Times Five Racing rules sometimes force manufacturers to build road-going versions of their racers. looks at some of the coolest homologation specials ever built.
Nile Bijoux
Dodge Charger Daytona/ Plymouth Superbird
The Dodge Charger Daytona and Plymouth Superbird were both developed around the same time to win Nascar, the Dodge debuting in 1969 and the Plymouth coming out in 1970. They look almost the same due to Plymouth and Dodge being owned by Chrysler at the time, but Plymouth had to build nearly four times the amount of Superbirds than Charger Daytonas due to Nascar rule changes. Their huge spoilers and aero-friendly noses combined with huge 7.0-litre V8s meant the pair dominated Nascar until more rule changes in 1971 meant ‘‘aero cars’’ could only use engines displacing five litres, resulting in uncompetitive cars.
Audi Quattro
This is the car that started the fourwheel-drive craze in rally and at Audi HQ, at least in race trim. The Quattro racers were putting out as much as 515kW by the time Group B was banned and while the road-going Quattro wasn’t making nearly that much power (162kW at its peak), the characterful turbocharged five-cylinder carried over. Audi’s winning ways on the rally circuit prompted its bigwigs to offer the quattro four-wheel-drive system on its customer cars and the Four Ring brand has never looked back. The 1980 Quattro you see here is, effectively, modern Audi’s genesis.
MG Metro 6R4
Sticking with Group B, MG got in on the action in 1985 with the insane Metro 6R4. The name stands for six-cylinder, rear-engined and fourwheel-drive and the car was worlds away from the Metro city car. Power came from a naturally aspirated 3.0-litre V6 (going against turbo-charged trends of the day), with the gearbox bolted to the rear of the engine, putting it in the middle of the car for better weight distribution. The homologation Clubman version made around 186kW in stock form but 20 out of the 200 built were taken and built to international spec, pushing output north of 306kW. Problems dogged the British rally monster until Group B was banned in 1986.
Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR
Road racing has its share of homologation models, the most iconic of which is next in line, but some are more infamous than famous. The Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR of 1997 was built primarily as a race car, with the road cars an afterthought necessary for racing. During development, Mercedes bought a disused McLaren F1 GTR, then the major car to beat, and set benchmark laps, fine-tuned its V12 engine and created optimal bodywork before the car was finished. The CLK GTR performed well in the FIA GT Championship in 1997, taking the team and drivers championships but couldn’t crack the Le Mans code before the FIA cancelled the GT1 class in 1999.
Ferrari 250 GTO
This is the most famous homologation car ever and the most expensive in the world. The Ferrari 250 GTO (Grand Touring Homologated) was designed to compete in Group 3 GT racing in the early 60s, against the Shelby Cobra, Jaguar E-Type and Aston Martin DP214. It came second in its debut at the 1962 12 Hours of Sebring and won the over 2000cc class of the FIA’s International Championship for GT Manufacturers in 1962, 1963, and 1964. More wins between 1962 and 1964 coupled with the gorgeous looks of the GTO has pushed prices for genuine models well into the eyewatering category. One sold in 2018 for NZ$100 million, the most anyone has paid for a car.