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Since the outset of the World Rally Championship (WRC) in the 70s, one country has stood above the rest in terms of victories.
Car manufacturers from Italy have dominated the event, winning more constructors titles than any other manufacturer. It makes it all the more saddening that there are no Italian cars currently competing in the event, even so, the other manufacturers are still playing catch up. Over the years, both Fiat and Ferrari have made notable contributions, but as it stands, Lancia still hold the record with 10 titles, 6 of those on the bounce between 1987 and 1992.
10 Fiat 124 Abarth Rally
The Abarth built sports car was not necessarily a dominant force, but it was a fun car to drive and took up the role as the plucky underdog.
In race trim, it could make as much as 200 horsepower, but still could never really compete with the Stratos.
9 Lancia 037
Once Fiat had eventually pulled out of the WRC, having achieved what they wanted to, funds were once again made available to Lancia.
Group B had begun, and their answer to the all-wheel-drive Quattro was this potent rear drive monster. It would take the constructors title in 1983, but Lancia knew that wasn’t going to cut it for much longer and set to work developing an all-wheel-drive Delta for the 1985 season.
8 Lancia Fulvia HF
Another fun alternative for privateers in the early years of the competition, it was nimble and much like the other little sports cars could keep up on tight tarmac stages.
It was pretty average everywhere else though, being a front drive car it was seriously handicapped on the dirt. It was a pretty little thing though.
7 Lancia Delta HF Integrale Evo
This was to be the final iteration of the famous Delta, it would go on to win the title in 1992, but the car got carried over to the 1993 season with few advancements.
The competition had caught up, with little investment and no new Lancia platform this would mark the end of their long sequence of wins that stretched back to the first season post-Group B. It is, without a doubt, the best Lancia rally car, no matter how much love there is for the Stratos. The all-wheel-drive hatchback was, for a time, untouchable.
6 Ferrari 308 GTB
Not exactly known as a manufacturer that made cars suited to dirt roads, some hoped the pure, unadulterated speed could overcome the competition in the late 70s.
They were rather obviously wrong, but they still somehow picked up a few solid results here and there when the tarmac outweighed the dirt, and it did enough to inspire a works version during the madcap Group B era.
5 Ferrari 308 GT/M
The GT/M was a pretty ambitious project, Ferrari were fully committed to F1 so although they gave teams access to their engineers they didn’t get involved as a works team.
Unlike the other 308s which simply got conversion kits made by Michelotto, this was a full-blown rally car developed from the ground up to take on the Audi Quattro and Lancia 037. Although it made as much as 400 horsepower, it only got entered into one event and, rather embarrassingly, finished behind the 308 GTB.
4 Fiat 131 Abarth
In the early part of the 70s, Fiat funded much of the Lancia success, and seeing the press it brought the brand, they took it upon themselves to ditch Lancia in favor of, well, themselves.
Taking the best talent they had nurtured with the Stratos, they developed one incredible 131, which started out as a very normal road car but ended up something that was able to take the fight to the very best cars on the WRC circuit. It racked up 3 titles for Fiat before they left the sport in the early 80s.
3 Lancia Delta S4
After winning the constructors title in 1983 and being the runner-up in 1984, you would have forgiven Lancia for persevering with the 037 platform, but the writing was on the wall, and they knew all-wheel-drive was the way forward.
Enter the twin-charged S4 beast, making as much as 1000 horsepower under maximum boost, this silhouette car was quite frankly too much. Its excessive power showed its ugly side when Henri Toivonen and his co-driver Sergio Cresto lost their lives in an accident that eventually led to the disbandment of Group B.
2 Lancia Stratos HF
Few cars in the world are as coveted as the little Stratos, a car that has inspired generations of enthusiasts and several kit-car copies.
Although it is a fan favorite, it is actually a very difficult car to drive on the limit, and only a few got it right back in the 70s. On its day, though, it was pretty much untouchable, and is certainly one of the coolest cars in the world.
1 Ferrari 288 GTO Evoluzione
Technically, the car never got a chance to race a single WRC stage. It was purpose built to take on the WRC, but sadly for them, its development coincided with the disbandment of Group B rallying in 1986 and only 6 out of the planned 20 cars were ever made.
Considering the failure of the GT/M cars, we suspect this may have suffered a similar fate if they actually did end up racing the thing, but as it so often happens with Ferraris, the myth has since overtaken the reality.