STARS OF THE STAGE
Rear-engined traction helped these legends make their names on the rally stages
The rally careers of the 911 and A110
The Porsche 911 was unveiled to the public in 1964, and made its competition debut just a year later on the Rallye Monte-carlo with Herbert Linge and Peter Falk. The pair quickly demonstrated the Porsche’s suitability for the special stages by taking a relatively standard car (warmed-over to 160bhp) to fifth overall, with Günter Klass’ 1967 German National Rally Championship title underlining the 911’s untapped potential.
Peculiarities of homologation rules allowed Porsche to make an all-out assault on international rallying in 1967, entering the 912 in Group 1, the 911L in Group 2, the 911T in Group 3 and the 911S in Group 4. Vic Elford, who was recruited from Ford, proved dazzling, winning the Deutschland Rally, Tulip Rally, Tour de Corse and Geneva Rally, and finishing third on the Monte. The Brit won the headline event at the second time of asking in 1968, in a season that the 2-litre German coupé dominated, with victory in no fewer than six other rallies; Pauli Toivonen won the European Championship and Porsche finished third in the International Championship for Makes.
The arrival of the 2.2- and 2.5-litre 911s on the international rallying scene in 1970 continued the success, building on four years of racing experience with ever-increasing performance. Waldegård and Helmér won the Monte, Swedish Rally and Austrian Alpine on their way to victory in the International Championship for Makes and further success seemed likely, but Porsche’s attention turned to the Safari Rally and its other competition obligations, and the factory eased back its involvement in rallying. By the early 1970s the 911’s dominance was under threat, with the greatest challenge coming from the lightweight Alpine A110.
Jean Rédélé was no stranger to rallying, going so far as to name his firm after his favourite event as a driver, but the cutting-edge A110 had a slow start on the international scene. The model always seemed to be playing a game of catch-up between the engines that were available and what was required to win rallies; despite Gérard Larrousse leading the ’67 Coupe des Alpes and crashing out of the ’68 Monte in a promising position, big wins eluded the marque until Renault threw its weight behind the programme.
With the backing of La Régie, the renamed Alpine-renault’s fortunes began to turn. The 1500-engined cars took three wins in 1968 and ’69, while the R16 Ts-powered A110 1600’s arrival was hampered by silly mistakes and poor reliability. The 1300 bowed out in 1970 with third for Jean-pierre Nicolas on the Monte; following a disastrous showing against the 911 in that event, the 1600 finally demonstrated its potential thanks to Jean-luc Thérier, who won the Sanremo and Acropolis. Outright victory on the Monte heralded the arrival of former Ford ace Ove Andersson in 1971, followed by International Championship for Makes and French National Championship wins the same year.
The A110’s greatest success came in 1973, when it swept away all comers in the inaugural season of the World Rally Championship, with 1-2-3 finishes on both the Rallye Monte-carlo and Tour de Corse. It proved to be a career high for the model, which was roundly beaten the following year as WRC laurels passed to Lancia with the first of three consecutive titles.