Used between 1998 - 2005, average placement in European rallycross was 1.125 (7 1:st and one 2:nd)
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How on earth has anyone not yet mentioned the VL Commodore campaigned by the Holden Racing Team (now called Mobil 1 HSV Racing) during the 1990 Australian Touring Car Championship season? Against all the odds, it won the Bathurst 1000 in the team’s very first season of competition against a field which included turbocharged monsters such as the R32 GT-R and Sierra RS Cosworth, mostly due to superior reliability and slower tire degradation.
Here it is in action during its historic first win for HRT, in an era long before the introduction of the V8 Supercar regulations that replaced the production-based cars of Group A with silhouette racers.
If you know of any other Group A racers less well known than the usual suspects (R32 GT-R, Sierra Cosworth RS500, E30 M3, etc.), please let me know.
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It’s been too long without a post. 
Even though she was never successful, and not particularly attractive from the rear… I’ve always loved the Nissan R390 for some reason. Probably because the Nissan fanboy is stronk in me. That and those Z32 headlights; so sexy that even Lamborghini used them.
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big fan, truly one of the legendary ‘what could have been’ cars of yesteryear…
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What a machine. Styled by none other than Ian Callum, who now works for Jaguar…
Speaking of 90s endurance racers, and Lamborghini for that matter, meet the Konrad KM-011!
This was the result of a brief partnership between Konrad Motorsport and Lamborghini. Konrad were more accustomed to running privateer Porsche 962’s, so its designer Franz Konrad essentially reworked that car to create this. It was then powered by a Lambo 3.5l V12, though powered figures are hard to come by, as are almost any other details about this car.
You can really see the similarities to the 962 here with the bubble cockpit and the gentle curve dip along the side of the car.
Sadly however, it didn’t do well, and was plagued with a lack of competitiveness and reliability issues. Hence, it only appeared for the 1991 season of the World Sportscar Championship.
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Here’s yet another early 90s endurance racer: the Sauber-Mercedes C11. Before Michael Schumacher made his F1 debut, he drove one of these:
And here’s some footage of the C11 on the move:
It won the championship in 1990, and was retained for much of the following season (including the 24 Hours of Le Mans) due to its successor’s poor results. As one of the last few sports prototypes to be built before rule changes effectively turned them into closed-cockpit F1 cars, it occupies a special place in endurance racing history. In fact, I think it not only looks better than today’s LMP1 machinery, but better-sounding as well - and judging by the high attrition rate for the category at Le Mans this year, much more reliable to boot.
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C11? Good car, however C9 is more known.
Also, funfact - there’s no C10 because in German the “C10” name would cause some pronouncing problems
Let’s throw another german racer to the mix. It’s more like rally, however it’s a race car thread, and this car was actually in a giant race, so… 
Ladies and gentlemen, Porsche 959 Paris-Dakar
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holy mother of liveries 
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@abg7 That C11 has such a pleasantly tame sound… great video.
@DeusExMackia I found this video this morning, and since you mentioned Lamborghini’s 3.5L V12… you may enjoy Nissan’s attempt at the same.
You can hear her starting at 1:50
Here’s what makes the sound; a VRT35;
It had a bank angle of 70 degrees.
Nismo still keeps the sole example in running condition.
The car was ultimately a failure though; running 5 seconds behind Nissan’s R92CP in the only race she ever participated in.
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@KA24DE A V12 Nissan?? Am I dreaming?
@Fayeding_Spray Now that’s a corker of a car. And easily one of the best Martini liveries ever.
Now, this is something I cannot wait to see racing for real…
Mazda RT-24P, currently competing in the WeatherTech Sportscar Championship (aka IMSA).
Dunno about you but that is one of the most well styled prototype racers I’ve ever seen.
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noooooo don’t remind us, the pain is still raw 
I had this weird train of thought which went from “martini livery” to “have I already mentioned the 935” (yes, I have), to “I wonder what other racing cars used the whale tail” (always remember to specify you’re looking for a car in Google Search or you’ll get all kinds of unrelated results 
). Then I saw this.
A car from an era I know little about, which many of us would rather forget. But with a wide bodykit and massive splitter and wing, the Chevy Monza Dekon does look rather spiffin.
Or go a bit more nuts
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@DeusExMackia Oh wow… that Mazda is looking good indeed. Interesting windshield angle too… more vertical than I’m used to.
Since @strop brought up some obscene bodykits… my mind wanders towards Nissan’s Gr.5 Bluebird.
While Toyota unleashed the horrors of the Altezza tail light upon the world… Nissan is likely to blame for those Bosozoku cars.
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do we ever know if that front splitter provided good downforce? 
When your front bumper can be mistaken for a ramp… I’d say yes 
Nissan’s GTP ZX-Turbo is a mean looking ride…
I love the slab-sided look,
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Here’s another one of my favorites: The Gillet Vertigo, an odd-looking car for sure but clearly a very fast one:
Anyone familiar with the Gran Turismo series should easily know this one. It was powered by a highly tuned Alfa Romeo V6 developing 900 horsepower in race trim, which should have made it competitive against contemporary opposition. Part of me still wishes that it did…
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Okay, what even is the 2nd picture?
That one looks like its been welded together in some backyard garage.
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