Rally Discussion and Bar Talk Thread

[AndyRAC]

It took a while for Mitsubishi to get their act together in regards to showcasing their rally/ road cars. Here in the UK, none pf the first 5 Lancer Evo were officially imported. You had to get a 'grey import'. The 6 was the first one to be officially sold, you wonder what took them so long?

As for the VW effort, well it wasn't a surprise. One only had to look at the Audi efforts in Sportscars - they were fully committed, financially and in resources. In fact, the LMP effort was an R&D programme as opposed to marketing. If VW took the WRC programme anywhere near as seriously, (and why wouldn't they?) then everybody was in trouble, including Citroen. And their first year with the Fabia was clear evidence how committed they were.

If you want to succeed, then you have to be 'all in' - no half measures.

[doubled1978]

It took a while for Mitsubishi to get their act together in regards to showcasing their rally/ road cars. Here in the UK, none pf the first 5 Lancer Evo were officially imported. You had to get a 'grey import'. The 6 was the first one to be officially sold, you wonder what took them so long?

As for the VW effort, well it wasn't a surprise. One only had to look at the Audi efforts in Sportscars - they were fully committed, financially and in resources. In fact, the LMP effort was an R&D programme as opposed to marketing. If VW took the WRC programme anywhere near as seriously, (and why wouldn't they?) then everybody was in trouble, including Citroen. And their first year with the Fabia was clear evidence how committed they were.

If you want to succeed, then you have to be 'all in' - no half measures.

That’s exactly right, Audi have probably been the best exponent of how to use motorsport activity over the last 40 years, everything they have done has had a strategic value whether it be marketing or R&D, and as you say they never mess about. The money that was being spent by the group on WEC with Audi & Porsche was said to be astronomical, and VW were rallying at that time also.
Citroen obviously did a great job when they came to WRC, spent lots of money and ended up dominating, but I always felt they didn’t appear to capitalise on it as much as they could have, perhaps living in the UK I didn’t see the best of their marketing but they didn’t do it to launch a sporty range or anything like that, in fact they seemed to almost do the opposite.

[Rally Power]

Citroen obviously did a great job when they came to WRC, spent lots of money and ended up dominating, but I always felt they didn’t appear to capitalise on it as much as they could have, perhaps living in the UK I didn’t see the best of their marketing but they didn’t do it to launch a sporty range or anything like that, in fact they seemed to almost do the opposite.

It’s fair to say that until the mid 10’s there were still sporty models in the Citroen range and some of those were even converted into low or mid budget rally cars (ZX, Saxo, C2, DS3) but after that it was a bit painful to see Citroen WRC effort getting so disconnected from their general production.

Btw, despite their revolutionary approach and the vast resources, Audi’s WRC winning path was far from the supremacy of Lancia in Gr.A days, Citroen in the 00’s or VW in the mid 10’s; still, it was more than enough to change the sport for ever.

[doubled1978]

It’s fair to say that until the mid 10’s there were still sporty models in the Citroen range and some of those were even converted into low or mid budget rally cars (ZX, Saxo, C2, DS3) but after that it was a bit painful to see Citroen WRC effort getting so disconnected from their general production.

Btw, despite their revolutionary approach and the vast resources, Audi’s WRC winning path was far from the supremacy of Lancia in Gr.A days, Citroen in the 00’s or VW in the mid 10’s; still, it was more than enough to change the sport for ever.

Oh I know, Audi didn’t dominate WRC in the way others have subsequently done, but the programme probably did more for the company than those of Lancia, Citroen or VW.
Lancia is actually one of the great shames of the auto industry, a legendary brand with such a rich history particularly in WRC that has withered to nothing....

[AndyRAC]

It’s fair to say that until the mid 10’s there were still sporty models in the Citroen range and some of those were even converted into low or mid budget rally cars (ZX, Saxo, C2, DS3) but after that it was a bit painful to see Citroen WRC effort getting so disconnected from their general production.

What happened to Citroen, and their range of sporty cars? One of the greatest wastes of a successful motorsport programme I can recall. I remember the mid/late 90s - and Citroen did have a few decent 'performance' cars; ZX 16V, the Saxo VTS/VTR, Xsara VTS/VTR. In fact I nearly bought a Saxo VTS in 1998, but opted for a Seat Ibiza GTi.
Since then apart from the DS3 Racing, its been largely forgettable - with the 'by Loeb' cars an utter travesty. I do remember a quote from Citroen UK saying they didn't wish to use motorsport in their marketing.......(from the time when it was rumoured they might help with funding for McRae in 2004)