And one that should never be used in rallying. Ever...
This week we've been focused on the world of rallying. With debates of which iconic car should be crowned the G.O.A.T sparking debates across our social media channels as well as a few heated debates in TheCarCrowd office and more recently looking at two unlikely supercars, that have actually come into fruition those being the Porsche 911 Dakar and Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato. It got us wondering, what other 'unlikely' rally cars are there? A quick google search came up with some interesting results. Some more believable than others and one that's just outright ridiculous, enjoy!
McLaren Senna
We thought we'd start this list pretty strong with possibly the most outrageous car on this list...
When you think of manufacturers in the world of rallying we'd be confident in saying that McLaren isn't high on that list if on it at all. But there's no denying a Marlboro liveried Senna, with spotlights on the front and turbo fan wheel looks absolutely epic.
Alpine A110
When you think about it, it makes sense for the A110 to enter the rally arena. After all its predecessor of the same name was a common sight on the rally stages in the 60's and 70's. Perhaps the guys over at Alpine thought the same thing as the company are working on a factory R-GT spec rally car. We're pretty happy to see manufacturers going back to their roots with cars like these and hope more manufacturers follow suit.
Tesla Model X
Could this be the future of rallying? With electrification of vehicles becoming more and more commonplace and motorsports such as Formula E becoming increasing popular. Perhaps its only a matter of time before electric vehicles find their way onto the rally stages? Not sure a Tesla Model X would be our ideal choice in the real world, but as a render with those Fifteen52 Turbomac style wheels it does look pretty cool, right?
Ferrari 308 GTB Rally
Ferrari isn't as well known for its foray into rallying. Since 1973 Ferrari had its eyes set on Formula one. But one Ferrari racer turned it's attention to the gravel rather than tarmac? Developed with Maranello's blessing although it wasn't an in-house Ferrari project the 308 GTB was the second mid-engined Ferrari to use a V8. At the time Michelotto who were famed racing specialist, prepping road-going Ferraris for the track felt the 308 platform would be ideal for group 4 rallying!
Ford GT40
Remember the film Ford vs Ferrari? How good would it have been if the same story was playing out on the world rally stages as well? We'll leave that to your imagination, but to help you visualise it a little better check out this awesome GT40 baring Cibie spotlights and OZ rally wheels tearing it up though the countryside stages!
Juke Hybrid Rally Tribute
It seems other manufacturers are jumping on celebrating their rally heritages after all... Nissan are flexing their rallying and circuit heritage muscles with this. A hybrid drivetrain Nissan Juke. The avid fans will note the livery, which harks back to the 240z rally car but the similarities pretty much end their. Whilst we think the Juke's looks have definitely improved through the generations, with this one being the easiest on the eyes out of the bunch we can't help but think Nissan missed a trick with not creating this concept with their newest 400z...
Rolls-Royce Corniche
Rolls-Royce isn't one of the front runners in motorsport of any kind, but believe it or not the Corniche really did compete in the gruelling Paris Dakar. But under the Rolls-Royce skin you'll find very little left from the Corniche. The four-wheel drivetrain is from a Toyota Land Cruiser and the engine is actually a Chevy V8 small block and a tubular chassis. But at the end of the day it look like a Rolls-Royce and that's what matters.
BMW M1
The BMW M1 is one of those unicorn cars, a thing of myth and legend... But it does in fact exist and it did compete in Group B rallying! Although it was intended for motorsport competition it was never designed to be entered into the rally stages, that didn't stop this 80's supercar from giving it a go. That straight-six is a symphonic master-piece, watch a couple of rally videos of the M1 in action and you'll understand what we mean...
The One That Should Never Be - The Reliant Robin
There's not much we need to say about this one. At first glance with its spotlights and convincing livery the Reliant tries its best to fit in but even that ginormous wing won't generate enough downforce to keep this car on it's wheels. A more fitting render would have been this same car but on it's roof...