If you’ve read Jalopnik for longer than 20 minutes, you just knew we were going to stick a “Killer B” in our Fantasy Garage. And why wouldn’t we? Created by the FIA in 1982, Group B offered manufacturers a way to show off all their engineering prowess, achieve racing victories and reap the subsequent publicity windfalls, all without the need and expense of launching a full production model. Very low homologation numbers (200 streetable cars in this case) meant that for a modest investment — especially when compared to Group A with its minimum 5,000 production cars mandate — a company could claim some serious rewards. Group A also had more stringent restrictions in terms of power, weight, materials and overall cost, not to mention a four-seat rule that in essence prohibited mid-engine machines. Group B was essentially unlimited, especially in terms of power.

And we mean unlimited. While engine displacement was strictly categorized, Group B rules failed to specify any limit in terms of boost (insert maniacal cackling here). This proved to be a loophole engineers gleefully exploited with stupefying, almost dumbfounding results. Actual horsepower numbers are murky at best and even downright cryptic. Quoted numbers for the 2.1-liter Ford RS200 for example range anywhere from 550 hp to over 800 hp. Reasons for this secrecy are many and varied. The most commonly cited are that the primitive all-wheel-drive dynamometers weren’t up to the job. And because there was no cap on power, manufacturers just didn’t care all that much. We would wager however, that teams didn’t want the competition to know just how full-on berserk each others’ cars were. But here’s the skinny: Group B cars could out accelerate F1 cars. 0-60 times of less than three seconds were common – on gravel. Sadly, in the days before computerized traction control, so much unwieldy power proved to be Group B’s downfall.

At the start of the 1986 season, the big boys (Audi, Ford, Lancia and Peugeot) were simply (and literally) fire-breathing. And then everything went very wrong. Near Sintra in Portugal, driver Joaquim Santos came out of a gully only to find dozens of fans standing at the peak. His Ford RS200 careered into the crowd, killing three and injuring more than 30. Every team immediately pulled out of the race. Soon after, Lancia’s Henri Toivonen inexplicably missed a tight left-hander and plunged into a ditch. The fuel tanks of his Delta S4 ruptured and burst into flames, incinerating him and his co-driver Sergio Cresto. A few more races took place that year, though rife with nationalistic argument (e.g., the Italians said the skirts on the Peugeots were too low). The 1987 season was canceled, and soon after the FIA banned Group B altogether. Notwithstanding the human tragedies, it was is one of the saddest days in the history of sport.

General Group B Radness

In Jeremy Clarkson’s most excellent book, I Know You Got Soul, everybody’s favorite Thatcherite discusses the Concorde, its crash in Paris and subsequent decommissioning. He quips, “for the first time since the Titanic we were actually mourning the loss of the machine itself.” Jezza actually flew aboard the very last Concorde flight. As he walked off the plane in London he thought to himself, “This is one small step for a man. But a giant leap backwards for mankind.” This also happens to be true of the Killer Bs. Group B was essentially a sanctioned hoon division. Unlimited forced-induction power, the first mature applications of AWD in motorsport and ultra-lightweight, exotic materials are the things our dreams are made of.

To quote Clarkson one last time, “You see, unlike any other machine that has been mothballed or donated to a museum, Concorde has not been replaced with something better or faster.” With the exception of the Group B cars, Jeremy. Think we’re being a bit dramatic? The Bugatti Veyron, with its 8.0-liter 16-cylinder engine, four turbochargers, 1,000+ horsepower, Cray supercomputer and million-dollar price tag hits 60 mph in 2.5 seconds. The Ford RS200’s 0-60 mph time was 2.1 seconds, you guessed it, in the dirt. Sigh…

Audi Quattro S1

Audi is of course the granddaddy of Group B. Because the class hardly had any rules, Audi was free to introduce AWD (with a little help from Jensen) to the world in 1980. The results were epoch making and are still being felt today. However, at first there was much doubt whether a heavy and complicated AWD system would be stout enough for rallying. Audi won its first rally on its first attempt by nine minutes. From that moment on, there was no doubt at all about AWD. Other manufacturers struggled to get AWD cars of their own into production.

The Quattro did very well in the early 1980s, including a win by Michèle Mouton, the first woman to win an international rally. While the initial Quattro had an AWD advantage over the competition, it was too heavy, too complicated and handled rather poorly. In 1983 other manufacturers began making huge strides and even though it was still RWD, Lancia’s 037 won the constructor’s title.

Audi fought back in 1984 with the Sport Quattro. Power was up to over 450 hp. The Sport did retain its monocoque chassis (as opposed to most of the competitions’ tubular frames) but was re-skinned in fancy kevlar. The gearbox gained a gear (from five to six) and most important, almost 13 inches were chopped out of the wheelbase, giving the Sport Quattro massively improved handling. One of the greatest hoons of all time, Stig Blomqvist, even took to driving the car sideways. Audi won the both the constructor’s title and the driver’s championship.

1985 saw the introduction of Peugeot’s 205 TI6 (more on that in a bit). To fight this French monster, Audi released the devilish Sport Quattro S1. Long story short, its 2.1-liter inline five produced over 600 horsepower and had massive wings festooned all over the place to provide downforce. Although the S1 was too heavy (and too front-engined) to fully be competitive in Group B, Michèle Mouton drove an S1 up Pike’s Peak. Not only did she win outright, but she set a record in the process. The next year Bobby Unser drove an S1 up Pike’s Peak, also winning outright and setting a record. The next year Walter Röhrl did the exact same thing. And Audi wasn’t even warmed up. Legend has it Audi worked up a 1000 hp engine that it tested in several hillclimbs, but drivers deemed it too batshit insane to drive. We can’t even imagine.

Ford RS200

Arguably the best looking of all the Killer Bs, the Ford RS200 was and is totally mad. And out of all these rally studs, we like the RS200 homologation the best. It’s not only fierce, but also rare. Seeing one is like stumbling on a leprechaun. The RS200 represented Ford’s second, more serious attempt at Group B. Its first rather botched attempt was the Escort RS 1700T. Details are sketchy as to what went wrong; most references indicate, “troubled development,” sometimes followed by “complete disaster.” However, even without specifics, I imagine trying to get a front-wheel-drive economy car to run with an Audi Quattro in 1983 would be troubling and disastrous.

Not so with the RS200. Much of the development was outsourced. Tony Southgate designed and Reliant built the space-frame chassis. The kevlar body was designed by Ghia and constructed by Reliant, which had considerable expertise with composites. The RS200 featured AWD with adjustable torque split, a Group B first. Without stopping the car, the driver could rout all the power to the rear wheels, choose a 37/63 front-to-rear split or go for 50/50. The RS200 employed three viscous couplings to make this possible. It also had a mid-engine layout and dual-shocks at each corner. Legendary F1-er Bryan Hart tuned the 16-valve, turbocharged 2137 cc BDT-E Cosworth engine to at least 550 hp, and some claim as much as 800 hp. In reality, the RS200s probably competed at 650 hp.

Under the RS200’s Kevlar Hood. Clock the Dual Shocks

Regardless, 60 mph arrived in a hair over two seconds, depending upon the gearing. In fact, two separate RS200 Evolutions hit 100 km/h in 2.1 seconds, which is basically two seconds flat to 60 mph. That is ludicrous. More important (to the drivers), the RS200 was extremely tough and faired well in crash tests. The only drawback was that all that overbuilding meant the Ford was heavier than its competition. Extra pounds coupled with horrid turbo lag meant the RS200 had to be beaten with a go-faster stick. And that’s fine by us. Plus, if you watch the video, it shot fire out of its tail pipe constantly. That’s even finer by us.

Lancia Delta S4

Like the rest of the competitors, Lancia got caught with its pants down when Audi arrived with its mean, old Sport Quattro. In 1983 the rear-drive Lancia 037, predecessor to the S4, managed to hold off Audi (Lancia had Walter Röhrl at the wheel and somehow the Italian car was much more reliable than the fancy-pants German). But by 1984 competition was just too stiff for the mid-engined 037. Lancia had to make a move. And boy, did they.

The Delta S4 is the rally car Vincent van Gogh would have driven. Mid-engined, all-wheel-drive, extra-light, all that stuff. But what sets the S4 apart and always makes us smile is its compound charging. In order to fight off the nasty effects of turbo lag on twisty, hairpin dirt courses, the Delta S4’s 1759 cc engine was both supercharged and turbocharged. Developed with Fiat’s tuning shop Abarth, this lag-free set up screamed out at least 550 hp from a 1.8-liter four banger. And, like all these cars, the actual output come race day was most likely higher, if not much higher.

Lack of displacement did affect torque output, and that meant that the Delta S4 could “only” accelerate from a standstill to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds. On gravel. We’re laughing just typing. Point being, this was the first compound charged engine ever raced, and the S4 was one of the most advanced cars ever built. Lancia and the Delta S4 finished 1-2 in the 1985 RAC Rally. The 1986 campaign looked to be much more of the same, but then Henri Toivonen tragically crashed his Delta S4 and the gas tanks blew, killing him and effectively ending Group B forever. Still, what a brilliant maniac of a vehicle it was.

Peugeot 205 TI6

How can you not love a car nicknamed L’enfant terrible? Right, in good faith, you can’t. Like the other cars mentioned, Peugeot’s Group B entry followed the winning formula. Or in this case developed the winning formula. Mid-engine, lightweight composite body, AWD, a space-frame chassis and turbo power out both the ying yang and wazoo. And, even in the face of more powerful competition, the 205 T16 constantly won races.

taken from jalopnik.co

To Americans, this question is almost as defining as red state or blue. Actually, perhaps more so. And why is that? Obviously, these companies are the hometown heroes. They build our trucks, our muscle cars and in the case of the Z06 and GT500, the stuff of dreams. They used to even build our sedans, wagons, economy cars and minivans, but times change. Still, Calvin is rarely seen pissing on Mopar. And like yesterday’s Ferrari vs. Lambo discussion, everyone’s got an opinion. We’re reserving ours for press cars a variety of reasons. What do you think?

taken from /jalopnik.com

We can’t say it enough — we love getting camera phone shots of camo-covered test vehicles — if you’ve got any, please feel free to send them over to us to tips@jalopnik.com. That being said — here’s a recent shot taken by reader Jonathan of what appears to be the Lincoln MKS out for some testing in, of all places, Silverthorne, Colorado. Who knew that FoMoCo even had a test facility for the Lincoln LS replacement out in the Rocky Mountain state? We asked a friendly neighborhood spy photographer what it was doing out there. Check out the full-resolution spy shot below and the comments from our camera-happy friend after the jump:

taken from jalopnik.com

While walking from the li’l place in downtown Royal Oak we call the “Jalopnik Detroit office” to snag some Leo’s greek salad, we happened to stumble across some new hotness from the General’s luxe brand. That’s right — it’s a 2008 Cadillac CTS — sitting right there like some reel big fish in front of the Royal Oak Music Theater. So we snapped some shots — just because it’s the first time we’ve seen one out on the streets with our own two eyes. We think maybe we’d like it in black better.

taken from /jalopnik.com

First the good news. Since the RS4 droptop is going to be so rare, there aren’t any options. That means you get stuff like bi-xenon adaptive headlamps, front and rear seat heaters, an iPod hookup in the glove and all the tacky carbon fiber interior bits found in the sedan are replaced with (somehow) more tasteful brushed aluminum pieces. Plus, you know, the top comes down and the only thing between you and the sound of that glorious 4.2-liter FSI V8 engine is the hood and a little windshield. OK, OK, here’s the bad news. The price starts at $81,900. And there’s a $775 destination charge. As well as a yet to be determined gas-guzzler tax. Which is a $15,000 premium over the four-door. Which is the base price for the M5. Which may or may not be worth it. Who are we kidding? Of course it’ll be worth it. Now, about that Avant… – Jonny Lieberman

taen from jalopnik.com

Clive Sinclair is largely famous for a line of groundbreaking and affordable personal computers packing as much as 48K of code crunching RAM. Sinclair also attempted to segue his success in computers into a personal transportation device known as the C5. Sales tanked, as the trike had about as much horsepower as a Timex-Sinclair. The crew over at jetpower.co.uk have remedied this lack of boost by installing a jet engine in place of the anemic 12-volt pedal-electric hybrid powerplant. – Mike Bumbeck

taken from jalopnik.com

The XR4Ti roared out of Lincoln-Mercury-Merkur dealerships, ready to do battle with the best European sporty sedans! Unfortunately for FoMoCo, the number of roaring Merkurs on the battlefield was tiny and they were never heard from again. Bonus points for incredible 80s-ness on this ad’s soundtrack! – Murilee Martin

taken from jalopnik.com

Say hello to the first naked shots of the 2008 Honda Accord. Although Honda is still doing long-lead press reviews of the 15-year leader in US sales, Brenda Priddy’s spies captured the 2008 Accord just as it stepped out of its fascia-obscuring sports bra and into a photo shoot for a Canadian brochure. Here’s what we know. Obviously, expect the new model to sport some serious frontal design changes. That new look’s being eclipsed in the marketing materials only by the Honda’s comments about the Accord’s higher horsepower, better fuel economy and lower emissions for the V6-powered model. Although there’s no word from Honda, we’re anticipating a 3.5-liter V6 with about 270-horsepower, as well as the base 180-horsepower 2.4-liter four-cylinder version. – Ray Wert

takenfrom jalopnik.com/cars

Count one more styling concept among Mazda’s latest series. It’s the Taiki, and it’s set for debut at this month’s Tokyo auto show. Taiki is the fourth in a string of concept cars Mazda designers say represent a design theory inspired by organic shapes and patterns of natural motion — sand across a shoreline, water along the ocean floor and lava from a volcano, to cite three examples designers have mentioned in the past. The first three, Nagare, Ryuga and Hakaze, debuted at LA, Detroit and Geneva, respectively. The Taiki, the press kit goes, was inspired by the flowing robes that enable a celestial maiden to fly in Japanese legend. Thus the use of sheetmetal to create a kind of rolling effect, and the multithreaded crease lines that run into a novel, semi-open rear-wheel treatment. Obviously, it’s a fashion-forward way of seeing the Mazda brand, which has yet to incorporate these styles into a street model. Just wait, designers say. The Taiki is also sporting Mazda’s next-gen RENESIS rotary plant 16X. Click through for official text.

taken from jalopnik.com/cars

Nope, kids — hold your horses, it’s not the new GT-R, that’s still being revealed in Tokyo later this month. Almost like a tease, Nissan’s just revealed the new 2008 Skyline coupe in Japan — it’s the Nissan version of the Infiniti G37 coupe we saw revealed at the New York Auto Show earlier this year. That means this new-for-2008 model gets the same engine as the G37 — the powerful 3.7-liter V6 engine that delivers 330 horses in the Infiniti. The new Skyline somehow adds an extra three horses, with Nissan pegging the 2008 model at 333 HP and 270 lb-ft of torque in all four of the variants of the new Nissan two-door hardtop. Also available will be the full complement of toys found in the G37 including backup camera, “HDD CARWINGS” nav system and even real wood trim. Full press release after the jump.

taken from jalopnik.com/cars/new-cars