Audi Quattro. For the game's sequel, Gran Turismo 7 , an actual Group B car (the Peugeot 205) was added to the class. This list includes under-development and prototype cars that did not receive homologation. Notes Grand tourer A grand tourer ( GT ) is a type of car that is designed for high speed and long-distance driving with performance and luxury. The most common format

6254-670: The RS200). The cancellation of Group S angered many rally insiders who believed the new specification to be safer than Group B and more exciting than Group A. The Group S concept was revived by the FIA in 1997 as the World Rally Car specification, which persisted until 2021. WRC cars were limited to 380 hp (280 kW) and required 2500 examples of a model but, unlike Group S, also had to share certain parts with their base production models. From their introduction in 1982 Group B found

6372-487: The SIATA and Fiat aerodynamic gran turismo -style Berlinetta Mille Miglias of 1933 and 1935. Siata was a Turin, Italy-based Fiat tuner, typical of a popular class of Italian artisan manufacturers of small gran turismo , sports and racing cars—usually Fiat based—that came to be known in the 1970s as Etceterini , such as Nardi , Abarth , Ermini and, in 1946, Cisitalia . The Fiat and SIATA berlinettas , influenced by

6490-532: The World Championship level, although Toyota won the 1983 Ivory Coast Rally after hiring Swedish desert driving specialist, the late Björn Waldegård . In 1984, Audi beat Lancia for both the manufacturers' title and the drivers' title, the latter of which was won by Stig Blomqvist , but received an unexpected new competition midway through the year: Peugeot had joined the rallying scene with its Group B 205 T16 . The T16 also had four wheel drive and

6608-800: The World Sportscar Championship had moved on from Group B and C, with the GT championships formed in the nineties preferring other classes such as the new Group GT . The last cars were homologated in Group B in 1993, though the FIA made provisions for national championships and domestic racing until as late as 2011. In 1982 the FISA restructured the production car category of Appendix J to consist of three new groups. The outgoing Group 1 and Group 2 were replaced with Group N and Group A for unmodified and modified production touring cars respectively. These cars had to have four seats (although

6726-402: The base rule sets of what is allowed to be modified, how it can be modified, and what can be removed from the homologation road cars. (Specific tyre widths are not specified for 2,500cc, but it falls into the 3,000cc category) If a car has a supercharger (this includes turbochargers), then the engine capacity is considered 1.4 times larger for its other restrictions stated above. If the engine

6844-452: The cars ordinary motorists could purchase from the manufacturers' catalogs. Space frame Chief applications include buildings and vehicles. Alexander Graham Bell from 1898 to 1908 developed space frames based on tetrahedral geometry. Bell's interest was primarily in using them to make rigid frames for nautical and aeronautical engineering, with the tetrahedral truss being one of his inventions. Max Mengeringhausen developed

6962-410: The case of the Peugeot 205 T16 or Lancia Delta S4. The rules provided for manufacturers who wanted to compete in rallying with mid-engine and RWD or 4WD , but their RWD production models had been gradually replaced by FWD counterparts. By reducing the homologation minimum from 400 in Group 4 to 200, FISA enabled manufacturers to design specialized RWD or 4WD rally car homologation specials without

7080-550: The championship became known as the World Sports-Prototype Championship the same year. The Porsche 961 prototype, intended to be the basis for a Group B homologation, won the GTX class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1986 race but crashed and caught fire in 1987. The Ferrari 288 GTO was built and sold the minimum requirement of cars to the public, but never saw action in its category. The WSPC grids it

7198-657: The chief stylist Ercole Spada , Zagato produced some of the most beautiful GT designs of the era; spare and muscular cars such as the Aston Martin DB4GTZ , the Alfa Romeo Junior TZ and SZ , and the Lancia Flaminia Sport . These were minimalist shapes bereft of superfluous trim that introduced phrases such as "double bubble" roof to the car body design language: twin shallow domes, devised by Elio, to give extra head room and strengthen

SECTION 60

#1732780259341

7316-436: The coachbuilder's son, was successful in competition with the Otto Vu in 1954 and 1955, attracting further customer interest and leading Zagato to eventually develop two different GT racing versions. Upon his passing in 2009, Elio Zagato was described as a leading figure of Italian GT racing and design: Elio Zagato, who has died aged 88, was one of the leading figures of Italian Gran Turismo (GT) racing and car-body design. In

7434-463: The death of Henri Toivonen and his co-driver Sergio Cresto in the 1986 Tour de Corse , the FIA banned the group from competing in the WRC from the following season, dropped its prior plans to introduce Group S , and designated Group A as the top-line formula with engine limits of 2000 cc and 300 bhp. In the following years, ex-rally Group B cars found a niche in the European Rallycross Championship until being dropped in 1993. By 1991

7552-401: The development of a class of cars whose performance has not yet been surpassed within their category, even three decades later. In reference to their dubious safety record, the class has also earned an unsavory nickname among rally enthusiasts: "Killer B's". Group B also became synonymous with high-performance and danger amongst the motorsport community. In contrast to this, many enthusiasts refer

7670-409: The early 1960s, but in the early and mid-1980s engineers learnt how to extract extraordinary amounts of power from turbo engines. Some Group B manufacturers went further, Peugeot for example, installed an F1-derived Turbo Lag system to their engine, although the technology was new and not very effective. Lancia twincharged their Delta S4, adding both a supercharger and turbocharger to their engine. When

7788-526: The end of 1992. The MG Metro 6R4 and Ford RS200 became frequent entries in national championships. For 1993, the FIA replaced the Group B models in the European Rallycross Championship with prototypes that had to be based on existing Group A models. The cancellation of Group B, coupled with the tragedies of 1986, brought about the scrapping of Group B's proposed replacement: Group S . Group S rules would have limited car engine power to 300 hp (225 kW). To encourage innovative designs, ten examples of

7906-442: The enjoyment, excitement and comfort of open-road touring." According to Sam Dawson, news editor of Classic Cars , "the ideal is of a car with the ability to cross a continent at speed and in comfort yet provide driving thrills when demanded" and it should exhibit the following: Grand tourers emphasize comfort and handling over straight-out high performance or ascetic , spartan accommodations. In comparison, sports cars (also

8024-575: The evolution of the grand touring concept, and grand touring entries are important in endurance sports-car racing . The grand touring definition implies material differences in performance, speed, comfort, and amenities between elite cars and those of ordinary motorists. In the post-war United States, manufacturers were less inclined to adopt the "ethos of the GT car", preferring to build cars "suited to their long, straight, smooth roads and labor-saving lifestyles " with wide availability of powerful straight-six and V8 engines in all price-ranges like

8142-454: The expense of somewhat higher weight). The Ferrari 288 GTO and the Porsche 959 were in the 4000 cc (2857 cc), 1100 kg class, which would have probably become the normal class for track racing if Group B had seen much use there. Classes in Group B: The existing Groups 1–4 were still permitted in the World Rally Championship during the first year of the new groups. Although some freshly homologated Group B cars were entered from

8260-524: The fact that driver Walter Röhrl was still in the hunt for the title. This may have been, in part, because Röhrl "never dreamed of becoming a world champion." The low homologation requirements quickly attracted manufacturers to Group B. Opel replaced their production-derived Ascona with the Group B Manta 400 , and Toyota built a new car based on their Celica . Like the Lancia 037, both cars were rear wheel drive, and while proving successful in national rallying in various countries, they were less so at

8378-460: The fastest category of sports car racing from 1994 to 2001. The inclusion of "grand tourer", " gran turismo ", "GT" or similar in the model name does not necessarily mean that the car is a grand tourer since several manufacturers have used the terms for the marketing of cars that are not grand tourers. Grand touring car design evolved from vintage and pre-World War II fast touring cars and streamlined closed sports cars . Italy developed

8496-413: The financial commitment of producing their production counterparts in such large numbers. There were no restrictions on boost , resulting in the power output of the winning cars increasing from 250 hp in 1981, to there being at least two cars producing in excess of 500 by 1986, the final year of Group B in rally. Turbocharged engines weren't common in commercial cars and had only been introduced since

8614-433: The first gran turismo cars. The small, light-weight, and aerodynamic coupés , named the " Berlinetta ", originated in the 1930s. A contemporary French concept, known as " grande routière ", emphasized style, elegance, luxury, and gentlemanly transcontinental touring; the grande routières were often larger cars than the Italian gran turismos . Italian designers saw that compared to traditional open two-seat sports car ,

8732-552: The first of the lightweight grand touring coupés, driven by Gendebien , battled with the Mercedes 300SL of Metternich and Einsendel to come in fifth overall and first in G.T. over 2,000 c.c. The G.T. Ferrari had arrived! Motor Sport , March 1963. After its 1956 debut, the 250 GT "went from strength to strength". Powered by the Colombo 250 engine, output was up to 240 b.h.p. at 7,000 r.p.m. A short-wheelbase (SWB) version of

8850-514: The first round in Monte Carlo, no car from the group podiumed at any of the season's 12 rallies. Although the Audi Quattro was still in essence a Group 4 car, it carried Hannu Mikkola to the driver's title in 1983. Lancia had designed a new car to Group B specifications, but the Lancia 037 still had rear wheel drive and was thus less stable than the Audi over different surfaces (generally

8968-515: The group made motorsport and the championships more accessible for car manufacturers before taking the group's technicalities and performance into account. 'Evolutions' could be included within the original homologation without needing to produce a new initial run, allowing manufacturers to tweak various aspects of their competing car within the requirement to produce only 20 'evolved' cars. Together, these homologation rules resulted in Group B 'homologation specials' (cars that were only produced to satisfy

9086-453: The group quota rather than for sales) extremely rare, if they continued to exist beyond presentation to FIA officials in the first place. Group B could be used to homologate production sports cars which could not be homologated in Group N or A, because they did not have four seats or were not produced in large enough numbers (e.g. cars like the Ferrari 308 , the Porsche 911 , etc.). Further,

9204-509: The highest class used across rallying, including the World Rally Championship , regional and national championships. The Group B regulations fostered some of the fastest, most powerful, and most sophisticated rally cars ever built and their era is commonly referred to as the golden era of rallying. However, a series of major accidents, some fatal, were blamed on their outright speed with lack of crowd control at events. After

9322-410: The impact. The combination of a red hot turbocharger, Kevlar bodywork, and the ruptured fuel tank ignited the car and set fire to the dry undergrowth. Toivonen and co-driver Sergio Cresto died in their seats. With no witnesses to the accident it was impossible to determine what caused the crash other than Toivonen had left the road at high speed. Some cite Toivonen's ill health at the time (he reportedly

9440-545: The increase in weight and frontal area of an enclosed cabin for the driver and mechanic could be offset by the benefits of streamlining to reduce drag . Independent carrozzeria ( coachbuilders ) provided light and flexible fabric coachwork for powerful short-wheelbase fast-touring chassis by manufacturers such as Alfa Romeo . Later, Carrozzeria Touring of Milan pioneered sophisticated superleggera (super light-weight) aluminum bodywork, allowing for even more aerodynamic forms. The additional comfort of an enclosed cabin

9558-570: The internationally famous 250 GT , the 212 Export was an important model in the successful line of Colombo-engined V12 GT cars that made Ferrari legendary. 1951 was the stunning debut of Lancia's Aurelia B20 GT. Lancia had begun production in 1950 of their technically advanced Aurelia saloon; the design had been overseen by Vittorio Jano. At the 1951 Turin Motor Show , the Pinin Farina-bodied gran turismo B20 coupé version

9676-463: The lengths of the struts to curve the overall structure or may incorporate other geometrical shapes. Within the meaning of space frame, we can find three systems clearly different between them: Curvature classification Classification by the arrangement of its elements Other examples classifiable as space frames are these: Chief space frame applications include: Buildings Vehicles : Architectural design elements Space frames are

9794-587: The limited options of permitted Group B cars were not as competitive or ubiquitous as newer Group A cars. Porsche's 959 never entered a WRC event, although it did compete in the Middle East championship and won the Paris-Dakar Rally in 1986. Peugeot adapted their T16 to run in the Dakar Rally . Ari Vatanen won the event in 1987, 1989 and 1990. Improved Peugeot and Audi cars also competed in

9912-423: The low production requirement encouraged manufacturers to use space frame chassis instead of bodyshells typically used in most series-production road cars. Existing cars within Group 2, Group 3 and Group 4 homologation could be transferred to Group B, with many being automatically transferred by the FISA secretariat. Group B followed Article 252 and 253, which covered such things as safety cages or parts defining

10030-481: The minimum size of the rear seats was small enough that some 2+2 cars could qualify) and be produced in large numbers. Their homologation requirement was 5000 units in a 12 month period between 1982 and 1992. From 1993 the requirement reduced to 2500 units. Group B was for grand touring (GT) cars with a minimum two seats, redefined as sports grand touring cars in 1986. It combined and replaced Group 3 and Group 4 , two grand touring groups already used in rallying, and

10148-405: The model name are not actually grand touring cars. Among the many variations of GT are: Several past and present motor racing series have used "GT" in their name. These include: There have also been several classes of racing cars called GT. The Group GT3 regulations for modified road cars have been used for various racing series worldwide since 2006. The Group GT1 regulations were used for

10266-459: The old adage that motor racing improves the breed. The Mille Miglia is still celebrated today as one of the world's premier historic racing events. A closed sports coupé almost prevailed at Le Mans in 1938, when a carrozzeria touring-bodied Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B , driven by Raymond Sommer and Clemente Biondetti , led the famous 24-hour race from the third lap until early Sunday afternoon, retiring only due to engine problems. Johnny Lurani

10384-615: The outstanding design of its Pinin Farina coachwork , and is credited with greatly influencing the style of subsequent berlinetta or fastback gran turismo coupés. A Cisitalia 202 "GT" is exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City . The Maserati A6 1500 won the 1500 cc class at the 1949 Coppa-Europa. It was driven by Franco Bordoni , former fighter ace of the Regia Aeronautica who had debuted as

10502-467: The previous models, available with either the Colombo or Lampredi versions of the 250 V12 engine, coil spring front suspension, an improved sports gearbox (four speeds) with Porsche synchromesh , large drum brakes and luxurious outfitting. A few appeared in motorsports but did not initially threaten the international Mercedes-Benz 300 SL and Porsche 356 competition. In the Mille Miglia of 1956

10620-550: The production-derived special builds of Group 5 used in circuit racing. Group 5 had never been permitted in the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers. The number of cars required for homologation, 200, was just 4% of the other groups' requirement and half what was previously accepted in Group 4. As the homologation periods could be extended by producing only 10% of the initial requirement each subsequent year, 20 in Group B's case compared to 500 for A and N,

10738-654: The racing division of Alfa Romeo from 1929 until 1938, parted ways from Alfa Romeo in 1939: Enzo Ferrari's first car (itself an Etceterini) the Fiat-based Auto Avio Costruzioni 815 racing sports car , debuted at the 1940 Mille Miglia. Two were produced. The first car constructed in Ferrari's name, the V12 125 S , also a racing sports car, debuted in 1947 at the Piacenza racing circuit. Again, only two were produced, but they rapidly evolved into

10856-422: The rally and Group B was placed in jeopardy. Disaster struck again in early May at the Tour de Corse . Lancia's Toivonen was the championship favorite, and once the rally got underway he was the pace setter. Seven kilometers into the 18th stage, Toivonen's S4 flew off the unguarded edge of a tightening left hand bend and plunged down a steep wooded hillside. The car landed inverted with the fuel tanks ruptured by

10974-527: The rallying world in 1985: For the 1986 season, defending champion Timo Salonen had the new Evolution 2 version of Peugeot's 205 T16 with ex Toyota driver, Juha Kankkunen . Audi's new Sport Quattro S1 boasted over 600 hp (450 kW) and a huge snowplow-like front end. Lancia's Delta S4 would be in the hands of the Finnish prodigy Henri Toivonen and Markku Alén , and Ford was ready with its high tech RS200 with Stig Blomqvist and Kalle Grundel . On

11092-417: The rear. The engine is sharply inclined to the near-side in the interests of a low bonnet-line, and with Bosch fuel injection produces 240 b.h.p. at 6,000 r.p.m. Claimed maximum speed is in excess of 160 m.p.h. and although the car is by no means small, dry weight has been kept to 23 cwt . The depth of the multi-tubular frame prevents the use of conventional side-hinged doors and these cars are fitted with

11210-479: The result of the Sanremo Rally eleven days after the final round in the United States. As a result, the championship title was passed from Lancia's Markku Alén to Peugeot's Juha Kankkunen. Timo Salonen had won another two rallies during the 1986 season and became the most successful group B era driver with a total of seven wins. Although 1987 saw the end of Group B rally car development and their appearance on

11328-508: The roof-hinged "gull-wing" doors which characterize an exceedingly handsome and practical car. An open touring version is available. In competition the "300SL" has become a powerful contender, and abetted by the success of the Grand Prix cars [and " 300 SLR "] has captured a substantial portion of the export market." The 250GT Ferrari must surely represent the ultimate in modern high-speed sporting travel, or GT competition, and holds today

11446-409: The roof. For lightness, Zagato pioneered the use of Perspex and of aerodynamics, with trademark forms such as the split or stub tail. Indeed, Elio would take prototypes out on the autostrada covered in wool tufts in order to test air flow over the body. The 8V Otto Vu earned its name courtesy of its high-performance V8 engine (Ford having already trademarked "V8"). The German automotive industry

11564-509: The same welded steel tube fuselage frame. Many early “whirlybird”-style exposed-boom helicopters had tubular space frame booms, such as the Bell 47 series. Space frames are sometimes used in the chassis designs of automobiles and motorcycles . In both a space frame and a tube-frame chassis, the suspension, engine, and body panels are attached to a skeletal frame of tubes, and the body panels have little or no structural function. By contrast, in

11682-677: The space grid system called MERO (acronym of ME ngeringhausen RO hrbauweise ) in 1943 in Germany, thus initiating the use of space trusses in architecture. The commonly used method, still in use has individual tubular members connected at node joints (ball shaped) and variations such as the space deck system, octet truss system and cubic system. Stéphane de Chateau in France invented the Tridirectional SDC system (1957), Unibat system (1959), Pyramitec (1960). A method of tree supports

11800-453: The successful Alfa Romeo 6C GT/GTC coupés , competed in the Mille Miglia endurance race and were significant among Weymann and Superleggera enclosed sporting cars appearing in the 1930s. They featured tuned Fiat engine and chassis, and bespoke carrozzeria , in common with the landmark post-war Cisitalia 202 SC , and are among the first small-displacement gran turismos . The first recognised motor race specifically for gran turismo cars

11918-504: The supply. In November 2016, it was reported that a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO was being offered for public sale—normally brokers negotiate deals between extremely wealthy collectors "behind closed doors". GTOs had previously been auctioned in 1990 and 2014. The 2017 sale was expected to reach US$ 56,000,000.00, the particular GTO concerned (the second of just thirty-six ever made) thus set to become the world's most expensive car. The Italian Mille Miglia thousand-mile race, held from 1927 to 1957,

12036-506: The world rally scene, they did not disappear. They were still permitted in regional championships providing they met the limit of 1600cc for four-wheel-drive or were homologated prior to 1984. Future FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem was one privateer who contested rounds of the 1987 Middle East Rally Championship in an Audi Quattro A2 and Opel Manta 400. Independent teams would enter the European Championship too, though

12154-609: Was 170 bhp from the 2600cc Gioacchino Colombo-designed 'short-block' V12 engine , evolved from the earlier Ferrari 166 (2000cc) and 195 (2300cc). All versions came with the standard Ferrari five-speed non-synchromesh gearbox and hydraulic drum brakes. All 1951 Ferraris shared a double tube frame chassis design evolved from the 166. Double-wishbone front suspension with transverse leaf spring , and live rear axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs and radius rods were employed. The Ferrari 212 Export (212 MM) gran turismo berlinetta (chassis No. 0070M) debuted in first-place overall at

12272-567: Was beneficial for the Mille Miglia road race held in Italy's often wintry north. The first car to be named " gran turismo " was the 1929 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Turismo , a sporting dual-purpose road/race chassis and engine specification that was available with a wide variety of body styles or carrozzeria . The influential Weymann fabric-bodied berlinetta version by Carrozzeria Touring, "an early example of what we generally perceive to be

12390-412: Was central to the evolution of the gran turismo concept. The event was one of the most important on the Italian motor-sport calendar and could attract up to five million spectators. Winning drivers such as Tazio Nuvolari , Rudolf Caracciola , and Stirling Moss ; and manufacturers such as Alfa Romeo, BMW , Ferrari and Porsche would become household names. According to Enzo Ferrari: In my opinion,

12508-407: Was devastated by the second World War, but in the post-war period a small number of firms brought it to prominence again. The emergence of the classic Porsche 356 is covered in the accompanying sports car article. In 1957 author John Stanford wrote: "The post-war Mercedes sports cars are in a way even more remarkable than those of Porsche . The firm was particularly badly hit by the war and it

12626-431: Was developed to replace the individual columns. Buckminster Fuller patented the octet truss ( U.S. patent 2,986,241 ) in 1961 while focusing on architectural structures. Gilman's Tetrahedral Truss of 1980 was developed by John J. Gilman ; a material scientist known for his work on the molecular matrices of crystalline solids. Gilman was an admirer of Buckminster Fuller's architectural trusses, and developed

12744-409: Was employed, and the camshaft valve timing was only slightly less than the full-race Testa Rossas . G.T. power was up to 267 b.h.p. at 7,000 r.p.m. (240 b.h.p at 6,800 rpm for road versions). Experiments were conducted with Dunlop disc brakes, which were adopted in 1960, along with an even shorter wheelbase for competizione versions. In 1962, the definitive competition gran turismo was unveiled,

12862-485: Was impressed by the dominant performance at the Mille Miglia in 1940, by a carrozzeria touring-bodied BMW 328 coupé, winning the event at over 100 mph average speed, driven by Fritz Huschke von Hanstein and Walter Bäumer : The BMW team included a splendid aerodynamic Berlinetta , wind tunnel designed by German specialists, that was extremely fast at 135 mph... I couldn't believe the speeds these BMWs were capable of. Italy's national governing body of motorsport

12980-495: Was intended for was filled up by a batch of Group C cars (there would be no production sports car-based racers in European racing, including Le Mans, until 1993 ), but it saw limited use in an IMSA GTO race in 1989. The era of Group B is often considered one of the most competitive and compelling periods in rallying. The combination of a lightweight chassis, sophisticated aerodynamics and massive amounts of horsepower resulted in

13098-459: Was largely blamed on the unforgiving Corsican scenery (and bad luck, as his co-driver, Maurizio Perissinot , was unharmed), Toivonen and Cresto's deaths, combined with the Portugal tragedy and televised accident of F1 driver Marc Surer in another RS200 which killed co-driver Michel Wyder , compelled the FIA to ban all Group B cars immediately for 1987. Audi decided to quit Group B entirely after

13216-426: Was several years before anything but a nominal production of cars could be undertaken. In 1951 appeared the "300" , a luxurious and fast touring car with a single-camshaft six-cylinder engine of 2996 c.c. and chassis derived from the pre-war cars with swing-axle rear suspension. The "300S" was a three-carburetor edition, but in 1952 great interest was aroused by the almost invincible performance in sports-car racing of

13334-506: Was smaller and lighter than the Audi Quattro. At the wheel was the 1981 driver's champion Ari Vatanen , with future Ferrari Formula One team manager and FIA President Jean Todt overseeing the operation. A crash prevented the T16 from winning its first rally but the writing was on the wall for Audi. Despite massive revisions to the Quattro, including a shorter wheelbase , Peugeot dominated

13452-411: Was suffering from flu); others suggest mechanical failure, or simply the difficulty of driving the car, although Toivonen, like Vatanen, had a career full of crashing out while leading rallies. Up until that stage he was leading the rally by a large margin, with no other driver challenging him. The crash came a year after Lancia driver Attilio Bettega had crashed and died in his 037. While that fatality

13570-604: Was the Commissione Sportiva Automobilistica Italiana (CSAI). Count Giovanni Lurani Cernuschi (popularly known as Johnny Lurani) was a key commissioner. He was also a senior member of the world governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Lurani was instrumental in designing the regulations for the Italian 1937 Turismo Nazionale championship, whereby production vehicles approved by

13688-472: Was the 1949 Coppa Inter-Europa held at Monza . It was initially hoped by Italian motor industry observers that the small and struggling Italian sports and racing car manufacturer, Cisitalia, would find in the 1949 Coppa Inter-Europa regulations (initially called Turismo Veloce or Fast Touring) a category for its Cisitalia Tipo 202 SC —the road-going production coupé version of Cisitalia's single-seat D46 racing car and two-seat 202 open sports car. However,

13806-424: Was the road/race Ferrari 212 . Twenty-seven short-wheelbase competition versions called Export, some with increasingly popular gran turismo -style berlinetta coupé coachwork, were produced for enthusiasts (Ferrari called the first example 212 MM ) while the road version was called Inter . The Ferrari 212 Export featured long-range fuel tanks, high compression pistons and triple Weber 32 DCF carburettors ; power

13924-496: Was unveiled to an enthusiastic motoring public. Here, finally, according to historians Jonathan Wood and Sam Dawson, was a fully realized production GT car, representing the starting point of the definitive grand tourer: This outwardly conventional saloon bristled with innovation and ingenuity, in which the masterly hand of Vittorio Jano is apparent. In the B20 are elements of the Cistalia of 1947, coupés which Pinin undertook on

#340659