Delta and Impreza – between them the most successful model lines in world rallying. They are tied at the top with 46 WRC rally wins apiece, placing them ahead of other titans of the special stage like the Escort, Quattro, Celica, Lancer, Focus, Xsara, C4 and Polo.
How curious that Lancia’s Delta and Subaru’s Impreza should falter on the very same number. Was there some sort of gentlemen’s agreement prohibiting any more than 46 victories for a single model? Couldn’t one or the other have snuck in just one more measly win before its time was up to stand alone at the top of the tree with 47?
Well actually, both should feel relieved not to have been knocked off their shared perch by another model line altogether. The difference between Volkswagen’s Polo blowing by instead of stalling on 43 rally wins, which it did at the end of 2016, was Volkswagen abruptly pulling the plug on its WRC programme as a result of the Dieselgate scandal. The Polo won nine rallies in its final year on its way to both the Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ crowns, and but for that diesel emissions ‘defeat device’ being discovered when it was, the little VW would surely have won a stack more in 2017.
