Designers and engineers

Group B was an engineers’ arms race. With just 200 road cars (plus twenty evolution cars) needed for homologation, they could build almost anything they could dream up: tubular frames, Kevlar, mid-mounted engines, turbochargers combined with superchargers. These are the key names.

Grouve Sport documentary

Episode 8 — The Architects: Fiorio, Todt, Gumpert, Turner & the People Behind Group B

The engineers who built the monsters.

Profiles

Sergio LimoneThe Abarth engineer behind the Lancia 037, and the Delta S4.Read more →Claudio LombardiLancia’s engine designer for the 037 and the twin-charged Delta S4, later Ferrari team manager.Read more →André de CortanzeTechnical director of Peugeot Talbot Sport, later designer of the Toyota GT-One.Read more →Tony SouthgateThe racing-car designer who drew the Ford RS200’s chassis.Read more →John WheelerFord’s Boreham engineer who won the RS200 design competition.Read more →Ferdinand PiëchThe Audi engineering chief who made the quattro possible.Read more →Walter TreserProject leader and namer of the Audi quattro, first head of Audi Sport.Read more →

More names behind the machines

Dallara and Pininfarina (Lancia 037)

For the Lancia 037, Dallara developed the chassis: only the central cell of the Montecarlo remained, with tubular subframes front and rear. Pininfarina styled the body and tested its aerodynamics in its wind tunnel.

Gérard Welter (Peugeot)

Peugeot’s chief stylist Gérard Welter maintained that the 205’s shape was an in-house Peugeot design; Pininfarina is often wrongly credited, but styled only the cabriolet. See Peugeot 205 T16.

Jörg Bensinger (Audi)

In 1977 chassis engineer Jörg Bensinger proposed a four-wheel-drive performance car after the military Volkswagen Iltis outperformed everything in winter testing. Walter Treser worked the idea up into the Audi Quattro project, with Ferdinand Piëch‘s backing.

Roland Gumpert (Audi Sport)

Roland Gumpert ran Audi Sport in the Group B years, the period of Audi’s world titles and of the Sport quattro. He later founded his own sports-car company and built the Gumpert Apollo.

David Wood and Williams (Austin Rover)

Williams Grand Prix Engineering was given the development of the MG Metro 6R4. David Wood designed the three-litre V6 (V64V), which drew on elements of the Cosworth DFV’s architecture.

In pictures 2 photos

A Lancia Delta S4 in Martini colours.
A Lancia Delta S4 in Martini colours.Photo: Calreyn88 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Lancia Delta S4 Stradale (1985)
Lancia Delta S4 Stradale (1985)Photo: Calreyn88 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

More from Teams

Audi SportThe Ingolstadt team that changed rallying with four-wheel drive. Under Roland Gumpert: two manufacturers' titles (1982, 1984) and two drivers' titles (1983, 1984).Read more →Lancia MartiniCesare Fiorio's Turin team won the last manufacturers' title for a two-wheel-drive car in 1983 and introduced the Delta S4 in 1985 — with Abarth as its engineering powerhouse.Read more →Peugeot Talbot SportFrom 1981 Jean Todt built a team that conquered the world within three years. With the 205 T16: manufacturers' titles in 1985 and 1986, and drivers' titles for Salonen and Kankkunen.Read more →Other teams and privateersCitroën, Nissan, Mazda Rally Team Europe, Renault, Jolly Club and the privateers who gave Group B its depth.Read more →Rothmans Porsche and ProdrivePorsche never fought for the world title, but David Richards' new Prodrive company ran the Rothmans 911 SC RS in the European championship and on world championship asphalt rallies.Read more →Opel (Opel Motorsport and Rothmans Opel)Opel won the 1982 drivers' world title with the Ascona 400 (Röhrl). Tony Fall ran the German works team; David Richards co-ran the Rothmans-backed team.Read more →

Sources

  1. Wikipedia (EN), Sergio Limone — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergio_Limone
  2. Wikipedia (EN), Claudio Lombardi — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudio_Lombardi
  3. Stellantis Heritage, Lancia. The Rallying Legend — https://www.stellantisheritage.com/en-uk/heritage/news/lancia-the-rallying-legend
  4. Wikipedia (EN), André de Cortanze — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_de_Cortanze
  5. Wikipedia (EN), Tony Southgate — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Southgate
  6. Wikipedia (EN), Ford RS200 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_RS200
  7. Wikipedia (EN), Audi Quattro — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audi_Quattro
  8. Wikipedia (EN), Ferdinand Piëch — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Pi%C3%ABch
  9. Wikipedia (DE), Walter Treser — https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Treser
  10. Wikipedia (EN), MG Metro 6R4 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MG_Metro_6R4
  11. Wikipedia (EN), Peugeot 205 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peugeot_205

All text is original writing for Grouve Sports Management Group, based on the sources above. Facts checked on 21 October 2026.

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