Group 4 (racing)

Last updated September 25, 2023

The Group 4 racing class referred to regulations for cars in sportscar racing, GT racing and rallying, as regulated by the FIA. The Group 4 class was replaced by Group B for the 1983 season.

Production requirements

Prior to 1966, the FIA's Group 4 classification applied to Sports Cars which were in compliance with FIA Appendix C regulations. It also included recognised Series Touring Cars, Improved Touring Cars and Grand Touring Cars which had been modified beyond the respective Group 1, Group 2 or Group 3 regulations under which they had been homologated.^[1]^[2] In 1966, an overhaul of FIA categories saw Group 4 Sports Cars redefined such that they were now subject to a minimum production requirement of 50 units in 12 consecutive months and had to be fitted with all equipment necessary for use on public roads. A 5000cc engine capacity limit was applied for 1968 and the minimum production requirement was reduced to 25 units for the 1969 season.^[3]

For 1969, Appendix J of the FIA International Sporting Code defined groups for Touring cars, Grand Touring cars and Sports cars as follows: (numbers between brackets are required minimum production in 12 consecutive months).^[4]

Group 1: series-production touring cars (5,000)
Group 2: touring cars (1,000)
Group 3: grand touring cars (500)
Group 4: sports cars (25)
Group 5: special touring cars
Group 6: prototype-sports cars

For 1970, the limited production sports car category was renamed from Group 4 to Group 5 ^[5] and, in the same year,^[6] Group 4 became the class for special grand touring cars with minimum production of 500 in 12 consecutive months ^[7]

For 1971, the relevant FIA classifications were as follows:^[7]

Group 1: series-production touring cars (5,000)
Group 2: touring cars (1,000)
Group 3: series-production grand touring cars (1,000)
Group 4: special grand touring cars (500)
Group 5: sports cars (25)
Group 6: prototype-sports cars

In 1976, the Group 4 production requirement was reduced to 400 in 24 months.^[8]

Sports car racing

In 1966 and 1967 the Group 4 Sports Cars played a supporting role to the Group 6 prototypes. While prototypes like the 7.0L Ford GT40 Mk II and the Mk IV raced for outright victories, the 4.7L GT40 Mk I entries were competing for Group 4 class wins.^[9] Indeed, competitors in the two categories were competing for two different championships, the Group 6 cars for the International Championship for Sports-Prototypes and the Group 4 cars for the International Championship for Sports Cars. In 1968, the rules were changed, so that prototypes were limited to 3.0L, but Sports cars of up to 5.0L could still be entered. It was also announced that the minimum production figure for the Group 4 sports cars would be reduced to 25 cars for 1969. With larger engines than the prototypes, the Group 4 cars were now in contention for outright race wins. The Ford GT40 was the winner at Le Mans in both 1968 and 1969. Porsche began work on a production run of 25 cars for the Porsche 917. Ferrari, with some financial help from Fiat, produced the similar Ferrari 512.^[10]

For the 1970 season, the Group 4 Sports car category was renamed and became Group 5 Sports Cars and Group 4 designation was applied to a new Special Grand Touring category. The new Group 4 was contested by production based cars such as the Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona, Porsche 911 Carrera RS and the De Tomaso Pantera.

The Group 4 GT category was replaced by a new Group B GT class for 1983.^[11]

Rallying

Fiat 131 Abarth Group 4 rally (1982) Warana-Rally-Carr-131-450.jpg — Fiat 131 Abarth Group 4 rally (1982)

The Group 4 regulations were also used as the basis for the World Rally Championships until they were replaced by the Group B regulations. In mid 1970s to early 1980s rallying, it was necessary to produce 400 identical cars for homologation as a Group 4 rally car. Notable cars included the Ford Escort RS1800, Fiat 131 Abarth, Lancia Stratos HF and the Audi Quattro.

List of FIA Group 4 homologated cars

No.	Marque	Model	Type	Start	End
220	Shelby	Cobra	Roadster 427	January 2, 1966	January 2, 1966
221	Matra	Djet	5S MB 8S	January 1, 1965	January 1, 1965
222	Alpine	A110	1300	February 1, 1966	February 1, 1966
223	Panhard	24	BA	February 1, 1966	February 1, 1966
224	Ford	GT40		February 2, 1966	February 2, 1966
225	Ferrari	250 LM	Berlinetta	February 1, 1966	February 1, 1966
227	Ford	Taunus	P5 Hardtop	April 15, 1966	April 15, 1966
228	Tunex	Diva	GT	April 16, 1966	April 16, 1966
229	Abarth	1300	OT	April 15, 1966	April 15, 1966
230	Abarth	1000	OTR Coupé	April 30, 1966	April 30, 1966
231	Saab	Sonett	II
234	Ferrari	275	GTB 4	April 1, 1967	April 1, 1967
235	Lamborghini	350	GT	April 1, 1967	April 1, 1967
236	Lamborghini	400	GT 2+2	April 1, 1967	April 1, 1967
237	TVR	MkIV	1800S	July 1, 1967	July 1, 1967
238	Lotus	Mark 47		January 1, 1969	January 1, 1969
239	Ferrari	308	GTB 4	April 1, 1967	April 1, 1967
240	Lola	T70	Mk III	February 1, 1968	February 1, 1968
241	Abarth	1000	SP	March 1, 1969	March 1, 1969
242	Marcos	1300 GT		March 1, 1968	March 1, 1968
242	Lamborghini	Urraco P250		July 1, 1975	December 31, 1981
244	Chevron	GT		May 1, 1968	May 1, 1968
245	Lamborghini	P400	Miura	June 1, 1968	June 1, 1968
246	Alfa Romeo	33	Spider	January 1, 1969	January 1, 1969
247	Ferrari	206	GT	January 1, 1969	January 1, 1969
248	McLaren	M6	GT	August 20, 1968
249	Porsche	910		January 1, 1969	January 1, 1969
250	Porsche	917		May 1, 1969	May 1, 1969
251	De Tomaso	Mangusta		April 1, 1969	April 1, 1969
252	Abarth	2000		April 1, 1969	April 1, 1969
253	Ferrari	365	GTB 4 Daytona	June 1, 1969	June 1, 1969
254	Ferrari	512	S	July 1, 1969	April 1, 1970
255	Chevron	B16	Cosworth	January 2, 1970	January 2, 1970
624	Alpine	A110	1600	January 1, 1970	December 31, 1970
625	Alfa Romeo	GTA	Sprint	January 1, 1970	December 31, 1977
626	Porsche	914/6		March 1, 1970	October 1, 1971
627	Ferrari	246	GT	January 1, 1971	February 1, 1973
628	Citroën	SM	Type SB	April 1, 1971	July 1, 1971
629	Range Rover	Classic		April 1, 1971	January 1, 1972
630	Renault	12	Gordini R1173	October 1, 1971	January 1, 1972
632	De Tomaso	Pantera		January 1, 1972	July 1, 1972
633	Ferrari	365	GTB 4	January 1, 1972	December 31, 1979
634	Lotus	Europa	Twin Cam	April 1, 1972	July 1, 1972
637	Porsche	Carrera	RS	March 1, 1973	July 1, 1973
638	Renault	17	TS	April 1, 1974	October 1, 1974
639	Maserati	AM122	Merak	May 1, 1974	December 31, 1981
646	Aston Martin	V8		April 1, 1976	December 31, 1981
631	Alfa Romeo	Montreal		January 1, 1972	April 1, 1972
640	Lancia	Stratos	HF	October 1, 1974	December 31, 1981
644	Opel	Kadett	C GT/E	October 1, 1975	February 1, 1976
645	Porsche	911	Turbo	January 1, 1976	January 1, 1977
647	Abarth	131	Rally	April 1, 1976	December 31, 1981
648	Ferrari	308	GTB	November 1, 1976	December 31, 1981
649	Vauxhall	Chevette	HS2300	November 1, 1976	December 31, 1981
650	Ford	Escort	RS	April 2, 1977	January 1, 1982
651	Alpine	A310	V6	April 1, 1977	January 1, 1978
652	Saab	99	Turbo Combi Coupé	January 1, 1978	October 1, 1978
653	Lotus	Esprit		April 1, 1978	December 31, 1981
654	B.L. Triumph	TR8		April 1, 1978	December 31, 1981
655	Panther	Lima		October 1, 1978	December 31, 1981
656	FSO	Polonez	125 PN	January 1, 1979	April 1, 1980
657	FSO	Polonez		January 1, 1979	April 1, 1980
658	Saab	99	Turbo Sedan	February 1, 1979	April 1, 1979
659	Audi	80	1600	February 1, 1979	December 31, 1981
660	Porsche	924	Turbo	February 1, 1979	April 1, 1979
661	Daimler-Benz	450	SLC 5.0	April 1, 1979	December 31, 1981
662	Chrysler	Sunbeam	Lotus	April 1, 1979	January 1, 1980
663	Toyota	Celica	2000GT Rally RA45	June 1, 1979	December 31, 1981
664	Renault Argentina	12	Alpine	July 1, 1979	December 31, 1981
665	Morgan	Plus 8		July 1, 1979	December 31, 1981
666	Opel	Ascona	400	November 1, 1979	December 31, 1981
668	Alfa Romeo	Alfetta	Turbodelta	February 1, 1980	December 31, 1981
669	Renault	5	Turbo	September 1, 1980	April 1, 1981
670	BMW	M1		December 1, 1980	December 31, 1981
671	Audi	Quattro	2145	January 2, 1981	January 1, 1982
672	Porsche	924	Carrera GT	January 1, 1981	December 31, 1981
673	Daimler-Benz	500	SL	January 1, 1980	December 31, 1981
674	Alfa Romeo	Alfetta	GT 6 2.5	January 1, 1981	October 1, 1981
675	Mitsubishi	Lancer	2000 Turbo A176A	April 1, 1981	December 31, 1981
676	Talbot Matra	Murena	2.2	August 1, 1981	December 31, 1981
677	Volkswagen	Golf Mk I	16S	December 1, 1981	December 31, 1981

In addition, cars were homologated for Group 4 as variants of Group 3 cars. Before 1976, this was possible using a "100-off rule":^[12] clause bb of Art 260 of Appendix J to the FIA's International Sporting Code 1975 (invoked from Art 266). This rule only required production of 100 of a "bolt-on option kit" of parts, not the production of any modified cars as homologation specials, but was deleted after 1975 and approved components banned "Effective from the end of 1977".^[13] Such an approval applies to the Group 4 16-valve TR7,^[12] the multi-valve head (and other parts) from the Group 1 Dolomite Sprint being approved as "valid for Group 4" on 1 Oct. 1975 in amendment 1/1V to the Group 3 TR7 homologation papers and reapproved (following production of about 60 16-valve TR7 Sprints in 1977) on 1 Feb. 1978 in amendment 10/8v.^[14]

Groups 1-9

Categories and Groups of Appendix J 1954 - 1965
Categories	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965
	I. Touring						A. Touring
	II. Sports				II. Grand Touring		B. Grand Touring
	-						C. Sports
Group	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965
Group 1	Normal series production
Group 2	"Grand Touring" series prod				Modified series prod		Modified series prod
Group 3	Special series production						Grand Touring Cars
Group 4	Series production				Normal GT series prod		Sports Car
Group 5	International				Modified GT series prod		-
Group 6	-				GT specials		-
Source:^[15]^[16]

Categories and Groups of Appendix J 1966 - 1981 (Production requirement)
Categories	1966	1967	1968	1969	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981
	A. Production
	B. Special				B. Experimental Competition						B. Racing Cars
	C. Racing Cars										-
Group	1966	1967	1968	1969	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981
Group 1	Series Touring (5000)
Group 2	Touring (1000)				Special Touring (1000)
Group 3	Grand Touring (500)				Series Grand Touring (1000)
Group 4	Sportscars (50/25)				Special Grand Touring (500)						Grand Touring (400)
Group 5	Special Touring Cars				Sports cars (50)		Sports cars				Special cars derived from Groups 1-4
Group 6	Prototype sportscars						-				Two-seater racecars
Group 7	Two-seater racecars										International formula
Group 8	Formula racing cars						International formula				Formula libre racing cars
Group 9	Formula libre racing cars										-
Source:^[15]^[16] Note: Special may be replaced with Competition in some official documents.

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References

↑ Article 252 of the FIA’s Appendix J regulations, 1962 Archived 2006-03-14 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from www.fia.com on 11 February 2009
↑ Article 252 of the FIA’s Appendix J regulations, 1965 Archived 2009-07-11 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from www.fia.com on 11 February 2009
↑ M.L. Twite, The World's Racing Cars, 1971, page 109
↑ Appendix J 1969, Art. 251, Art. 252 Archived 2006-10-17 at the Wayback Machine on www.fia.com
↑ János L Wimpffen, Time and Two Seats, 1999, page 710
↑ M.L. Twite, The World's Racing Cars, 1971, page 99
1 2 Appendix J 1971, Art. 251, Art. 252 Archived 2005-03-02 at the Wayback Machine on www.fia.com
↑ Appendix J 1976, Art. 251, Art. 252 Archived 2006-03-14 at the Wayback Machine on www.fia.com
↑ Ford GT40 MkI 289 Archived 2007-01-02 at the Wayback Machine on QV500.com
↑ 1970 Ferrari 512 S Archived 2006-12-29 at the Wayback Machine on QV500.com
↑ János L Wimpffen, Time and Two Seats, 1999, page 1347
1 2 Robson G., The Works Triumphs: 50 Years in Motorsport, 1993, J H Haynes & Co Ltd, ISBN 978-0854299263.
↑ Robson G., "Ford Escort RS1800" Rally Giants, page 16, Veloce Publishing Ltd, 2008, ISBN 1845841409, 9781845841409.
↑ RAC TR7 Homologation papers number 3071.
1 2 "Regulations - Period Appendix J | FIA Historic Database". historicdb.fia.com. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
1 2 "APPENDIX K TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPORTING CODE" (PDF).

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[1] Article 252 of the FIA’s Appendix J regulations, 1962 Archived 2006-03-14 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from www.fia.com on 11 February 2009

[2] Article 252 of the FIA’s Appendix J regulations, 1965 Archived 2009-07-11 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from www.fia.com on 11 February 2009

[3] M.L. Twite, The World's Racing Cars, 1971, page 109

[4] Appendix J 1969, Art. 251, Art. 252 Archived 2006-10-17 at the Wayback Machine on www.fia.com

[5] János L Wimpffen, Time and Two Seats, 1999, page 710

[6] M.L. Twite, The World's Racing Cars, 1971, page 99

[FIA1971-7] 1 2 Appendix J 1971, Art. 251, Art. 252 Archived 2005-03-02 at the Wayback Machine on www.fia.com

[8] Appendix J 1976, Art. 251, Art. 252 Archived 2006-03-14 at the Wayback Machine on www.fia.com

[9] Ford GT40 MkI 289 Archived 2007-01-02 at the Wayback Machine on QV500.com

[10] 1970 Ferrari 512 S Archived 2006-12-29 at the Wayback Machine on QV500.com

[11] János L Wimpffen, Time and Two Seats, 1999, page 1347

[Robson_1993-12] 1 2 Robson G., The Works Triumphs: 50 Years in Motorsport, 1993, J H Haynes & Co Ltd, ISBN 978-0854299263.

[Robson_2008-13] Robson G., "Ford Escort RS1800" Rally Giants, page 16, Veloce Publishing Ltd, 2008, ISBN 1845841409, 9781845841409.

[RAC3071-14] RAC TR7 Homologation papers number 3071.

[HistoricDB-15] 1 2 "Regulations - Period Appendix J | FIA Historic Database". historicdb.fia.com. Retrieved 2022-05-19.

[AppK-16] 1 2 "APPENDIX K TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPORTING CODE" (PDF).

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