The year is 1982. The popularity of cocaine is on the decline, Niki Lauda returned to F1, NASCARs were still eclipsing 200 miles an hour, and the FIA introduced Group B rally. The rules for this new class of race car seemed incredibly lax when compared to older rally classes. No limit on power, no limit on boost, and only 200 homologation cars needed to be built to compete. These easy rules lead to the creation of Permis Motors, by a team of East Coast investors. This is the result of hundreds of thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours spent on R&D.
Built in Canada to avoid taxes, the Permis SR450 is the car built to compete against the likes of Audi and Lancia. Generating a mahoosive 450 horsepower from a 2 litre inline 4 using a turbo running an equally ridiculous 44 PSI, it set the bar for power. In a move to save even more money, the investors decided against designing a lower power motor for the 200 road-going cars that needed to be built.
1983
After doing better than expected in the first year for the SR450, and selling all 200 road cars before they were completed, Permis turned to manufacturing more road cars. The RS series cars were the first. Built to be reliable while remaining fun to drive, the lineup featured a sedan and a small hatchback.
This is the RS140 Sedan. Weighing 2081 pounds, and generating a decent 140 horsepower from a turbocharged, 1.5L 4 cylinder, the RS140 Sedan had a 0-60 time of 9.5 seconds on its way to 120 MPH.
This is the hatchback variant of the RS140. Weighing a positively paltry 1600 pounds, it is a full 2 seconds quicker to 60 than its sedan brother. Along with the lighter weight came slightly better gas mileage, at 29.5 MPG average. It had a worse top speed however, barely topping 110 MPH.
As another year rolled on, Permis had clearly struck it huge. The SR450 kept on racking up stage win after stage win, and the RS cars were selling like absolute mad. Due to demand, Permis had decided to build a slightly larger car, the LC.
Sporting a more upscale interior, the LC was available in two flavors; a sedan and a wagon. Only one option was available in the way of engines; a 300 horsepower flatplane V8. Both models also featured 4 corner double wishbone suspension.
The sedan model tipped the scales at a hair over 3000 pounds, hit 60 in 7.9 seconds, and kept accelerating to 140 MPH. The larger engine and heavier chassis meant for less-than-stellar gas mileage, at 15.9 MPG.
The wagon used some trickery in the panel material to weigh a mere 43 pounds more than the sedaan, while having heaps more cargo space. The 0-60 and top speed were the exact same as the sedan, yet the wagon gained an extra .5 MPG, making it the more popular car for prospective buyers.
With 1984 ending, supporters and the big wigs of Permis alike were happy. The RS cars remained at or near the top of their segments, and the SR450 kept on winning, although Audi and Lancia were starting to close the power and performance gap. The new line of “LC” cars were a warm hit, with the sedan not being as popular as hoped.
That didn’t matter, Permis was turning huge profits and designed two new cars. One production, one Group C prototype.
This is the production model for 1985. The MS155, a small RWD, mid-engined entry-level sports cars. Like many cars of the 80s, its design features sharp edges and large, bright headlights.
Under the hood, it had a reliable yet fun 2 litre, 155 horsepower plant, causing the little runabout to break 100 horsepower per ton as it weighed 1984 pounds. This light weight meant the car could get a reasonable 24 MPG while being able to hit 60 in less than 8 seconds, and hit its 135 MPH mechanical limit.
Ah yes, Group C. Group B’s equally insane on-road cousin.
Permis was a little late to the game, as they spent 1984 waiting for the RS360 homologation model to sell enough vehicles. After being permitted to enter their prototype racer, the XR1100, in to competition, they wasted no time becoming competitive against other more established manufacturers.
Oh boy, 1986. What a cock-up of a year. the SR450 was involved in some terrible accidents resulting in some manufacturers pulling out of Group B. To make matters worse, the sales of all other Permis cars were heavily affected as a result of the rallying accidents, and Cliff Burton was killed! On a lighter note, the Group A and Group C cars were still near the top of their respective standings.
Like a teenaged girl after a bad breakup, Permis’ new models got big and depressed. Shying away from performance, these new trucks were made simply for utility and not much else.
They shared engines, an anemic 6.3 litre V8 generating roundabout 290 horsepower and 390 foot-pounds of torque. Top speed of both vehicles was limited to a “Does it even matter anymore?” 100 MPH. MPG was ~13 for the SUV and 14.5 for the pickup.
1987
Continuing the trend of moving from international Motorsport, Permis tried their hand at entering their new model, the NS430, as a NASCAR.
The road-going version used a detuned pushrod V8 racing motor, generating about 430 horsepower. This marked the first time in Permis’ history that the engine was not using a 5 valve per cylinder design for the head. The moderate success they had as a NASCAR manufacturer/team helped to soften the blows of 1986, and pointed Permis back to its motorsport roots.
If you took Permis’ best year (1983) and worst year (1986) and put them together, you’d get 1988. The XR1100 got shat on hard by Porsche with their 965, and the Mercedes-Benz Sauber C9, which resulted in Permis pulling out of Group C altogether. The upside to this, however, was that there was extra money to blow on a new rally car.
The new car, destined for Group N rally, meant that it was much more affordable (roughly half of the Group B budget) and a separate race engine did not have to be developed for factory-backed competition.
Due to unexpected demand and high sales on the trucks released in 1986, a new body-on-frame vehicle was introduced. The AT300 (standing for Adventure Truck) used a similar engine to the NS430, a 6 litre pushrod V8 making 315 horsepower, getting 8.7 MPG, and chugging up to 120 MPH.
