RALLY INSIGHT MAXI RALLY CARS

Martin Holmes

Every now and again some rally team wants to emphasize the supreme excellence of their latest car and names it their “Maxi”.

oving on quickly from a little loved 1969 BMC car called the Austin Maxi, Renault used the Maxi name more Mthan once with successful rally cars, “The most starting from their second version uprated 5 Tur- bo, continuing the policy with the Megane For- interesting aspect for mula 2 car. then did the same with their 106 Kit Car. The promoters of the British Rally us at Rally Argentina Championship in 1997 even decided to rename was seeing just how Ford’s Evo 2 Escort RS2000 Kit Car the “Maxi” to suit their purposes. The FIA never called the the Maxi Rally cars Ford a Maxi, they also never officially called the cars “Formula 2”, and “Evo” was little more than performed compared usually journalistic slang. These were days of with the RRC.” calling cars what you wanted to! Each of these so-called Maxi cars enjoyed their esteem for the few short years they were in vogue, before they

Title photo above: became obsolete or the formulae changed, and MM62 RA14 Nalbandian Chevrolet AgileMR. the cars were put in storage to become cars for Legend event enthusiasts in tage of available power trains due course. “Driver Nicolas and immediately became at- tractive. The main feature The name Maxi has however Fuchs presented a of the formula was the con- once again become quite the trolled engine design, which rage. Very recently we have special car which the local specialist company had the New Zealand rally in reality was Oreste Berta, based at Alta Championship calling some Gracia in Cordoba province, of the cars built to their “Ex- a VW on which was commissioned to develop treme” rally formula as “Max- and supply. In the absence of is”. In Argentina, however, a Mitsubishi badges available power units of 2-li- more established use of the were applied.” tre normally-aspirated design, name Maxi emerged four a purpose designed engine years ago, when the national capable of achieving perfor- federation gave their blessing Argentina for use in national mance equivalence with the to a new silhouette, controlled became centred ex- existing “Group” based cars power train formula, called clusively on Mitsubishi and was required. The base engine “Maxi Rally”. cars, offering little was the aluminium block Hon- variety and no incentive for da Integra, prepared in 2370cc And so we now have the Ar- participation by the local man- form, with wet sump. gentina “Maxi” story… ufacturers. The new Maxi Rally formula encouraged the lo- Long reliable engine life was The Maxi Rally concept came cal motor industry to produce the main design objective, and about when the available cars which carried their cor- extensive use was made of supply of competitive cars in porate name, but took advan- under-stressed components.

Argentino14 Baldoni Peugeot 208 MR. Argentino14 Ford Ka Junior.

Argentino14 Palio Junor. Argentino14 David Nalbandian1. Argentino14 and fanclub.

Argentino14 VW Gol Trend MR.

Argentino14 Citroen DS3 MR. MM62 RA14 Chevrolet Agile MR. MM62 RA14 Ford Fiesta MR engine.

The engine remained nor- was the Rally San Antonio mally-aspirated, and as sup- “The main feature de Areco, run in the flatlands plied to teams it produced a of the formula of province in healthy 285bhp. The standard muddy conditions, where four-wheel-drive, six-speed was the controlled Juan Marchetto’s traditional sequential transmission sys- turbocharged Mitsubishi was tems are based on Subaru engine design.” unbeatable but on only the components, which the na- second round (Rally Villa Do- tional Barattero company sup- lores in Cordoba province) ply, and the whole package is The first Maxi Rally car, based the new Fiat Punto Maxi Ral- sold to teams as a kit includ- on the locally marketed Volk- ly of Claudio Menzi was the ing the engine, gearbox, shock swagen Gol Trend production winner. By the end of the first absorbers, brakes and all. All car, was built by the Barattero season no fewer than twenty that’s required is a body shell company at Almafuerte dur- Maxi Rally examples, repre- and abera cadabera, you have ing the 2010 season, and from senting one make or another a competitive rally car! start of the 2011 season there appeared in competition. were silhouette style cars on With the kit, individual car the start line in the guise of Three companies were in- preparation companies could Volkswagen, Kia Rio and Fiat volved in Maxi Rally car then prepare their competition Punto cars. The formula construction at the outset cars based on what model of was alive. Barattero, Federico Villagra’s production car they chose, so company VRS which con- long it was recognisable as a The first event in which Maxi structed Ford Fiestas and Mar- model in the B-sector market. Rally cars were admitted cos Ligato’s company Tango MM62 RA14 Ford Ka Junior.

MM62 RA14 VW Gol Junior. MM62 RA14 Peugeot 207 MR engine.

MM62 RA14 Maxi Rally experimental 1.6 turbo engine. MM62 RA14 Renault Clio Junior.

Rally Team which produced a Fast forward to Rally Argen- Chevrolet Agile version. Since “Moving on tina, when the national rally then a wide variety of designs quickly from a championship cars ran in have emerged. Last year the the same stages as the WRC Peruvian driver Nicolas Fuchs little loved 1969 event, and when the current presented a special car which Maxi Rally cars include Cit- in reality was a VW on which BMC car called the roën, Ford and VW cars, three Mitsubishi badges were applied. of the four marques which are Also appearing at Rally Argen- Austin Maxi.” officially entered on the WRC tina were Maxi Rally versions series. A spokesman for the of the Peugeot 207 and 208, a Argentina, cars constructed as national series said “yes, the Fiat Palio and a Citroën DS3. Fiat Palio, Ford Fiesta, VW Gol most interesting aspect for us and Ford Ka cars while there at Rally Argentina was seeing Phase two of the Maxi Rally are also projects using Chev- just how the Maxi Rally cars project started in 2013 with the rolet and Renault Clio cars. performed compared with the Junior project using two-wheel- Meanwhile the FIA in 2012 al- RRC, the R5 and the Super drive six-speed transmission lowed Maxi Rally cars to be 2000 cars entered in the full and 190bhp engine, using simi- regionally homologated, which WRC event”. lar design principles to the Maxi permitted these cars to be Rally cars. Seven of these Jun- available for use in the Codasur ior cars also appeared at Rally championship.