The best '80s supercars that aren’t the Ferrari F40

1984 Ferrari 288 GTO

The Group B regulations have been covered exhaustively in relations to the rallying monsters it spawned (more on that later) but the regulations also covered circuit racing, leading to the only car on this list that can really be called beautiful. The Ferrari 288 GTO – Gran Turismo Omologato – was based on the then current Ferrari 308GTB for the sake of expediency in getting the required 200 examples built but little of the original design remained by the end of the process.

Most of the steel body panels were replaced with fibreglass, kevlar and carbon-fibre to save weight and create the enormous flares needed to clear the much wider track and tyres. The wheelbase was stretched by 110mm because the engine had been rotated from a transverse to a longitudinal placement. The V8 engine was actually reduced in capacity compared to the 308GTB, dropping to 2.85-litres, which, with the FIA equivalency ratio of 1.4, allowed it to be turbocharged to compete with engines of up to 4.0-litres.

That sadly never happened as, due to several tragedies in the World Rally Championship, the Group B regulations were rescinded. Still, 272 lucky road car owners including Niki Lauda, Keke Rosberg, Eddie Irvine and Michele Alboreto were able to enjoy the 400hp, 5.0-second 0-60mph time and 189mph top speed.

1984 Isdera Imperator 108i

What do you do when Mercedes declines to build the concept car you designed for them? Build it yourself of course for a handful of very rich customers. Eberhard Schulz was a design and engineering consultant for both Mercedes and Porsche when he decided to use parts from both to create his interpretation of Mercedes’ experimental C111 series cars. The resulting CW311 – named after the car’s drag coefficient – used Porsche 911 steering, Porsche 928 suspension and the M100 engine from the famed Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9.

Amazingly, Mercedes gave Schulz the greenlight to manufacture the car under his own Isdera brand – Ingenieurbüro für Styling, DEsign und RAcing (Engineering company for Styling, Design and Racing). Schulz was even allowed to raid the Mercedes parts bin for the Imperator’s longitudinally-mounted 5.0-litre V8 – later upgraded to larger AMG units – and unmistakeable grooved taillights. The Imperator featured side-exit exhausts, gullwing doors and a roof mounted periscope in place of rear view mirrors. Its slippery shape helped it to a 176mph top speed.

1985 Lancia Delta S4 Stradale

A mid-mounted engine which is both turbocharged and supercharged, a cutting edge four-wheel-drive system, space-frame chassis, double wishbones all-round, carbon-fibre and Kevlar construction and bigger side scoops than a Lamborghini Countach. Of course the Lancia Delta S4 is a supercar.  Created specifically around Group B rules for the World Rally Championship, 200 Stradale, or roadgoing, version were built for homologation purposes.

The car’s 1.8-litre engine was much detuned from the rally car’s – legend has it that on five bar of boost, this could produce 1,000hp – but still featured both a gigantic turbocharger as well as a supercharger to fill in the low and mid-range boost. Power was halved from that of the WRC car to 250hp and while this more than doubled the 0-60mph time to six seconds and dropped the top speed to 140mph, the Delta S4 could do it on gravel.

1986 Porsche 959

Another project left out in the cold after the cancellation of Group B, the Porsche 959 nevertheless ended up having a huge influence on future Stuttgart models. The car was the brainchild of Porsche’s chief engineer Helmuth Bott, who convinced his new managing director Peter Schutz that Group B rallying would be a perfect test bed for technologies that would extend the production life of the 911.

So, the 2.8-litre flat-six, closely related to the powerplant from the Porsche 956 and 962 racers, received twin, sequential turbocharging, a four-wheel-drive system that could dynamically vary the torque between axles and automatically adjusting ride height to optimise the aerodynamics, all features seen on subsequent 911 Turbos. A bit more exotic were the aluminium and Kevlar body panels, Nomex floor and hollow spoked magnesium wheels which formed one large air chamber with the tyres. Debuting too late to compete in Group B, the 959 took on the 1986 Dakar Rally instead, finishing first, second and sixth. 

1986 Giocattolo Group B

Of all the excessive, borderline bonkers supercar stories, that of the Giocattolo Group B is perhaps the one that represents sheer bloody-mindedness above all others. Well it was Australian after all. And yes, again, Group B is involved. Former IT consultant turned Sydney exotic car dealer Paul Halstead caught wind of Alfa Romeo’s stillborn Group B project, an Alfa Romeo Alfasud Sprint with a mid-mounted Busso V6 and a ZF transaxle driving the rear wheels. Correctly deciding that this seemed like a winning formula, Halstead asked Alfa Romeo permission to create his own version for the Australian market. Alfa not only turned him down but refused to supply him with Sprints or Busso engines.

So instead, Halstead imported road legal Sprints from New Zealand only to throw away their front wheel drivetrain, replacing it with a mid-mounted, Tom Walkinshaw-tuned Holden 5.0-litre V8 and cripplingly expensive imported ZF transaxle. The bodywork was also binned, replaced with Kevlar panels. The car was launched by Aussie F1 champion Alan Jones who promptly beat the lap record at its Lakeside Raceway media shakedown. The car was of course monumentally quick but ruinously expensive. Just 15 were built before the Queensland government called in the loans it had provided to build the Giocattolo factory. Now, all I need is a Sud Sprint, a Busso V6 and a welder…

1987 Ruf CTR Yellowbird

Supercars don’t generally do subtle but apart from the paintjob, some de-seaming and the low drag single side mirror, there is little to distinguish the Ruf CTR from a regular non-turbo Porsche 911 of the era. However, watch the company’s film Faszination on the Nürburgring featuring Stefan Roser absolutely driving the Speedline alloys off a CTR at the Green Hell in 1989 (where it held the unofficial lap record for years) and it’s pretty obvious this is no standard Carrera.

The CTR’s bodywork was mostly replaced with aluminium panels to lower weight and de-guttered for better airflow. The standard flat-six was bored out to 3.4-litres, gained a Porsche 962 ignition set-up and two turbochargers, bringing power up to a very conservatively estimated 463hp. Anecdotally it was the chirping of the blow-off valve which gave the car its nickname. A 0-60mph time of well under four seconds matched the Porsche 959 but the CTR was faster at 213mph, making it the fastest car in the world for a time.

1989 Vector W8

Another tale of one man’s hubris, the Vector W8 was also inspired by an Alfa Romeo, in this case the Carabo concept car from which it derived its styling. The Vector was passion project of automotive engineer Gerald Weigert who wanted to design and build an all-American supercar to take on Europe. The W8’s gestation was painfully slow, it was based on the earlier W2 prototype first seen the previous decade with Wankel rotary power.

By the time it entered what could loosely be termed production, the car had a 6.0-litre racing engine with twin-turbos. Driver-adjustable boost could alter its output from 625hp to 1200hp, feeding through a heavily strengthened three-speed GM Turbo-Hydramatic automatic transmission. Vector described the W8 as ‘aeromotive engineering’ – its semi-monocoque chassis was made of aircraft grade aluminium and bonded and riveted together before being covered with carbon-fibre and Kevlar panels. In keeping, the interior featured four display screens to monitor key systems arranged around the driver in the manner of a fighter jet cockpit. In testing, with a less powerful engine, a W8 prototype achieved 242mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats.