Graham Robson
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When Fiat entered rallying in 1970, its ultimate aim was to become World Rally Champion - and the 131 Abarth of 1976-1980 provided the machinery to make that possible. Within the Fiat-Lancia empire, the 131 Abarth not only replaced the 124 Abarth Spider sports car, but was also favoured ahead of the charismatic Lancia Stratos. By 1970s standards, the 131 Abarth was the most extreme, and effective, of all homologation specials. Compared with the 131...
3) Audi Quattro
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The Audi Quattro is a Rally Giant because it was the first to combine four-wheel-drive and a turbocharged engine - not the most sophisticated, but it was the first, and very successful. It was also the first to run with more than 300bhp. As it was re-homologated/transformed from Group 4 into Group B in 1983, it was also the first successful Group B car. The Quattro dominated rallying from the start of 1981 until late 1984 (when the Peugeot 205 T16...
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In nine eventful years - 1957 to 1965 - the six-cylinder-engined Austin Healey evolved into a formidable and increasingly specialised rally car. By any standards, it was the first of the "homologation specials" - a type made progressively stronger, faster, more versatile, and more suitable for the world's toughest International rallies. Though the motorsport foundations had been laid by the Healey Motor Co. Ltd, the work needed to turn these cars...
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This book describes the birth, development and rallying career of the Lancia Stratos, Europe s very first purpose-built rally car, in the mid/late 1970s, providing a compact and authoritative history of where, when and how it became so important to the sport. Written by a world renowned motoring historian and heavily illustrated this is a key work on this subject.
6) Saab 96 & V4
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The complete story of the front-wheel-drive Saab 96 made the brand into a rally icon in the 1960s. Superstar driving from Erik Carlsson, his wife Pat Moss-Carlsson and - later - from Stig Blomqvist, all brought real publicity and admiration for a car that always lacked the sheer straight-line performance of its rivals.
Saabs like this, however, never wanted for strength, or for amazing handling and traction, and they succeeded in events as diverse...
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After the first ever intercontinental rally - the London-Sydney in 1968 - there was widespread enthusiasm for an even more difficult test. With the Football World Cup being held in Mexico in 1970, it was the perfect opportunity to hold a parallel, much tougher challenge - the World Cup Rally.
Organisers John Sprinzel and John Brown secured sponsorship from the Daily Mirror and planned a unique high-speed event, lasting six weeks and covering 16,000...
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This book is based on a concept placed with Veloce by Anthony Pritchard shortly before his death in 2013. Graham Robson has written a detailed and superbly illustrated account of the Formula 1 cars powered by the Ford DFV V8 engine. This all-conquering power unit was the result of discussions between Colin Chapman, boss of the Lotus car company, and the UK Ford Motor Company. Design, development and manufacture was entrusted to the Cosworth company...
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Escort RS1800 (Escort MkII) : This is a Rally Giant because it was consistently the fastest, most successful and most versatile car in the second half of the 1970s. Developed from the MkI, it was a conventional front engine/rear drive machine, which rallied with 2-litre engines of up to 270bhp. Rally successes were legendary - British (RAC), Safari, Acropolis, Finland (1000 Lakes), Sweden, Portugal, Canada, and many more. The cars won 17 World Rallies...
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For many years, Standard was one of Britain's largest car-makers. The largest motor industry employer in Coventry, Standard rescued Triumph from oblivion, produced more than 500,000 tractors on behalf of Ferguson, and was one of the biggest contributors to Britain's efforts during WWII. This book is the first to definitively tell the story of the Standard marque - a story that's not merely technical, but financial, too, and covers the personalities...
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This is a comprehensive study of the career of the Toyota Celica GT-Four. Starting in 1988, three generations of this effective turbocharged four-wheel-drive car - known by enthusiasts as ST165, ST185 and ST205 types - fought for World Championships, and were amazingly successful for almost a decade.
All types combined high-performance, great reliability, and superb preparation by Toyota Team Europe (based in Cologne, Germany), their 300bhp/four-wheel-drive...
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From the early 1930s until the mid-1970s the Rootes Group was one of Britain's foremost car manufacturers, producing and selling a multitude of models under the Hillman, Humber, Singer, Sunbeam and Sunbeam-Talbot badges. Some of these cars have been the subject of individual model histories, but this is the first book to bring the total Rootes model line together in one major reference book.
Written by one of Britain's most able car historians, the...
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This is a comprehensive study of the career of one type of rally car - the BMC Mini-Cooper/Mini-Cooper S. In the 1960s the Mini became famous as Britain's most successful rally car. It combined superb handling, a tiny body shell, high-performance engines and the excellence of front-wheel-drive in an irresistible package. Not only this, but the works team included famous drivers like Paddy Hopkirk, Timo Makinen and Rauno Aaltonen.
The works Minis...
15) Peugeot 205 T16
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Four-wheel-drive was authorised in rallying from 1979, but for a time no serious car-manufacturer even tried to harness it to their cars. Soon, though, it was Audi who produced the world s first rally-winning four-wheel-drive car the Quattro. However it was Peugeot who designed, developed, campaigned and won with the first truly sophisticated four-wheel-drive Group B Car the 205 Turbo 16. It was the first truly great, purpose-designed, Group B car....