GROUP 4. FROM STRATOS TO QUATTRO

1 A sport changes
Foreword
A sport changes
From marathon to sprint
From sports cars to 4WDs
From single events to full seasons
Safety
Reliability
Driveability
Servicing
TV and marketing
The legacy of Group 4
2 The champions
The champions
Sandro Munari
Björn Waldegard
Waiter Rohrl
Hannu Mikkola
Markku Alen
Michele Mouton
Ari Vatanen
Other top Group 4 drivers
3 The seasons
The seasons
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
4 The cars
The cars
Alpine A110/A310
Audi Quattro
BMW
Datsun/Nissan
Ferrari 308 GTB
Fiat 124 and 131
Ford Escort
Lancia Stratos
Mercedes
Mitsubishi
Opel
Peugeot
Porsche
Renault
Saab 96 V4/99 EMS and Turbo
Talbot and Chrysler
Toyota
Triumph TR7
5 The stories
The stories
Marathon events
A tie in Safari
A bastard in Bastia?
The Maoris' Curse?
Oh dear!
The Vauxhall Chevette story
VW Beetle
Tour de France Automobile
An unresolved mystery
Odds and ends
6 Statistics
Statistics
1973-1982

Most fans still have fond memories of rallying in the 1970s. It was a time when heroes like Walter Röhrl, Sandro Munari and Hannu Mikkola were driving in full drifts with opposite lock and when the Stratos filled whole valleys with its unique sound. The great years of Group 4 supremacy were spectacular, adventurous and in retrospect more than just a little bit crazy. Just remember the 700 km marathon stage on the Rallye du Maroc or the early New Zealand rallies stretching over seven days and five nights.
In the first years after its foundation in 1973, the World Rally Championship was extremely diverse, and that did not only account for the events. A dozen or so manufacturers built cars that were able to win WRC rallies. Group 4 saw sports cars like Alpines, Stratoses and Porsche 911s compete against saloons like the Ford Escort, Opel Kadett or Fiat 131 with the Japanese companies of Toyota and Datsun also joining the game. Until finally the revolutionary Quattro came and took rallying to the next level.
In the book “Group 4 – From Stratos to Quattro”, authors John Davenport and Reinhard Klein review this unforgotten era. Both have been highly involved in rallying during the Group 4 years. Davenport was co-driver, journalist and later team manager while Klein made his mark as one of the best rally photographers in the world. In this well-researched work, the authors describe the history of the legendary rally cars of the Group 4 era in detail. They review the first WRC years from 1973 to 1982 and tell some of the stories from that wild and tough era.