There is an often repeated mantra in production car racing: win on Sunday, sell on Monday. Over the years, car manufacturers have poured massive amounts of cash into motorsport as a marketing tool, giving us some iconic cars and moments. From one-off homologation specials to estate cars, production car racing has the ability to turn any car into an immortal legend. In this 3-part series, we will be looking at some of the greatest marketing successes that motorsport has produced, starting with rallying.
Since the beginning of the World Rally Championship in 1973, cars have had production requirements placed upon them. Manufacturers hoped that championship victories in rallying would portray an image of toughness and sportiness, and rally fans across the world bought into the idea of ordinary family cars navigating the jumps in Finland or the snow in Sweden at full throttle.
Subaru Impreza
In 1993, Subaru replaced their Legacy with the smaller and lighter Impreza, which would go on to inspire petrolheads all over the world. The Impreza would go on to take 3 manufacturers titles in the WRC from 1995-1997, but its popularity would skyrocket after it brought Colin McRae his first and only WRC drivers’ title. McRae was synonymous with the Subaru Impreza, and his timeless popularity in the rallying world gave the car legendary status. Further drivers championship victories came from Richard Burns in 2001 and Petter Solberg in 2003, further cementing its status as one of the best rally cars of modern times.
On the road and on the stages, the Impreza underwent multiple iterations and facelifts. The most notable evolution was seen in the headlights, with the generations progressing from the ‘bugeye’ to the ‘blobeye’ and the ‘hawkeye’ looks in the early 2000s. Subaru produced various WRX models, short for World Rally eXperimental, as performance versions of the Impreza with turbocharged engines and improved handling, with even more tuning done via the STi models.
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
Subaru’s rival for the late 1990s and early 2000s, Mitsubishi also debuted a new car in 1993 with the Lancer Evolution. Like the Impreza, multiple generations of the car would compete in the WRC and would achieve one manufacturers’ title in 1998 with the Lancer Evolution V. It would however take Tommi Makinen to 4 successive drivers titles from 1996-1999 in 4 generations of Lancers, giving Mitsubishi its place in motorsport history as well as a legion of loyal fans. Makinen would lend his name to the Lancer Evolution VI Tommi Makinen Edition; 4000 Evos with Recaro seats, 17-inch wheels and lower ride height among other things.
The Lancer was relatively late to export, especially to the USA where it only arrived in 2003 following the success of Subaru’s Impreza.The final generation, the Evolution X, first came out in 2007 and was discontinued in 2016. In the UK, the Ralliart tuned Evolution VIII FQ-400 produced 405hp from just a 2 litre engine, with Top Gear pitting it favourably against a Lamborghini Murcielago. Its 0-60 time was 3.5 seconds and it had a top speed of 175mph (282km/h), all for less than £50,000. The Lancer Evolution, then, is best summed up by what the FQ in its name reportedly stands for: F***ing Quick.
Lancia Delta
Lancia is the most successful brand in rallying, with 10 manufacturers titles and 5 drivers titles. The Stratos and the 037 brought 4 of their manufacturers titles, but their biggest success was the Delta which won 6 in a row from 1987-1992. It also took 4 drivers titles in that time, with rallying legends Juha Kankkunen and Miki Biasion winning two apiece to dominate the beginning of the post Group B era. The Delta itself would debut at the end of 1985 to replace the outdated 037, winning on its debut in the fiercely competitive Group B era. Unfortunately, the tragic death of Henri Toivonen in a Delta S4 at the Corsican round of the world championship in 1986 led to Group B being banned immediately, with the Group A class becoming the pinnacle of rallying.
Group A regulations were stricter with homologation requirements than Group B, in that more cars had to built and there were fewer modifications allowed. Therefore, the Delta was continually developed for both the road and rally stage, with the Delta HF Integrale and the Integrale 16v containing features that were developed for its rallying sibling such as the 16-valve engine found in the 16v.
Audi Quattro
A rallying legend, the Quattro was the first car with four-wheel drive in the WRC. It may have ‘only’ won 2 drivers and 2 manufacturers titles, but it changed the landscape of the rallying world. After its first manufacturers title in 1982, the only rear-wheel drive car to win the WRC championship was the Lancia 037 in 1983 as everyone moved to copy Audi. It is also remembered as the car in which Michele Mouton took 4 rally wins in as well as the runner up spot in the 1982 season to become the first woman to win a WRC event and the most successful female rally driver.
The four-wheel drive system of the roadgoing Quattro impressed reviewers with the amount of grip in slippery conditions, which was backed up by their rallying performances. The Quattro became so recognisable that all four-wheel drive Audis bear the quattro name; no prizes then for guessing which of Audi’s achievements they are most proud of.
Toyota Celica GT-Four
Toyota has felt the highs and lows of the WRC, from domination to capitulation. The Toyota Celica GT-Four encapsulates this statement; 2 manufacturers titles and 4 drivers titles in the early 1990s preceded one of the most famous cheating scandals in modern motorsport. In the 1995 Rally Catalunya, Toyota was caught using illegal turbo restrictors and was subsequently disqualified from the season and given a 1-year ban. What made the scandal so notable though was that it impressed FIA President Max Mosley, who called the device “ingenious” and “beautifully made.” On the other hand, the titles it won was a first for Japanese manufacturers, paving the way for Subaru and Mitsubishi to invest more heavily in the championship in the name of competition. The championships and the cheating, paired with its iconic Castrol livery, etched the Celica’s name into rallying history.
Three generations of Celica GT-Four were produced from 1986 as the high performance version of the ordinary Celica. All Celica GT-Fours featured 2 litre engines and four-wheel drive with the most powerful being the ST205 model which produced up to 252 horsepower for the Japanese market. Its rallying DNA was made clear by some of the features it offered, such as improved aerodynamics, a lightweight aluminium bonnet and a shorter clutch pedal travel for quicker gear changes. Toyota also produced 5000 Carlos Sainz limited edition cars to celebrate their world champion driver to homologate the car for rallying, leaving no doubt as to the purpose of the car.
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