LET’S GO RALLYING!
INSPIRED BY OUR LAST ISSUE’S COVER CAR, A WORKS RALLY SKODA, AND THE UPCOMING TARGA NEW ZEALAND, BEN SELBY LOOKS AT THE RALLY-CAR MARKET
“Over crest, long three right tightens into five left into hard five right … ” To any rally fan, a string of words like that could only mean a co-driver barking out pace notes in a controlled yell over an artillery barrage of gravel spray while
the driver, thoroughly topped up with brave pills, wrestles a thoroughly beefed-up and pared-down car across yet another gutcrunching rally special stage.
Let’s be honest, we have all toyed with the idea of going rallying at least once, right — especially with the memory of the New Zealand round of the World Rally Championship fresh in our minds. However, for most of us, it is easier said than done. Once the subject of cost crops up, we tend to do a swift about-turn, retreat into our daily routine, and put the notion of going classic rallying or doing the Targa back in box of daydreams.
Yet it might be worth a second thought after all because, if you dig deep enough, you can still find rally cars in which someone else has done most of the hard work, giving you access to some serious affordable fun, for not much money. Sure, an original Group B Peugeot 205 T16 will be quite hard to come by for less than moonbeams, but you would be surprised at what some budding Walter Röhrls have up for grabs.
Mind you, the demand for amateur rally cars has increased in recent years. A certain local by the name of Haydon Paddon making it big in the WRC may have had something to do with it. However, with events such as the Targa NZ, Ashley Forest hill climb, and regional rounds of the NZRC well established and popular, now is as good a time as any to get stuck in.
You can buy a rally-prepared car for as little as $2000, but chances are it will not have turned a wheel in anger for quite some time. At around the $10K mark, you can grab yourself a decent Mitsubishi Mirage or that old favourite of rally newbies, the KP60 Toyota Starlet. That endlessly tunable and bulletproof 4AGE twin-cam four-pot can give you some serious and relatively anxietyfree fun. Expect to fork out between $10K and $20K.
Another car worth considering is the E30 BMW 3-series. Sure, there have been plenty snapped up for the E30 NZ Championship, but they were designed from the off for blasting along back roads, giving you a head start on tarmac rallies like the Targa. Prices for these are around the $10K to $15K mark for a decent, well-looked-after, race-prepared E30. The howling six of the 325i is worth getting for the extra grunt, if you can find one.
The era of Group A and Group N saw the emergence of some seriously competitive car makers from Japan. Take Subaru, for instance. Colin Mcrae clinched the World Rally Championship for Subaru in 1995, and this opened the floodgates for others to mimic his efforts. A fairly decent mid-’90s Impreza with all the rallying trimmings can be had for as little as $15,000, but you should give it a good going-over. The same goes for the Impreza’s arch-rival, the Mitsubishi Lancer EVO. Although you won’t be getting
an ex–sloan Cox EVO 10 for that money, a quick trip through the classifieds will throw up tidy rally-prepared EVO 2s and Evo 3s, which are quickly becoming collectible.
At the other end of the scale, you have got the already seriously rare and collectible. Ex-works cars — meaning cars built for and run by a carmaker’s rally team, such as the ex-blomqvist Audi A2 quattro and the 1979 Ford BDA Escort in Rothmans livery in the Oamaru Auto Collection — are few and far between.
The Escort has to be everyone’s definitive rally go-to — and who can blame them? Few cars have brought big power and performance to the people like the Escort. Scrolling through the classifieds reveals original Mk1 Escort 1600s for as little as $25K — although, for those with more expensive tastes, why not an Escort RS1600 GP4 replica for $115,000?
Regardless of your choice of rally car and what you are prepared to spend, you are going to have to do your homework to ensure your dream doesn’t turn into a nightmare. First thing is to check the vehicle’s logbook. The logbook should contain all the vehicle’s competition history. It is an important part of scrutineering. Also, it’s good to know as much as possible about the car’s build. Was it homebuilt, factory built, or undertaken by a specialist? Finding the original builder of the car and the associated history is well worth doing for any competition car.
As you may imagine, usual indicators such as the car’s mileage, are not so reliable or straightforward. Many rally cars, whether factory spec or homebuilt, have probably had engine and gearbox rebuilds in their lifetime, especially if the car is of higher spec. Therefore, it’s best to find out from the owner just how many kilometres, hours, or events each component has gone through. Any verification from other sources can only help your peace of mind.
Finally, although it’s not essential, classic rally cars with a load of spare parts are always your best bet. Yes, they may be a tad pricier, but if you intend to do more than one event, the time and effort someone has already put into collecting those spares will surely save you time and money in the future. Differentials, clutches, gearboxes, and spare tyres take up space but they are nice to have lying around.
So, if you have the means and the desire to do the Targa Tour, quite a wide range of budgets will give you quite a blast. On the other hand, Marcus van Klink has a very nice Group 4 Mazda RX7!