In a short-lived but tempestuous and exciting life, motorsport's Group B category attracted world-class manufacturers to develop new models. Almost all were technically-advanced, very powerful and striking in many ways - with Ford's RS200 being perhaps the most attractive, and the most promising, of them all. Conceived in 1983, built in 1985 and 1986, and rallied strongly in 1986, the RS200 not only looked purposeful but was only at the start of a promising career when the FIA killed off the controversial Group B category. Although Ford had already built 200 cars to satisfy homologation requirements, the RS200's career was brought to an abrupt close, and Ford Motorsport's efforts were almost entirely negated. Graham Robson was closely involved with the project throughout its tempestuous career, noting (and sometimes experiencing) all the concept stages, the engineering process, the styling, development, and manufacture, followed by a four-year period when he drove RS200s as normal road cars. This is the complete story, as related by the top management, the designers and the enthusiasts who ran, and competed with, the cars themselves, along with many details of when, where and how, all the elements of the design came together. But this is not merely a trawl through the archives, as Robson persuaded top personalities including Motorsport boss Stuart Turner, engineer John Wheeler and project manager Mike Moreton to fill in the details. This is a complex, visually and technically enthralling tale, which provides inside information of probably the bravest sporting programme ever tackled by Ford UK

Following his outstandingly successful books Works Escorts in Detail and Works Triumphs in Detail, rally veteran and historian Graham Robson now tackles the story of Ford's emergence during the 1960s as a leader in international saloon car competition, whether in race or rally, beginning with the Mark 1 Cortina in 1962. Walter Hayes was the driving force behind this push forward. It was he who enlisted Colin Chapman to create the Lotus-Cortina, he who had bold ideas like entering the Safari Rally and the London-Sydney Marathon, he who brought in Alan Mann Racing to wipe the board in touring car racing, he who attracted top-flight drivers like Roger Clark, Jim Clark, Graham Hill and Pat Moss, and he who inspired Ford's quite dazzling success in national and international competition. The career of every works Mark I and Mark II Cortina, Lotus-Cortina, Capri and Corsair is individually recounted in this book, with contemporary action photographs and listings of events entered, results and drivers, along with accounts of performances in rallies and races. In addition there are specially commissioned colour photographs of a number of surviving works cars, which have been shot in considerable detail. For fans of the race and rally Fords of these glory days, as well as for motor sport enthusiasts, this book is pure treasure.

This new edition explores all aspects of the M3's history, including the race and rally successes worldwide, supported by full and detailed specifications for each generation of the model. It expands on the previous edition, to bring the story right up to the present day, with details of all models produced between 2013 and 2020, including the new M4. Developed in the 1980s, the BMW M3 was intended to be the world's most successful racing saloon car. Not only did it achieve that in its very first season of motorsport, but went on the achieve lasting commercial success as a high performance road car. Fully illustrated throughout, with a lavish array of colour photographs and magnificently detailed cutaway drawings of mechanical equipment, this comprehensive and authoritative book is a must for all BMW M3 and M4 enthusiasts.

From the early 1930s until the mid-1970s the Rootes Group was one of Britain's foremost car manufacturers, producing and selling a multitude of models under the Hillman, Humber, Singer, Sunbeam and Sunbeam-Talbot badges. Some of these cars have been the subject of individual model histories, but this is the first book to bring the total Rootes model line together in one major reference book. Written by one of Britain's most able car historians, the late Graham Robson, this book has now been reprinted for future generations to enjoy. It covers the company's history, and details all the major marques within the Rootes Group. The book looks at the overall marketing strategies as well as the widespread use of common components across the range. Individual descriptions of each model built results in a book of great breadth and absorbing interest, that will be welcomed back by all classic car enthusiasts.

In the 1950s and 1960s, British sports car ruled the road, and their charge was led by Triumphs. From the TR2, its first modern sports car, Triumph went on to produce a host of classic sports designs such as the Spitfire, GT, and Stag, as well as more TR models, ending with the TR7 in the late 1970s. These represented the epitome of the contemporary classic British sports car. Fast, nimble, and gorgeous to behold, Triumphs offered the everyday motorist an exhilarating drive at a price that they could afford. Popular both in the UK and the US, the Triumph range helped define the entire genre, with sports cars today like the Mazda MX-5 having their roots in models like the Stag. Illustrated throughout and written by acclaimed motoring writer and historian Graham Robson, this book guides the reader through the history of this classic British marque from its heyday in the 1960s and 1970s through to its eventual demise in the 1980s.

It was code-named X100 and it was to be Jaguar's latest sports cars, featuring both coupe and convertible coachwork. It was to have an all-new V8 engine and it was to replace the XJS. It would also ultimately have the most powerful forced-induction engine of any production Jaguar road card and it had a lot riding on its success. It was the XK8 - a sleek, purposeful grand tourer in the Jaguar tradition. Graham Robson, one-time Jaguar apprentice and a motoring historian with several other Jaguar books to his credit, tells the story of one of the twentieth century's most beautiful sports car, from its conception to the end of the line for both it and the factory it was built in.

Not only has Cosworth designed and supplied many race car engines, which won F1, CART, and many other Championship races, but it has also produced many celebrated high-performance road-car engines. In more recent times, its growing expertise in developing electronic data capture components, and in providing ultra-high-tech engine manufacturing facilities, has made it a world leader. The expansion continues, and in this book the Cosworth story has been brought up-to-the-minute to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the birth of the legendary DFV F1 engine.

Sir William Lyons enjoyed a seemingly unstoppable rise to fame and fortune in the motor industry, and the Jaguar brand which he introduced became world-famous. Yet it did not happen overnight. In the 1920s he was in Blackpool, styling motorcycle sidecars, in the 1930s he was in Coventry developing the SS motor car, and the stand-alone Jaguar company did not appear until 1945. Until 1972, when he retired from business, Sir William was the mainstream, the chairman, the chief stylist, and the inspiration of all things Jaguar.
Helped along by the amazing new XK engine of 1948, by motor racing success at Le Mans, and by the stunning style of cars like the XK120, the Mk 2 saloons and the extraordinary E-Type, Jaguar soon became world-famous. Along the way the company absorbed Daimler and Coventry-Climax, then merged voluntarily with BMC in 1966, and returned to Le Mans racing with great success in the 1980s.
Although the company was later commercially buffeted by its involvement with British Leyland, with Ford and latterly with Land Rover, and finally the Indian conglomerate Tata which now controls the business, the company's products have always been stunning. Sports coupes which reach well beyond 150mph, sleek executive saloons with unbeatable styling, and the promise of much innovation in the next few years make this a story whose climax is yet to come.

Graham Robson is the doyen of writers on rallying. His new book joins his respected Works Triumphs and Works Escorts in our list. Here he tells of the story of Donald Healey's introduction of the cars of his own make into the world of rallying and racing, from the Healey Elliott and Westland of the late 1940s through to the last racing Austin-Healey Sprite in 1967. In between he produced competition versions of the Austin-Healey 100 and 100S, the 100-6 and the gloriously successful 3000, a brutal and wayward machine that won countless international rallies in the 1960s in the hands of great drivers like Pat Moss, Timo Makinen, Rauno Aaltonen and Paddy Hopkirk, to name but a few. The author describes the career of each of the works cars individually: entries, drivers and results, with nearly all cars illustrated. In addition there is detailed colour photography of important surviving examples

This is the complete history of British international rally events, starting with the very first RAC rally of 1932, which included 1000 miles of road motoring, when a mere three driving tests were needed to produce a result. By 1951 an international permit had been achieved, a speed element was included, and the 'Rally of the Tests' ran until 1960. From 1961, the event took on a number of high-speed, loose-surfaced Special Stages, the Scandinavian influence became clear, and the event took on a World Championship qualification in 1973. In that time, competing cars had progressed from having perhaps 50bhp to at least 300bhp, and even more high-tech machines with 500bhp and four-wheel-drive would follow. By then the RAC Rally was - and remains in its present form as Wales Rally GB - one of the three most important rallies in the world. Every 'works' team makes sure that it is represented, and it has a very important image throughout the world. Major sponsors embraced the event from the 1960s - first The Sun and Daily Mirror, then Lombard, and Network Q, and finally the Welsh government - which in recent years has become a very high-profile showcase for the world's most exciting cars. Few other British International events have such a long and distinguished record. The 75th running of this event takes place in 2019. With year-by-year accounts of all events in the Rally's history, copiously illustrated with period photographs, and covering the various challenges posed by such crises as foot and mouth disease, weather conditions and controversy over rules and regulations, this book is the definitive guide.

The "Big Healeys" took the motoring world by storm in the 1950s and 60s - thse powerful and fascinating cars were not only popular as production cars, but also enjoyed considerable success in rallying and racing. This book is the in-depth story of the marque's evolution, from Donald Healey's initial inspiration to the Layland take-over that saw the end of Austin-Healey. Topics covered include: the complete history of the company and development of 100 and 2000 models; full specification tables and detailed accounts of the cars' competition fortunes.

When world rallying introduced a new formula for "World Rally Cars," Ford seized the opportunity. Malcolm Wilson's M-Sport organization was contracted to do the job, completed the design in less than a year, and spent the next 12 years campaigning this turbocharged, four-wheel-drive car all round the world.Working from state-of-the-art facilities, M-Sport built 97 Focus WRCs, all of which proved to be worthy of World level action when they won 44 World Championship events.Stellar drivers like Colin McRae, Carlos Sainz, Markko Martin, Marcus Gronholm and Mikko Hirvonen all added to the mystique of an ultra-professional organization, along with substantial support and sponsorship from the likes of Martini, BP, and the state of Abu Dhabi.By building its in-house technical expertise, M-Sport not only engineered and developed the entire car on behalf of Ford, but gradually took over development of the 300bhp, 2.0-litre, turbocharged engine, and led the design of the complex four-wheel-drive transmissions provided by Xtrac.M-Sport's reputation exploded to the point that when regulations changed, the company immediately produced a new-generation Fiesta WRC, and kept the winning days rolling.

Between 1953 and 1980 the Triumph competitions department produced more than 150 'works' competition cars for race and rally. These included TR2, TR3 and TR3A, the TR3S, TRS and Conrero race cars, Herald and Vitesse, TR4, 2000, Spitfire and GT6R, 2.5 PI, Dolomite and Sprint, TR7 and TR7 V8. In addition they prepared Standard Eight, Ten, Pennant, and Phase III Vanguard for competition. Viewed overall, what stands out as the remarkable feature of the work of the department was that they achieved such a degree of success with relatively ordinary production cars, from 803cc saloons upwards. Author Graham Robson was manager of the Standard-Triumph competitions department in the early 1960s and himself supervised the development and management of the works TR4s, Spitfires and 2000s. Here he provides information on each and every one of the works cars of the whole 1953-80 period, with details of their specifications, entries, drivers and careers, accompanied in nearly all cases by archive photographs. In addition there is specially commissioned colour photography of important surviving examples.

Between 1968 and 1981 the Ford Escort was probably the most successful rally car in the world. Rallying became progressively more glamorous, the teams and drivers more famous, and the cars became more colourful, in that period. European, then World, Championships were set up and prospered. The Escort won its first major International rally in April 1968, and its last in mid-1981. The brand won the World Rally Championship on several occasions during that time, its drivers won the Drivers' Championship twice, and the Escort was the standard by which all other rally cars were judged throughout that 13-year period. The Ford-UK factory and its closest associates built no fewer than 113 Mk I cars of all types (1968 to 1974), and 55 Mk 2 cars (1975 to 1981). This new book covers all of these vehicles, car-by-car detailing build details, colour schemes, competition history, technical development. Every individual car is illustrated in its principal liveries using archive pictures and several of the more important cars have been specially photographed in great detail.

This book describes the birth, development and rallying career of the Lancia Stratos, Europe's very first purpose-built rally car, in the mid/late 1970s. It provides a compact and authoritative history of where, when and how it became so important to the sport, as well as telling the story of the team. The book is part of Graham Robson's definitive "Rally Giants" series, published by Veloce.

After the first ever intercontinental rally - the London-Sydney in 1968 - there was widespread enthusiasm for an even more difficult test. With the Football World Cup being held in Mexico in 1970, it was the perfect opportunity to hold a parallel, much tougher challenge - the World Cup Rally. Organisers John Sprinzel and John Brown secured sponsorship from the Daily Mirror and planned a unique high-speed event, lasting six weeks and covering 16,000 miles from London to Mexico City via some of the most varying, tortuous and difficult terrain on three continents. Serious works teams such as Ford and British Leyland spent tremendous amounts choosing and developing new cars, completing months-long route surveys, and analysing every detail of diets, oxygen provision, and the number of crew members. Despite all this planning, out of an entry of more than 100, only 23 cars made it to the finish. It was then, and remains now, the toughest rally of all time. This book, now reprinted in paperback, tells the complete story.

This is a comprehensive study of the career of one type of rally car - the BMC Mini-Cooper/Mini-Cooper S. In the 1960s the Mini became famous as Britain's most successful rally car. It combined superb handling, a tiny body shell, high-performance engines and the excellence of front-wheel-drive in an irresistible package. Not only this, but the works team included famous drivers like Paddy Hopkirk, Timo Makinen and Rauno Aaltonen. The works Minis not only won the Monte Carlo three times - 1964, 1965 and 1967 - along with the European Rally Championship in 1965, but also won events all over the world. Because Minis were British, and well-promoted, they became seen as giant-killers, and were the people's favourite for many years. The car outpaced many of its rivals, and this book examines exactly who they were, and how they came to be defeated by the 'mighty Mini.' Even today, works Minis appear at every gathering of classic cars - and in 2009, Mini celebrates its 50th birthday. Packed with over 100 photographs, this book is a fitting and timely tribute to a much-loved Rally Giant.

One of the sensations of the 1952 Motor Show was a two-seat sports car built by Donald Healey at a small factory in Warwick in the English Midlands. Before the show was over Leonard Lord, head of the British Motor Corporation (BMC) had struck a deal with Healey to mass produce the car, and the Austin-Healey was born.
This car, the 100, took both the British and US markets by storm. A beautiful, brutish car, it was what many sporting motorists had been waiting for, and its use of many standard BMC components made it relatively affordable.
In 1956 the four-cylinder engine of the 100 was replaced with the Austin C-series six-cylinder unit, creating the 100-6, and in 1959 this car was developed into the most famous Healey of them all - the 3000, that was as successful on the rally stage as it was loved on the open road.
Collectively the 100 and 3000 have become known as the Big Healeys, but as this name suggests, there was a corresponding 'small' Healey, and this car, the Sprite, was launched in Monte Carlo in 1958. Designed around the major mechanical components of the Austin A35, the Sprite set out to recreate the market for the cheap 'everyman's' sports car that hadn't existed since the 1930s. Distinguished by the headlights that protruded from the bonnet, the Sprite was soon nicknamed the Frogeye in Britain, or the Bugeye in the US. It was a big success, and remained in production until 1971, albeit in more conventionally styled form from the Mark 2 onwards.
Written by one of the foremost historians of the British motor industry, this book presents a concise history of Austin Healey, and the marque's success on road and track. Illustrated throughout, it will appeal to all lovers of this, the quintessential British sports car manufacturer.

The complete story of the front-wheel-drive Saab 96 made the brand into a rally icon in the 1960s. Superstar driving from Erik Carlsson, his wife Pat Moss-Carlsson and - later - from Stig Blomqvist, all brought real publicity and admiration for a car that always lacked the sheer straight-line performance of its rivals. Saabs like this, however, never wanted for strength, or for amazing handling and traction, and they succeeded in events as diverse as the Monte Carlo, Britain's RAC rally, special stage events in every Scandinavian country, and the rough-and-tough Spa-Sofia-Liege Marathon. The big change came in 1967, when the 96 became the V4, looking almost the same as before, but with a new and more powerful four-stroke Ford-Germany V4 engine. Works cars continued to be competitive in carefully chosen events for many years, and it was only the arrival of much more specialised rivals that made them outdated. Saab, though, was not finished with rallying, as the V4's successors, the much larger and more powerful 99 and 99 Turbo types, proved. More than any other car of its era, the 96 and V4 models proved that front-wheel-drive allied to true superstar driving could produce victory where no-one expected it.