The Eighties have been a magical time. The Rubik’s Cube was new. The Titanic was found. And Formula 1 automobiles used turbocharged engines that might make over 1,300 horsepower in qualifying trim. The Eighties have been additionally the golden age of stage rally, when big-power Group B automobiles dominated tree-lined again roads all through Europe.

This tv broadcast from the period revealed to YouTube by the Passats de Canto channel provides us a first-hand have a look at what Group B racing was like, circa 1986. Taken straight from the sidelines of the 1986 Rallye Monte Carlo, we’re handled to iconic automobiles like Audi’s Quattro, Peugeot’s 206 T16, Lancia’s 037 and Delta S4, and plenty of extra as they carve by means of the snowy mountain roads of southern France. 

In addition to the entire on-road motion from the automobiles, we get to see Italian-language interviews with drivers, mechanics, and group principals. We additionally watch groups work on automobiles and prep for gas and tire stops. It’s an enchanting have a look at how stage rally operated when it was simply as in style as Formula 1. 

This occasion could be the final Rallye Monte Carlo for Group B. Numerous spectator and driver deaths all through the sequence’ historical past would come to a head on the Tour de Corse rally later that season, when driver Henri Toivonen and co-driver Sergio Cresto have been killed after their Delta S4 left the highway. Just hours after the crash, FISA president Jean-Marie Balestre banned Group B automobiles from competitors for 1987, marking the top of rally’s most epic period.