page_title: Group B
section_title: Group S
hierarchical_section_title: Group B / Group S
caption_attribution_description: Čeština: Lancia Delta ECV na akci Legendy 2014.English: Lancia Delta ECV at Legendy 2014.
context_page_description: Group B was a set of regulations introduced in 1982 for competition vehicles in sportscar racing and rallying regulated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. The Group B regulations fostered some of the fastest, most powerful, and most sophisticated rally cars ever built and is commonly referred to as the golden era of rallying. However, a series of major accidents, some of them fatal, were blamed on their outright speed and lack of crowd control at events. After the death of Henri Toivonen and his co-driver Sergio Cresto in the 1986 Tour de Corse, the FIA disestablished the class, dropped its previous plans to replace it by Group S, and instead replaced it as the top-line formula by Group A. The short-lived Group B era has acquired legendary status among rally fans and automobile enthusiasts in general.
context_section_description: As well as the cancellation of Group B, the tragedies of 1986 also brought about the scrapping of Group B's proposed replacement: Group S.
  Group S rules would have limited car engine power to 300 hp (225 kW). To encourage innovative designs, ten examples of a car would have been required for homologation, rather than the 200 required for Group B. By the time of its cancellation, at least four Group S prototypes had been built: The Lancia ECV, the Toyota MR2-based 222D, the Opel Kadett Rallye 4x4 (a.k.a. Vauxhall Astra 4S) and the Lada Samara S-proto, and new cars were also planned by both Audi (the 002 Quattro) and Ford (a Group S development of the RS200). The cancellation of Group S angered many rally insiders who considered the new specification to be safer than Group B and more exciting than Group A.
  The Group S concept was revived by the FIA in 1997 as the World Rally Car specification which, as of 2018, is still in use. WRC cars are limited to 380 hp (280 kW) and require 20 examples of a model but, unlike Group S, are required to share certain parts with production cars.
caption: The Lancia ECV for Group S pictured at Legendy 2014.
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