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1969-06-01 Ford GT 40 von Kelleners-Jöst

A Ford GT40 contesting the Group 4 Sports Car category at the 1969 1000 km Nürburgring

Porsche 906 Carrera 6, Grand Basel 2018 (Ank Kumar, Infosys) 02

A Group 4 Porsche 906

Alpine A110 1800 Group IV

A Group 4 Alpine A110 1800

De Tomaso Pantera GTS Group 4 Gen1 000 1972 frontleft 2013-03-17 U

A Group 4 De Tomaso Pantera GTS

The Group 4 racing class referred to regulations for cars in sportscar racing, GT racing and rallying, as regulated by the FIA. The Group 4 class was replaced by Group B for the 1983 season.

FoS20162016 0624 104935AA (27274380474)

BMW M1 Procar, used in the M1 Procar Championship. These cars were designed and built to FIA Group 4 racing specifications.

Production requirements[]

Prior to 1966, the FIA's Group 4 classification applied to Sports Cars which were in compliance with FIA Appendix C regulations. It also included recognised Series Touring Cars, Improved Touring Cars and Grand Touring Cars which had been modified beyond the respective Group 1, Group 2 or Group 3 regulations under which they had been homologated.[1][2] In 1966, an overhaul of FIA categories saw Group 4 Sports Cars redefined such that they were now subject to a minimum production requirement of 50 units in 12 consecutive months and had to be fitted with all equipment necessary for use on public roads. A 5000cc engine capacity limit was applied for 1968 and the minimum production requirement was reduced to 25 units for the 1969 season.[3]

For 1969, Appendix J of the FIA International Sporting Code defined groups for Touring cars, Grand Touring cars and Sports cars as follows: (numbers between brackets are required minimum production in 12 consecutive months).[4]

  • Group 1: series-production touring cars (5,000)
  • Group 2: touring cars (1,000)
  • Group 3: grand touring cars (500)
  • Group 4: sports cars (25)
  • Group 5: special touring cars
  • Group 6: prototype-sports cars

For 1970, the limited production sports car category was renamed from Group 4 to Group 5[5] and, in the same year,[6] Group 4 became the class for special grand touring cars with minimum production of 500 in 12 consecutive months [7]

For 1971, the relevant FIA classifications were as follows:[7]

  • Group 1: series-production touring cars (5,000)
  • Group 2: touring cars (1,000)
  • Group 3: series-production grand touring cars (1,000)
  • Group 4: special grand touring cars (500)
  • Group 5: sports cars (25)
  • Group 6: prototype-sports cars

In 1976, the Group 4 production requirement was reduced to 400 in 24 months.[8]

Sports car racing[]

Porsche 911, Dieter Fröhlich am 31.05

A Porsche 911 competing in the Group 4 Special Grand Touring Car category at the 1970 1000 km Nürburgring

In 1966 and 1967 the Group 4 Sports Cars played a supporting role to the Group 6 prototypes. While prototypes like the 7.0L Ford GT40 Mk II and the Mk IV raced for outright victories, the 4.7L GT40 Mk I entries were competing for Group 4 class wins.[9] Indeed, competitors in the two categories were competing for two different championships, the Group 6 cars for the International Championship for Sports-Prototypes and the Group 4 cars for the International Championship for Sports Cars. In 1968, the rules were changed, so that prototypes were limited to 3.0L, but Sports cars of up to 5.0L could still be entered. It was also announced that the minimum production figure for the Group 4 sports cars would be reduced to 25 cars for 1969. With larger engines than the prototypes, the Group 4 cars were now in contention for outright race wins. The Ford GT40 was the winner at Le Mans in both 1968 and 1969. Porsche began work on a production run of 25 cars for the Porsche 917. Ferrari, with some financial help from Fiat, produced the similar Ferrari 512.[10]

For the 1970 season, the Group 4 Sports car category was renamed and became Group 5 Sports Cars and Group 4 designation was applied to a new Special Grand Touring category. The new Group 4 was contested by production based cars such as the Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona, Porsche 911 Carrera RS and the De Tomaso Pantera.

The Group 4 GT category was replaced by a new Group B GT class for 1983.[11]

Rallying[]

Cambiaghi sanfront rally delle regioni 1975

Roberto Cambiaghi and Emanuele Sanfront on a Fiat 124 Abarth Rally at the Rally delle Regioni 1975 (valid for European Rally Championship)

Rally 971 2008 (26365042041)

Fiat Abarth 124 rally

1973 Automotive Tour of Italy (Casale stage) - Casoni's De Tomaso Pantera Jolly Club, and Andruet's Lancia Stratos Marlboro

A Group 4 De Tomaso Pantera and Lancia Stratos, pictured in 1973

Paris - Bonhams 2017 - Lancia Stratos Groupe 4 coupé - 1976 - 001

Group 4 Lancia Stratos HF. The Stratos helped Lancia win the World Rally Championship in 1974, 1975 and 1976.

Warana-Rally-Carr-131-450

Fiat 131 Abarth Group 4 rally (1982)

The Group 4 regulations were also used as the basis for the World Rally Championships until they were replaced by the Group B regulations. In mid 1970s to early 1980s rallying, it was necessary to produce 400 identical cars for homologation as a Group 4 rally car. Notable cars included the Ford Escort RS1800, Fiat 131 Abarth, Lancia Stratos HF and the Audi Quattro.

List of FIA Group 4 homologated cars[]

No. Marque Model Type Start End
220 25px USA Shelby||Cobra||Roadster 427||January 2, 1966||January 2, 1966
221 25px France Matra||Djet||5S MB 8S||January 1, 1965||January 1, 1965
222 25px France Alpine||A110||1300||February 1, 1966||February 1, 1966
223 25px France Panhard||24||BA||February 1, 1966||February 1, 1966
224 25px Great Britain Ford||GT40|| ||February 2, 1966||February 2, 1966
225 25px Italy Ferrari||250 LM||Berlinetta||February 1, 1966||February 1, 1966
227 25px Germany Ford||Taunus||P5 Hardtop||April 15, 1966||April 15, 1966
228 25px Great Britain Tunex||Diva||GT||April 16, 1966||April 16, 1966
229 25px Italy Abarth||1300||OT||April 15, 1966||April 15, 1966
230 25px Italy Abarth||1000||OTR Coupé||April 30, 1966||April 30, 1966
231 25px Sweden Saab||Sonett||II|| ||
234 25px Italy Ferrari||275||GTB 4||April 1, 1967||April 1, 1967
235 25px Italy Lamborghini||350||GT||April 1, 1967||April 1, 1967
236 25px Italy Lamborghini||400||GT 2+2||April 1, 1967||April 1, 1967
237 25px Great Britain TVR||MkIV||1800S||July 1, 1967||July 1, 1967
238 25px Great Britain Lotus||Mark 47|| ||January 1, 1969||January 1, 1969
239 25px Italy Ferrari||308||GTB 4||April 1, 1967||April 1, 1967
240 25px Great Britain Lola||T70||Mk III||February 1, 1968||February 1, 1968
241 25px Italy Abarth||1000||SP||March 1, 1969||March 1, 1969
242 25px Great Britain Marcos||1300 GT|| ||March 1, 1968||March 1, 1968
242 25px Italy Lamborghini||Urraco P250|| ||July 1, 1975||December 31, 1981
244 25px Great Britain Chevron||GT|| ||May 1, 1968||May 1, 1968
245 25px Italy Lamborghini||P400||Miura||June 1, 1968||June 1, 1968
246 25px Italy Alfa Romeo||33||Spider||January 1, 1969||January 1, 1969
247 25px Italy Ferrari||206||GT||January 1, 1969||January 1, 1969
248 25px Great Britain McLaren||M6||GT||August 20, 1968||
249 25px Germany Porsche||910|| ||January 1, 1969||January 1, 1969
250 25px Germany Porsche||917|| ||May 1, 1969||May 1, 1969
251 25px Italy De Tomaso||Mangusta|| ||April 1, 1969||April 1, 1969
252 25px Italy Abarth||2000|| ||April 1, 1969||April 1, 1969
253 25px Italy Ferrari||365||GTB 4 Daytona||June 1, 1969||June 1, 1969
254 25px Italy Ferrari||512||S||July 1, 1969||April 1, 1970
255 25px Great Britain Chevron||B16||Cosworth||January 2, 1970||January 2, 1970
624 25px France Alpine||A110||1600||January 1, 1970||December 31, 1970
625 25px Italy Alfa Romeo||GTA||Sprint||January 1, 1970||December 31, 1977
626 25px Germany Porsche||914/6|| ||March 1, 1970||October 1, 1971
627 25px Italy Ferrari||246||GT||January 1, 1971||February 1, 1973
628 25px France Citroën||SM||Type SB||April 1, 1971||July 1, 1971
629 25px Great Britain Range Rover||Classic|| ||April 1, 1971||January 1, 1972
630 25px France Renault||12||Gordini R1173||October 1, 1971||January 1, 1972
632 25px Italy De Tomaso||Pantera|| ||January 1, 1972||July 1, 1972
633 25px Italy Ferrari||365||GTB 4||January 1, 1972||December 31, 1979
634 25px Great Britain Lotus||Europa||Twin Cam||April 1, 1972||July 1, 1972
637 25px Germany Porsche||Carrera||RS||March 1, 1973||July 1, 1973
638 25px France Renault||17||TS||April 1, 1974||October 1, 1974
639 25px Italy Maserati||AM122||Merak||May 1, 1974||December 31, 1981
646 25px Great Britain Aston Martin||V8|| ||April 1, 1976||December 31, 1981
631 25px Italy Alfa Romeo||Montreal|| ||January 1, 1972||April 1, 1972
640 25px Italy Lancia||Stratos||HF||October 1, 1974||December 31, 1981
644 25px Germany Opel||Kadett||C GT/E||October 1, 1975||February 1, 1976
645 25px Germany Porsche||911||Turbo||January 1, 1976||January 1, 1977
647 25px Italy Abarth||131||Rally||April 1, 1976||December 31, 1981
648 25px Italy Ferrari||308||GTB||November 1, 1976||December 31, 1981
649 25px Great Britain Vauxhall||Chevette||HS2300||November 1, 1976||December 31, 1981
650 25px Great Britain Ford||Escort||RS||April 2, 1977||January 1, 1982
651 25px France Alpine||A310||V6||April 1, 1977||January 1, 1978
652 25px Sweden Saab||99||Turbo Combi Coupé||January 1, 1978||October 1, 1978
653 25px Great Britain Lotus||Esprit|| ||April 1, 1978||December 31, 1981
654 25px Great Britain B.L. Triumph||TR8|| ||April 1, 1978||December 31, 1981
655 25px Great Britain Panther||Lima|| ||October 1, 1978||December 31, 1981
656 25px Flag of Poland FSO Polonez 125 PN January 1, 1979 April 1, 1980
657 25px Flag of Poland FSO Polonez January 1, 1979 April 1, 1980
658 25px Sweden Saab||99||Turbo Sedan||February 1, 1979||April 1, 1979
659 25px Germany Audi||80||1600||February 1, 1979||December 31, 1981
660 25px Germany Porsche||924||Turbo||February 1, 1979||April 1, 1979
661 25px Germany Daimler-Benz||450||SLC 5.0||April 1, 1979||December 31, 1981
662 25px Great Britain Chrysler||Sunbeam||Lotus||April 1, 1979||January 1, 1980
663 25px Japan Toyota||Celica||2000GT Rally RA45||June 1, 1979||December 31, 1981
664 25px Argentina Renault Argentina||12||Alpine||July 1, 1979||December 31, 1981
665 25px Great Britain Morgan||Plus 8|| ||July 1, 1979||December 31, 1981
666 25px Germany Opel||Ascona||400||November 1, 1979||December 31, 1981
668 25px Italy Alfa Romeo||Alfetta||Turbodelta||February 1, 1980||December 31, 1981
669 25px France Renault||5||Turbo||September 1, 1980||April 1, 1981
670 25px Germany BMW||M1|| ||December 1, 1980||December 31, 1981
671 25px Germany Audi||Quattro||2145||January 2, 1981||January 1, 1982
672 25px Germany Porsche||924||Carrera GT||January 1, 1981||December 31, 1981
673 25px Germany Daimler-Benz||500||SL||January 1, 1980||December 31, 1981
674 25px Italy Alfa Romeo||Alfetta||GT 6 2.5||January 1, 1981||October 1, 1981
675 25px Japan Mitsubishi||Lancer||2000 Turbo A176A||April 1, 1981||December 31, 1981
676 25px France Talbot Matra||Murena||2.2||August 1, 1981||December 31, 1981
677 25px Germany Volkswagen||Golf Mk I||16S||December 1, 1981||December 31, 1981

In addition, cars were homologated for Group 4 as variants of Group 3 cars. Before 1976, this was possible using a "100-off rule":[12] clause bb of Art 260 of Appendix J to the FIA's International Sporting Code 1975 (invoked from Art 266). This rule only required production of 100 of a "bolt-on option kit" of parts, not the production of any modified cars as homologation specials, but was deleted after 1975 and approved components banned "Effective from the end of 1977".[13] Such an approval applies to the Group 4 16-valve TR7,[12] the multi-valve head (and other parts) from the Group 1 Dolomite Sprint being approved as "valid for Group 4" on 1 Oct. 1975 in amendment 1/1V to the Group 3 TR7 homologation papers and reapproved (following production of about 60 16-valve TR7 Sprints in 1977) on 1 Feb. 1978 in amendment 10/8v.[14]

Groups 1-9[]

Categories and Groups of Appendix J 1954 - 1965
Categories 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965
I. Touring A. Touring
II. Sports II. Grand Touring B. Grand Touring
- C. Sports
Group 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965
Group 1 Normal series production
Group 2 "Grand Touring" series prod Modified series prod Modified series prod
Group 3 Special series production Grand Touring Cars
Group 4 Series production Normal GT series prod Sports Car
Group 5 International Modified GT series prod -
Group 6 - GT specials -
Source:[15][16]
Categories and Groups of Appendix J 1966 - 1981 (Production requirement)
Categories 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981
A. Production
B. Special B. Experimental Competition B. Racing Cars
C. Racing Cars -
Group 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981
Group 1 Series Touring (5000)
Group 2 Touring (1000) Special Touring (1000)
Group 3 Grand Touring (500) Series Grand Touring (1000)
Group 4 Sportscars (50/25) Special Grand Touring (500) Grand Touring (400)
Group 5 Special Touring Cars Sports cars (50) Sports cars Special cars derived from Groups 1-4
Group 6 Prototype sportscars - Two-seater racecars
Group 7 Two-seater racecars International formula
Group 8 Formula racing cars International formula Formula libre racing cars
Group 9 Formula libre racing cars -
Source:[15][16]
Note: Special may be replaced with Competition in some official documents.


See also[]


References[]

  1. Article 252 of the FIA’s Appendix J regulations, 1962 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Webarchive/data' not found. Retrieved from www.fia.com on 11 February 2009
  2. Article 252 of the FIA’s Appendix J regulations, 1965 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Webarchive/data' not found. Retrieved from www.fia.com on 11 February 2009
  3. M.L. Twite, The World's Racing Cars, 1971, page 109
  4. Appendix J 1969, Art. 251, Art. 252 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Webarchive/data' not found. on www.fia.com
  5. János L Wimpffen, Time and Two Seats, 1999, page 710
  6. M.L. Twite, The World's Racing Cars, 1971, page 99
  7. 7.0 7.1 Appendix J 1971, Art. 251, Art. 252 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Webarchive/data' not found. on www.fia.com
  8. Appendix J 1976, Art. 251, Art. 252 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Webarchive/data' not found. on www.fia.com
  9. Ford GT40 MkI 289 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Webarchive/data' not found. on QV500.com
  10. 1970 Ferrari 512 S Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Webarchive/data' not found. on QV500.com
  11. János L Wimpffen, Time and Two Seats, 1999, page 1347
  12. 12.0 12.1 Robson G., The Works Triumphs: 50 Years in Motorsport, 1993, J H Haynes & Co Ltd, ISBN: 978-0854299263.
  13. Robson G., "Ford Escort RS1800" Rally Giants, page 16, Veloce Publishing Ltd, 2008, ISBN: 1845841409, 9781845841409.
  14. RAC TR7 Homologation papers number 3071.
  15. 15.0 15.1 "Regulations - Period Appendix J | FIA Historic Database". https://historicdb.fia.com/regulations/period-appendix-j. 
  16. 16.0 16.1 "APPENDIX K TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPORTING CODE". https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/2022_appendix_k_full_yearbook_web_20220701.pdf. 

External links[]

Smallwikipedialogo.png This page uses some content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Group 4 (racing). The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Autopedia, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


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