**Rallying Legends: A Behind-the-Scenes Look**

As I sat in the cockpit of a WRC-spec Group N car, I couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement and trepidation. The car was a beast, with 560 Newton-meters of torque and a conventional H-pattern gearbox that demanded precision and finesse from its driver. Jeff, my guide for the day, explained to me that the power output was limited to around 300 brake horsepower, but it was all about the torque. As we set off, I could feel the engine responding eagerly to every pedal input, sending a surge of power to the rear wheels that sent shivers down my spine.

The anti-lag system on stage one made the engine sound like it was popping and banging in protest as we navigated the tighter turns. "It's just a much quicker response," Jeff said with a grin. The handbrake, he explained, was hydraulically operated, giving us much better control over its deployment. I couldn't help but be impressed by the precision of the gearbox and the aggression it demanded from the driver.

As we made our way to the next car, I couldn't help but feel a sense of awe at the sheer scale and complexity of these rally cars. The WRC-spec Group N car was a marvel of modern technology, with advanced suspension, braking systems, and aerodynamics that had been honed to perfection for speed. But it wasn't just about the tech – it was also about the driver's skill and finesse.

The next car we drove was actually Prodrive's WRC-winning car from 1997, which had undergone a full restoration for a customer at a cost of £250,000. This was no mere road car, but a purpose-built design specifically for rallying that never actually competed itself. It was an incredible machine, with a chassis designed to deliver precision handling and pinpoint control.

As we moved on to the final car, I couldn't help but feel a sense of reverence for the legendary Colin McCrae. His 1996 rally-winning car was a Group A car, running Full Tac spec, which made it even more physically demanding and less forgiving than the WRC car. "It's like driving a wild animal," Jeff said with a chuckle.

The Group A car was a masterclass in simplicity and effectiveness. With no advanced technology to crutch us, we had to rely on our skills and instincts to tame this beast. The car was so physically demanding that you really had to take it by the scruff of the neck – but that's also what made it so thrilling.

The group A car was truly an animal, its drivetrain not designed to deal with bumps or uneven surfaces like modern cars. But that just added to the challenge and excitement of driving it. It was a fine line to tread, as much more than the WRC could bite back if you pushed too hard. Yet, despite its unforgiving nature, this car was also undeniably enjoyable – because it demanded so much from its driver.

As I finished my day behind the wheel of these three incredible rally cars, I couldn't help but feel grateful for the experience. Each car had taught me something new about the art and skill of rallying, and I knew that I would never forget this day. The WRC-spec Group N car was a testament to modern technology and speed, while the Prodrive WRC-winning car showed us what can be achieved with dedication and hard work.

But it was the Group A car that had won my heart – because it was an honest, unforgiving beast of a machine that demanded every ounce of skill and finesse from its driver. It may not have been as technologically advanced as some of its peers, but in its own way, it was more thrilling and enjoyable to drive. As I left the rally track for the final time, I knew that I would always cherish this experience – and hope to get behind the wheel of another incredible rally car someday soon.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwhen it comes to subar and pretz two things come to mind firstly rallying and secondly Pro Drive which is where we're heading today because today the people at Pro Drive are very generously laying on three of their toys for us to play with which you can see behind me excited absolutely the cars we've got here today cover three different generations and classes of rallying going back from the current group N through WRC to group a first up the group N and the only one of the three that you can actually buy although it starts live as a regular production STI the parts and labor that Pro Drive lavish on it takes the price up to £120,000 but still this is small fry compared to the cost of a full-flight WRC car now just to make sure I don't make a complete mess of things I've got Jeff Jones one of Pro driver test drivers in the passenger seat next to me now unfortunately while I can hear Jeff in my ear for the most part you won't be able to so Runing the power is all pretty restricted to around 300 brake horsep it's all about the torque this has got about 560 newt m is that right yeah you can really feel it sending the torque to the rear can't you yes so we're just putting the anti- lag on as stage one so it just makes the engine a little bit more responsive and we use it through the the tighter turns coming into now you can hear it popping and banging oh yes so much it's just a much quicker response isn't it so Jeff was just saying that the handbrake is actually hydraulically operated so you get much better controller over it I love the gearbox I just love that sort of precision of it and the aggression you need really with it you like that bit my favorite it's just such a joy to drive while it's impossible not to be hugely impressed why they out a grip traction and acceleration that the group end car musters it does still feel related to the road car we drove up in yes it's way sharper but it shares the same core DNA something you certainly can't say about the next car this is the first WRC spec in preter pro drive built back in 1997 although it may look like the road and preter underneath it's a purpose built design specifically for rallying although this chassis never actually competed it was used by pro drive and McCrae to develop the WRC impressa for the 1997 championship and it's just undergone a full restoration for a customer to its original spec and it's now valued at a quarter of a million quid okay so not to take anything away from the group N car which is a serious piece of kit but this is another level again so although the power and torque is not actually that different from the group N car this whole car is so much more serious the way that it's set up the steering the brakes much bigger brakes the way the power comes in like the two other cars we're driving today the WRC has a conventional H pattern gearbox even more than the group and you've really got to get on with the gear changes it's just they're changing up sort of about four 5,000 revs where they just come at you so fast driving this you can start to understand why they put they paddles in he just changing it all the time aren't you what's staggering about the WRC is just how focused it feels and a homeone to the task of going quickly despite all the technology compared to the group N car it feels more natural and more true to your responses the other thing to take away from this experience is just what a hero McCrae was this car was designed to suit his driving style and clearly that meant absolutely no under steer but it's the last of today's three cars that best describes the Brilliance of the McCrae impr pret combination okay so this is actually even more fever than the WRC car because it might be an older car is a 96 car this is actually mccrae's race winning car he won the rally Catalonia in 96 with this actual car so compared to the WRC car it's so much more physical it really demands more of the driver all the WRC and group a cars we saw earlier were running a rough Tac specification this group a car is on Full Tac spec which is why it's visibly rolling less through the cors and just when you get on the travle in the corner there you can just feel there's a little bit more of a delay before it starts shuffling the power around yeah you can feel it's so much more mechanical and it's not it's not so uh it's not dealing with the bumps and the well the drivet train isn't dealing with the bumps so well is it tech-wise the group a is nowhere near as advanced as the WRC car to get the most from it you really have to take it by the Scruff of the neck but it's a fine line because much more than the WRC the group a can and will bite but it's the fact that it's the most involving that makes it the most thrilling of the lot but it is sort of more enjoyable because it's more demanding of you really isn't it which I'm not demonstrating very well that has to be the most exciting day I think I've ever have what a complete privilege to come here and drive these three Sensational rally cars now a few summary thoughts about each group in massively impressive what you can get straight out of the box and remember that's a car you can buy WRC really very very easy car to drive and drive quickly but it's the group a that I remember a because that's Collins car and B because it's a complete animalwhen it comes to subar and pretz two things come to mind firstly rallying and secondly Pro Drive which is where we're heading today because today the people at Pro Drive are very generously laying on three of their toys for us to play with which you can see behind me excited absolutely the cars we've got here today cover three different generations and classes of rallying going back from the current group N through WRC to group a first up the group N and the only one of the three that you can actually buy although it starts live as a regular production STI the parts and labor that Pro Drive lavish on it takes the price up to £120,000 but still this is small fry compared to the cost of a full-flight WRC car now just to make sure I don't make a complete mess of things I've got Jeff Jones one of Pro driver test drivers in the passenger seat next to me now unfortunately while I can hear Jeff in my ear for the most part you won't be able to so Runing the power is all pretty restricted to around 300 brake horsep it's all about the torque this has got about 560 newt m is that right yeah you can really feel it sending the torque to the rear can't you yes so we're just putting the anti- lag on as stage one so it just makes the engine a little bit more responsive and we use it through the the tighter turns coming into now you can hear it popping and banging oh yes so much it's just a much quicker response isn't it so Jeff was just saying that the handbrake is actually hydraulically operated so you get much better controller over it I love the gearbox I just love that sort of precision of it and the aggression you need really with it you like that bit my favorite it's just such a joy to drive while it's impossible not to be hugely impressed why they out a grip traction and acceleration that the group end car musters it does still feel related to the road car we drove up in yes it's way sharper but it shares the same core DNA something you certainly can't say about the next car this is the first WRC spec in preter pro drive built back in 1997 although it may look like the road and preter underneath it's a purpose built design specifically for rallying although this chassis never actually competed it was used by pro drive and McCrae to develop the WRC impressa for the 1997 championship and it's just undergone a full restoration for a customer to its original spec and it's now valued at a quarter of a million quid okay so not to take anything away from the group N car which is a serious piece of kit but this is another level again so although the power and torque is not actually that different from the group N car this whole car is so much more serious the way that it's set up the steering the brakes much bigger brakes the way the power comes in like the two other cars we're driving today the WRC has a conventional H pattern gearbox even more than the group and you've really got to get on with the gear changes it's just they're changing up sort of about four 5,000 revs where they just come at you so fast driving this you can start to understand why they put they paddles in he just changing it all the time aren't you what's staggering about the WRC is just how focused it feels and a homeone to the task of going quickly despite all the technology compared to the group N car it feels more natural and more true to your responses the other thing to take away from this experience is just what a hero McCrae was this car was designed to suit his driving style and clearly that meant absolutely no under steer but it's the last of today's three cars that best describes the Brilliance of the McCrae impr pret combination okay so this is actually even more fever than the WRC car because it might be an older car is a 96 car this is actually mccrae's race winning car he won the rally Catalonia in 96 with this actual car so compared to the WRC car it's so much more physical it really demands more of the driver all the WRC and group a cars we saw earlier were running a rough Tac specification this group a car is on Full Tac spec which is why it's visibly rolling less through the cors and just when you get on the travle in the corner there you can just feel there's a little bit more of a delay before it starts shuffling the power around yeah you can feel it's so much more mechanical and it's not it's not so uh it's not dealing with the bumps and the well the drivet train isn't dealing with the bumps so well is it tech-wise the group a is nowhere near as advanced as the WRC car to get the most from it you really have to take it by the Scruff of the neck but it's a fine line because much more than the WRC the group a can and will bite but it's the fact that it's the most involving that makes it the most thrilling of the lot but it is sort of more enjoyable because it's more demanding of you really isn't it which I'm not demonstrating very well that has to be the most exciting day I think I've ever have what a complete privilege to come here and drive these three Sensational rally cars now a few summary thoughts about each group in massively impressive what you can get straight out of the box and remember that's a car you can buy WRC really very very easy car to drive and drive quickly but it's the group a that I remember a because that's Collins car and B because it's a complete animalwhen it comes to subar and pretz two things come to mind firstly rallying and secondly Pro Drive which is where we're heading today because today the people at Pro Drive are very generously laying on three of their toys for us to play with which you can see behind me excited absolutely the cars we've got here today cover three different generations and classes of rallying going back from the current group N through WRC to group a first up the group N and the only one of the three that you can actually buy although it starts live as a regular production STI the parts and labor that Pro Drive lavish on it takes the price up to £120,000 but still this is small fry compared to the cost of a full-flight WRC car now just to make sure I don't make a complete mess of things I've got Jeff Jones one of Pro driver test drivers in the passenger seat next to me now unfortunately while I can hear Jeff in my ear for the most part you won't be able to so Runing the power is all pretty restricted to around 300 brake horsep it's all about the torque this has got about 560 newt m is that right yeah you can really feel it sending the torque to the rear can't you yes so we're just putting the anti- lag on as stage one so it just makes the engine a little bit more responsive and we use it through the the tighter turns coming into now you can hear it popping and banging oh yes so much it's just a much quicker response isn't it so Jeff was just saying that the handbrake is actually hydraulically operated so you get much better controller over it I love the gearbox I just love that sort of precision of it and the aggression you need really with it you like that bit my favorite it's just such a joy to drive while it's impossible not to be hugely impressed why they out a grip traction and acceleration that the group end car musters it does still feel related to the road car we drove up in yes it's way sharper but it shares the same core DNA something you certainly can't say about the next car this is the first WRC spec in preter pro drive built back in 1997 although it may look like the road and preter underneath it's a purpose built design specifically for rallying although this chassis never actually competed it was used by pro drive and McCrae to develop the WRC impressa for the 1997 championship and it's just undergone a full restoration for a customer to its original spec and it's now valued at a quarter of a million quid okay so not to take anything away from the group N car which is a serious piece of kit but this is another level again so although the power and torque is not actually that different from the group N car this whole car is so much more serious the way that it's set up the steering the brakes much bigger brakes the way the power comes in like the two other cars we're driving today the WRC has a conventional H pattern gearbox even more than the group and you've really got to get on with the gear changes it's just they're changing up sort of about four 5,000 revs where they just come at you so fast driving this you can start to understand why they put they paddles in he just changing it all the time aren't you what's staggering about the WRC is just how focused it feels and a homeone to the task of going quickly despite all the technology compared to the group N car it feels more natural and more true to your responses the other thing to take away from this experience is just what a hero McCrae was this car was designed to suit his driving style and clearly that meant absolutely no under steer but it's the last of today's three cars that best describes the Brilliance of the McCrae impr pret combination okay so this is actually even more fever than the WRC car because it might be an older car is a 96 car this is actually mccrae's race winning car he won the rally Catalonia in 96 with this actual car so compared to the WRC car it's so much more physical it really demands more of the driver all the WRC and group a cars we saw earlier were running a rough Tac specification this group a car is on Full Tac spec which is why it's visibly rolling less through the cors and just when you get on the travle in the corner there you can just feel there's a little bit more of a delay before it starts shuffling the power around yeah you can feel it's so much more mechanical and it's not it's not so uh it's not dealing with the bumps and the well the drivet train isn't dealing with the bumps so well is it tech-wise the group a is nowhere near as advanced as the WRC car to get the most from it you really have to take it by the Scruff of the neck but it's a fine line because much more than the WRC the group a can and will bite but it's the fact that it's the most involving that makes it the most thrilling of the lot but it is sort of more enjoyable because it's more demanding of you really isn't it which I'm not demonstrating very well that has to be the most exciting day I think I've ever have what a complete privilege to come here and drive these three Sensational rally cars now a few summary thoughts about each group in massively impressive what you can get straight out of the box and remember that's a car you can buy WRC really very very easy car to drive and drive quickly but it's the group a that I remember a because that's Collins car and B because it's a complete animal\n"