The seasons

1984 season — the year of Audi and Blomqvist

Photo: Matthew Lamb via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

After defeat in 1983, Audi hit back hard. With Walter Röhrl joining Mikkola, Blomqvist and Mouton, the line-up was unprecedented. The Quattro A2 won seven world rallies and Stig Blomqvist became world champion — but the real news of the year wore a French lion on its nose.

Grouve Sport documentary

Episode 3 — The Peugeot Revolution: 205 Turbo 16, Todt & Vatanen (1984–85)

How Audi won back the title while Peugeot quietly built the future.

Audi’s revenge

Röhrl moved from Lancia to Audi and immediately won the Monte Carlo Rally — his fourth Monte victory, each with a different make (after Fiat, Opel and Lancia). Audi even finished one-two-three there (Röhrl, Blomqvist, Mikkola). Blomqvist won in Sweden, Mikkola in Portugal. In Kenya, victory went to Björn Waldegård in the Toyota Celica TCT, ahead of Rauno Aaltonen in the Opel Manta 400.

Then came Stig Blomqvist’s run: he won the Acropolis, New Zealand and Argentina back to back. Lancia’s only answer came in Corsica, where Markku Alén won in the 037 Evo 2 and Miki Biasion (Jolly Club) finished second. Blomqvist rounded off his year with victory in the Ivory Coast in the new Sport Quattro. He was champion with 125 points, ahead of Mikkola (104) and Alén (90). Audi took the manufacturers’ title with 120 points to Lancia’s 108.

The 1984 season, round by round

Round 1Monte Carlo RallyWalter Röhrl · Audi Quattro A2Round 2Swedish RallyStig Blomqvist · Audi Quattro A2Round 3Rally de PortugalHannu Mikkola · Audi Quattro A2Round 4Safari Rally (Kenya)Björn Waldegård · Toyota Celica TCTRound 5Tour de CorseMarkku Alén · Lancia Rally 037 evoRound 6Acropolis Rally (Greece)Stig Blomqvist · Audi Quattro A2Round 7Rally New ZealandStig Blomqvist · Audi Quattro A2Round 8Rally ArgentinaStig Blomqvist · Audi Quattro A2Round 91000 Lakes Rally (Finland)Ari Vatanen · Peugeot 205 Turbo 16Round 10Rallye SanremoAri Vatanen · Peugeot 205 Turbo 16Round 11Ivory Coast RallyStig Blomqvist · Audi Sport QuattroRound 12RAC Rally (Great Britain)Ari Vatanen · Peugeot 205 Turbo 16

Peugeot arrives

The Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 made its debut on the Tour de Corse in May. Jean Todt’s team had built an entirely new car: a transverse mid-engine behind the front seats, four-wheel drive, a tubular structure and a weight hundreds of kilos below the Quattro’s. In Corsica, Ari Vatanen was among the fastest straight away until he crashed.

After a few more learning events came the breakthrough. Vatanen won the 1000 Lakes in Finland, then Sanremo and finally the RAC Rally. Three wins from the last four rounds: Audi were still champions, but the future clearly belonged to Peugeot.

Stig Blomqvist wins five rallies and the world title, Audi takes both championships — and Peugeot arrives with the 205 T16, which wins three of the last four rounds.

The Sport Quattro: shorter, stronger, trickier

Audi’s response to the new generation was the Sport Quattro, with a substantially shortened wheelbase (Audi describes it as more than 30 centimetres shorter than the standard Quattro) and a lighter 20-valve engine. Röhrl gave it its debut in Corsica, but the car’s weight distribution was a problem: the long five-cylinder sat well ahead of the front axle, causing heavy understeer. It did not win until Blomqvist took the Ivory Coast. See Audi Quattro.

Lancia looks for a successor

Lancia finished second in the manufacturers’ standings, with Alén third among the drivers and Attilio Bettega fifth. Henri Toivonen drove part of the season in the 037 and finished third in Finland. But it was clear that a two-wheel-drive car, however light, could no longer beat the four-wheel-drive generation. Behind the scenes, Lancia was already working on the Delta S4.

All winners and podiums 1984

Rd.	Rally	Winner	Car	2nd	3rd
1	Monte Carlo Rally	Walter Röhrl Christian Geistdörfer	Audi Quattro A2	Stig Blomqvist Audi Quattro A2	Hannu Mikkola Audi Quattro A2
2	Swedish Rally	Stig Blomqvist Björn Cederberg	Audi Quattro A2	Michèle Mouton Audi Quattro A2	Per Eklund Audi Quattro A2
3	Rally de Portugal	Hannu Mikkola Arne Hertz	Audi Quattro A2	Markku Alén Lancia Rally 037 evo	Attilio Bettega Lancia Rally 037 evo
4	Safari Rally (Kenya)	Björn Waldegård Hans Thorszelius	Toyota Celica TCT	Rauno Aaltonen Opel Manta 400	Hannu Mikkola Audi Quattro A2
5	Tour de Corse	Markku Alén Ilkka Kivimäki	Lancia Rally 037 evo	Miki Biasion Lancia Rally 037 evo	Jean Ragnotti Renault 5 Turbo
6	Acropolis Rally (Greece)	Stig Blomqvist Björn Cederberg	Audi Quattro A2	Hannu Mikkola Audi Quattro A2	Markku Alén Lancia Rally 037 evo
7	Rally New Zealand	Stig Blomqvist Björn Cederberg	Audi Quattro A2	Markku Alén Lancia Rally 037 evo	Hannu Mikkola Audi Quattro A2
8	Rally Argentina	Stig Blomqvist Björn Cederberg	Audi Quattro A2	Hannu Mikkola Audi Quattro A2	Jorge Recalde Audi Quattro A2
9	1000 Lakes Rally (Finland)	Ari Vatanen Terry Harryman	Peugeot 205 Turbo 16	Markku Alén Lancia Rally 037 evo	Henri Toivonen Lancia Rally 037 evo
10	Rallye Sanremo	Ari Vatanen Terry Harryman	Peugeot 205 Turbo 16	Attilio Bettega Lancia Rally 037 evo	Miki Biasion Lancia Rally 037 evo
11	Ivory Coast Rally	Stig Blomqvist Björn Cederberg	Audi Sport Quattro	Hannu Mikkola Audi Quattro A2	Shekhar Mehta Nissan 240RS
12	RAC Rally (Great Britain)	Ari Vatanen Terry Harryman	Peugeot 205 Turbo 16	Hannu Mikkola Audi Quattro A2	Per Eklund Toyota Celica TCT

Final standings (top 6)

Pos.	Driver	Points	Manufacturer	Points
1	Stig Blomqvist	125	Audi	120
2	Hannu Mikkola	104	Lancia	108
3	Markku Alén	90	Peugeot	74
4	Ari Vatanen	60	Toyota	62
5	Attilio Bettega	49	Renault	55
6	Miki Biasion	43	Opel	48

Continue to 1985 or go back to 1983.

In pictures 1 photos

More from Seasons

1982 season — the year of transitionRöhrl takes the title in the rear-wheel-drive Opel Ascona 400, Audi wins the manufacturers' crown and Michèle Mouton wins three world rallies.Read more →1983 season — Lancia versus AudiThe light, rear-wheel-drive Lancia 037 beats the Audi Quattro to the manufacturers' title, while Hannu Mikkola becomes world champion.Read more →1985 season — Peugeot takes overSeven wins for the 205 T16, five for Timo Salonen and Peugeot's first titles. But also the year of Bettega's death and Vatanen's terrible crash.Read more →1986 season — the peak and the endThe fastest rally cars ever built, tragedy in Portugal, the deaths of Toivonen and Cresto, the ban on Group B and a title decided only after the season had ended.Read more →

Sources

1. Wikipedia (EN), 1984 World Rally Championship — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_World_Rally_Championship
2. eWRC-results, 1984 season — https://www.ewrc-results.com/season/1984/
3. Wikipedia (EN), Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peugeot_205_Turbo_16
4. Wikipedia (EN), Stig Blomqvist — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stig_Blomqvist

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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