Group A Rally Heroes to be Celebrated at London Concours 2026
From Tuesday 9th to Thursday 11th June, London Concours will celebrate one of rallying’s most thrilling and technically fascinating eras with a dedicated Group A Rally Car class, presented in collaboration with Slowly Sideways.
Taking pride of place on the lawns of the Honourable Artillery Company, the class will bring together a spectacular selection of competition legends from the Group A era, spanning tarmac specialists, works rally cars, touring car-derived heroes and four-wheel-drive icons.
A standout will be an ex-Carlos Sainz Toyota Celica GT4, a car with exceptional competition history. Built by Toyota Team Europe for Carlos Sainz and Luis Moya to contest the 1992 Acropolis Rally during Sainz’s second World Championship-winning season, the car later went on to compete in Scandinavia, including with Thomas Rådström, Henning Solberg and Petter Solberg. Today it appears at historic demonstration events with Slowly Sideways following an extensive restoration.
Among other highlights include a genuine 1989 BMW E30 M3 Group A Rally Car, built by Prodrive for Bernard Béguin to compete in the French Tarmac Championship. Now finished in its famous Loctite livery, the car represents one of the most celebrated rallying applications of BMW’s revered E30 M3 platform.
Also joining the display is a 1983 Ford Escort RS1600i, a genuine works car formerly driven by Louise Aitken-Walker. Built by MCD Services in Widnes as part of Ford’s outsourced Group A rally programme, the car achieved impressive results under the British Junior Rally Team banner, including 7th overall and 1st in class on the Circuit of Ireland Rally, cementing the RS1600i as a fan favourite of the period.
The class will also feature a significant 1984 Rover SD1 Vitesse, the very last car built by Longbridge Motorsport in 1984. Having competed in the early European Group A Championship, the car also appeared at the Donington Park Rally Sprint, where it was driven by a remarkable roster including Nigel Mansell, Keke Rosberg, Michèle Mouton and Jimmy McRae. Later sold to the Gooding Group with factory and TWR support, it remains a wonderfully evocative piece of British motorsport history.
Four-wheel-drive rallying will be strongly represented by a 1990 Subaru Legacy RS, an authentically built recreation of the Clarion Team Europe car driven by Per Eklund on the 1992 RAC Rally. Constructed to Group A specification using a high proportion of original works-period parts, the car reflects the model that laid the foundations for Subaru’s later World Rally Championship dominance. The Legacy RS famously delivered Subaru’s first WRC victory with Colin McRae in New Zealand in 1993 before giving way to the Impreza.
Mitsubishi’s rallying legacy will be represented by a 1995 Mitsubishi Evo 3, originally built by an ex-Ralliart mechanic to international Group N specification before later being upgraded to customer Group A specification. Presented in 1996 San Remo livery, it continues to be used in competition today.
Further confirmed cars include a Ford Escort Cosworth in Bastos livery, a Mitsubishi Evo 6.5, a genuine ex-works Opel Calibra and a genuine French rally Porsche GT3, creating a varied and evocative display of Group A rally machinery.
Andrew Evans, Managing Director of Thorough Events, said: “The Group A era produced some of the most exciting, recognisable and technically interesting rally cars of all time, and we are thrilled to be working with Slowly Sideways to bring this class to London Concours. These cars carry remarkable stories, from works competition history to famous drivers and iconic liveries, and they will add a real motorsport energy to our 10th anniversary event.”
The Group A Rally Cars class forms part of London Concours 2026’s wider display, with more than 120 cars set to appear across the event’s curated classes. Alongside the rally display, guests will be able to enjoy world-class classics, supercars, hypercars, luxury boutiques, exceptional food and drink, live stage content and Club Concours hospitality.