There were no rally cars, as such, during the sport’s first 50 years or so, just the bog standard daily transport people drove to work and back each day. Many car owners joined motor clubs, which organized boring regularity runs, manoeuvrability gymkhanas and navigational exercises. So for over 50 years, rallying was a series of docile tests of amateur driving skill.
Three things changed all that. The Second World War, which left behind a much more sophisticated road system; post-war production of better, more advanced cars; and the Scandinavians’ invention of special stages, where the name of the game was speed.
