Acropolis Rally 1983

Walter Röhrl won the Acropolis in the Lancia 037, proving the rear-wheel-drive car could win on rough gravel as well as tarmac.

Round 6
of 12 in 1983
Röhrl
winner
46
special stages
36/120
finishers/starters
Grouve Sport documentary

Episode 2 — Rear-Wheel Drive’s Last Stand: Lancia 037 vs Audi quattro (1983)

The Acropolis Rally 1983 features in this episode of our documentary series.

At a glance

Round6 of 12 — 1983 World Rally Championship
Dates30 May – 2 June 1983
BaseAthens, Greece
CountryGreece
SurfaceGravel
Competitive distance46 special stages, 836.73 km
Starters / finishers120 / 36
Counted forDrivers’ and manufacturers’ championships
WinnerWalter Röhrl / Christian Geistdörfer — Lancia Rally 037
Most stage winsBlomqvist 19, Mikkola 8, Alén 5, Röhrl 5
LeadersBettega (stage 1); Röhrl (stages 2–3); Alén (stages 4–8); Röhrl (stages 9–12); Mikkola (stages 13–37); Röhrl (stages 38–46)

The podium

Lancia Rally 037Photo: Miloslav Rejha via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
2Markku AlénIlkka KivimäkiLancia Rally 037Martini Racing
Lancia Rally 037Photo: Miloslav Rejha via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
1Walter RöhrlChristian GeistdörferLancia Rally 037Martini Racing
Audi Quattro A2Photo: Jiří Sedláček via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
3Stig BlomqvistBjörn CederbergAudi Quattro A2Audi Sport

Car photos are representative pictures of the model, not of this event.

Route and surface

Rough, rocky gravel in mainland Greece — a test of strength for chassis and suspension.

Key entries

The leading seeded crews (start numbers 1–8):

Walter Röhrl won the Acropolis in the Lancia 037, proving the rear-wheel-drive car could win on rough gravel as well as tarmac.

How the rally unfolded

Stig Blomqvist won 19 stages but lost time and finished third. Hannu Mikkola led from stage 13 to stage 37, then retired with a mechanical failure. Röhrl took over and won by 6 minutes 20 seconds from Markku Alén. Attilio Bettega was fifth, behind Vatanen’s Opel.

Mouton crashed on the very first stage, Toivonen crashed his Manta 400, and Salonen’s Nissan broke its gearbox.

The decisive moment

Mikkola’s retirement on stage 37 handed Lancia the lead, and Röhrl brought the car home. The win kept Lancia ahead in the manufacturers’ championship.

Result — top 10

Pos. No. Crew Car Entrant Gp. Time / gap
1 3 Walter Röhrl / Christian Geistdörfer Lancia Rally 037 Martini Racing B 11:12:22
2 7 Markku Alén / Ilkka Kivimäki Lancia Rally 037 Martini Racing B +6:20
3 8 Stig Blomqvist / Björn Cederberg Audi Quattro A2 Audi Sport B +13:56
4 2 Ari Vatanen / Terry Harryman Opel Manta 400 Rothmans Opel Rally Team B +22:49
5 15 Attilio Bettega / Maurizio Perissinot Lancia Rally 037 Martini Racing B +24:16
6 10 Shekhar Mehta / Yvonne Mehta Nissan 240RS Nic. J. Theocharakis SA B +37:19
7 11 Franz Wittmann / Kurt Nestinger Audi Quattro A2 Funkberaterring Rally Team B +41:41
8 9 Jimmy McRae / Ian Grindrod Opel Manta 400 Rothmans Opel Rally Team B +44:01
9 42 Philippe Wambergue / Vincent Laverne Citroën Visa Citroën Competitions B +2:05:08
10 34 Maurice Chomat / Didier Breton Citroën Visa Citroën Competitions B +2:15:46

Retirements of note

Results, retirements, stage wins and leaders are taken from Jonkka’s World Rally Archive. Names are given with their correct spelling; the archive itself omits diacritics.

Related pages

All rounds of 1983

Round 1Monte Carlo RallyWalter Röhrl · Lancia Rally 037Round 2Swedish RallyHannu Mikkola · Audi Quattro A1Round 3Rally de PortugalHannu Mikkola · Audi Quattro A1Round 4Safari Rally (Kenya)Ari Vatanen · Opel Ascona 400Round 5Tour de CorseMarkku Alén · Lancia Rally 037Round 6Acropolis Rally (Greece)Walter Röhrl · Lancia Rally 037Round 7Rally New ZealandWalter Röhrl · Lancia Rally 037Round 8Rally ArgentinaHannu Mikkola · Audi Quattro A2Round 91000 Lakes Rally (Finland)Hannu Mikkola · Audi Quattro A2Round 10Rallye SanremoMarkku Alén · Lancia Rally 037Round 11Ivory Coast RallyBjörn Waldegård · Toyota Celica TCTRound 12RAC Rally (Great Britain)Stig Blomqvist · Audi Quattro A2

In pictures 4 photos

Photos from this event where free-licensed pictures exist; otherwise the podium cars, photographed on the occasion stated in each caption.

Lancia 037
Lancia 037Photo: Calreyn88 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
The Lancia 037: long, low rear deck with the engine in the middle and the supercharger alongside.
The Lancia 037: long, low rear deck with the engine in the middle and the supercharger alongside.Photo: Calreyn88 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Christian Geistdörfer with the Lancia 037 in which he and Röhrl finished runners-up in 1983.
Christian Geistdörfer with the Lancia 037 in which he and Röhrl finished runners-up in 1983.Photo: Osvaldo di Mando via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
A Lancia 037 shown as a 1985 Safari Rally car at the Classic Motor Show, Birmingham, 2023. None of the three Martini 037s reached the finish that year.
A Lancia 037 shown as a 1985 Safari Rally car at the Classic Motor Show, Birmingham, 2023. None of the three Martini 037s reached the finish that year.Photo: Andrew Bone from Weymouth, England via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Further resources

All Group B resources →

The same rally in other Group B years

1982Acropolis Rally 1982Michèle Mouton's most dominant performance: 26 stage wins and a lead held from stage 7 to the finish of the 57-stage Acropolis.Read more →1984Acropolis Rally 1984Stig Blomqvist won the Acropolis, with Mikkola making it an Audi one-two and Alén third.Read more →1985Acropolis Rally 1985Timo Salonen led the Acropolis from start to finish, even though Stig Blomqvist won 29 of the 47 stages.Read more →1986Acropolis Rally 1986Juha Kankkunen won the Acropolis, with Miki Biasion second for Lancia. It was the first rally after the Group B ban was announced.Read more →

Sources

  1. Jonkka's World Rally Archive (juwra.com), Acropolis Rally 1983: event page — https://www.juwra.com/acropolis_1983.html
  2. Jonkka's World Rally Archive, results — https://www.juwra.com/acropolis_1983_results.html
  3. Jonkka's World Rally Archive, entry list — https://www.juwra.com/acropolis_1983_entries.html
  4. Jonkka's World Rally Archive, stage winners and leaders — https://www.juwra.com/acropolis_1983_stage_winners.html
  5. Wikipedia (EN), 1983 World Rally Championship — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_World_Rally_Championship

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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Thumbnail photos on this page: Miloslav Rejha (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0); Jiří Sedláček (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Mr.choppers (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0); © 1971markus (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); © 1971markus (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Steffs88 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Kevauto (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); © 1971markus (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); sv1ambo (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); nakhon100 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Rutger van der Maar (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Calreyn88 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Mr.choppers (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0); Matthew Lamb (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0).