Although Lancia were first out of the blocks with a purpose-built Group B rally car, the Italian company’s failure to equip their Abarth-designed 037 with all-wheel drive for reasons of complexity left the door open for a new challenger to come in and steal the advantage.

That car was the Peugeot 205 T16 which, with its four-wheel drive running gear, mid-engine layout and immense tuning potential, went on to become the undisputed king of the fabled Group B era.

While Lancia subsequently came up with the turbocharged and supercharged Delta S4, it couldn’t stop Peugeot winning back-to-back World Driver and Manufacturer titles in 1985 and ‘86, even though the French firm were stopped from competing with a T16 Evolution 3 after the FIA banned further Evolutions following the fatal crash of Henri Toivonen and Sergio Cresto on the 1986 Tour de Corse.