26 classic box-arched beauties

Bigger than the average

Developed from motorsport, the box-arched styling motif became one of the go-to aesthetic choices through the 1980s and ’90s, and beyond. 

A new generation of classic-car lovers has driven interest in such models to new heights, proving that cars with larger-than-average wheelarches have an enduring appeal.

Here we’ve picked some of our favourite box-arched classic cars and presented them in chronological order. Of course, this isn’t a definitive list, but which of these is your favourite?

1. 1980 Renault 5 Turbo

Muscular bodykits had appeared before the Renault 5 Turbo, most notably in the form of the Touring Car racing-inspired X-Pack Ford Capris, but the R5 Turbo was one of the wildest displays of box-arch brilliance in one of the smallest footprints.

The car is wild in general, with its mid-mounted, turbocharged, four-cylinder engine, rear-wheel drive and a concept-car-style interior.

2. 1982 Porsche 944

Though the 911 is Porsche’s most famous product, were it not for the 924 and 944 selling in the units they did, it’s unlikely the Stuttgart firm would have survived the 1980s.

Where the 924 was, Carrera GT aside, sleekly delicate, the 944 upped the ante with wider wheelarches.

Plus, in turbo form, the 944 could even outpace a base-model 911…

3. 1982 Mitsubishi Starion

Mitsubishi’s take on the Porsche 944 formula saw 2- and 2.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engines fitted in a sharply styled body.

The lower-powered, non-intercooler cars got the narrow body, leaving the full-on design for the high-performance models.

In addition to being one of the first turbocharged Japanese cars to have electronic fuel injection, the model had a significant presence on the motorsport scene, examples campaigned in rallying and circuit racing across the globe.

4. 1984 Audi Sport quattro

We could have picked the original Audi quattro for its wide-arched wonderfulness, but the Sport quattro wins for its sheer dedication to the cause.

This Group B homologation special not only had pumped-up wheelarches, but it was also much more powerful – and just 214 were produced.

5. 1984 Peugeot 205 T16

Peugeot’s take on the Group B recipe may have some resemblance to a standard 205, but underneath the handmade, Heuliez-built body is an engine in the middle, a gearbox from a Citroën SM, four-wheel drive and an enormous turbocharger.

The result was the most successful Group B car in terms of championship wins, thanks to more than 400bhp.

The road cars aren’t as fast, with around half that power. You still would, though, wouldn’t you?

6. 1984 Porsche 959

Though the 959 is often lumped in with the Group B programme, its motorsport association was a by-product, rather than the initial plan.

The 959 was really an exploration of what a Porsche could be beyond the 911, with racing a way of advancing product development.

In the end, the model’s competitive career was short-lived and fiery, and each example was sold with a 50% loss.

However, the car itself has become a legend, a twin-turbocharged, hyper-technology missile on wheels, capable of 197mph.

7. 1984 Ferrari 288GTO

Much like the Porsche 959, the Ferrari 288GTO is often called a Group B car, but the germination of the project came from Enzo’s belief that his car maker’s range had become too humdrum – it needed a halo car.

The result was a 2.9-litre, twin-turbocharged, V8-powered supercar that looked like a 308 had taken performance-enhancing drugs.

There’s actually very little 308 left in the 288GTO, but, no matter.

The 288GTO is the rarest of all the Ferrari hypercars – and arguably the most road-usable.

8. 1984 MG Metro 6R4

The humble Austin Metro was a highly popular shopping car, so perhaps not the first thing you’d think of as a competition machine.

However, Williams Engineering saw things differently and the result was a naturally aspirated V6 in perhaps the wildest bodykit ever applied to a road-legal car.

In all, 200 roadgoing versions were built.

9. 1986 BMW M3 E30

A true icon of Touring Car competition, the BMW E30 M3 was designed from the tyre tread up to punch above its weight in Group A racing.

While the turbocharged Ford Sierra RS 500 Cosworth notched up more outright wins, the M3’s relative simplicity, reliability and sharp handling helped deliver all-important class victories and multiple drivers’ titles.

The road cars were just as exciting, with one of the most balanced chassis ever made.

10. 1986 Lister XJ-S Le Mans

The rebirth of Lister in the mid-1980s saw Jaguars developed into ever-more powerful forms, with extroverted bodywork to match.

The most potent of these was a twin-supercharged, 7-litre XJ-S Le Mans, that if it was somewhat damp on the road required a brass neck as wide as the rear tyres.

Around 90 cars were converted. The engine went on to power the Lister Storm GT racing car.

11. 1987 Vauxhall Nova GTE/GSI

While some might howl in derision at this car’s inclusion, for others this was the achievable dream, the step up from the SR model that so many owned, tweaked and adored.

The subtle, boxy wheelarches elevated the ultimate Vauxhall Nova above its shopping-car brethren, and though its performance figures seem tiny today, its minute weight meant it was a quick car for its time.

Today it’s a highly prized reminder of a much simpler era.

12. 1989 Nissan Skyline GT-R R32

Though the Nissan Skyline would rise to international fame/infamy via Gran Turismo, for car enthusiasts Godzilla, as the Australians called it, was already a legend for its giant-killing deeds in Touring Car racing and beyond.

After the car became unbeatable in Australia, it trounced a host of big European names at the prestigious Spa 24 Hours race.

As a road car, the 2.6-litre twin-turbo straight-six had such tuneability that it became the thing to have for big power and bigger grins.

13. 1990 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evolution II

Mercedes-Benz was desperate to win Germany’s Touring Car championship, the DTM, but rivals BMW, Ford and Audi were getting in the way.

The solution was dramatic, with a wild bodykit fitted to the W201 190 that was shaped in the wind tunnel and applied to 501 roadgoing cars.

It still wasn’t quite enough initially, but the marque did eventually win the title in 1992.

14. 1990 Maserati Shamal

By the end of the 1980s, wide wheelarches and big bodykits were immensely popular with tuning firms, away from the homologation needs of motorsport, which often required box arches for wider tracks and bigger tyres.

The Maserati Shamal was never intended for motorsport, but its brawny Marcello Gandini-designed appearance is magnificently polarising, bringing an extreme look to the often genteel grand-tourer market.

Its 3.2-litre twin-turbo V8 may pack a punch, but it’s actually a refined cruiser that looks like the ultimate autobahn bruiser.

15. 1991 Lancia Delta HF Integrale Evo

To keep ahead of the World Rally Championship opposition, Lancia developed a wider track, bigger tyres and more to keep its Integrale on top.

While the first generation sported wider arches, the Evo models took it to the extremes with a pumped-up look that still turns heads today.

16. 1992 Aston Martin Virage 6.3

The Virage was not one of Aston Martin’s greatest cars.

The firm’s Customer Service Division developed a package that helped restore some vim and vigour to the brand – with a near-500bhp 6.3-litre naturally aspirated engine for a 175mph top whack.

However, the handmade wheelarch extensions give the Virage a more muscular look than even the Vantage models that followed.

17. 1992 Ford Escort RS Cosworth

Caught on the hop after the demise of Group B rallying, the Blue Oval had tried to keep up with Lancia but the Sierras couldn’t quite match the compact Delta Integrale.

The answer was drastic: combine the powertrain from the Ford Sapphire Cosworth 4x4 with the Escort Mk5 silhouette and deploy Karmann to build a pumped up, bewinged rally homologation special.

Sadly the car didn’t quite fulfil its potential on the WRC’s stages, but on the road it became a tuning legend, able to embarrass much more exotic names with ever-growing horsepower figures.

18. 1992 Maserati Ghibli II

The last throw of the Biturbo chassis dice came when Maserati was on its knees.

With very little money and thanks to the dedication of its staff, the marque delivered what the Biturbo should have been from the start.

Gandini’s tautening of the Biturbo shape may have lacked the extremes of the Shamal, but the bulging rear wheelarches hint at the twin-turbocharged V6’s firepower.

19. 1995 Alfa Romeo 155 (facelift)

The first Alfa Romeo developed under Fiat ownership, the 155 was seen as a bit of damp squib, not helped by it being front-wheel drive compared to the much-loved, if gleefully idiosyncratic, 75.

Hurt by the criticism, Alfa reworked the suspension and turned it into a pleasing-handling car with a mid-life facelift.

This necessitated a widebody treatment that, while not as wide as the DTM cars, certainly beefed up the 155.

20. 1996 Bentley Continental T

The Continental R, launched just a few years earlier, pretty much saved Bentley in the 1990s, but there was a clamour for something faster, shorter and somewhat daring.

Introducing the T: power began north of 400bhp and escalated from there, but the big statement was the widebody look.

21. 1996 Porsche 911 GT2

The first Porsche 911 GT2 came from a difficult time in endurance racing – there was no one unified World Sportscar Championship after the demise of Group C.

Porsche developed a GT racer for privateers, taking a four-wheel-drive 911 turbo and making it rear-drive only, upping the power to beyond 400bhp, as well as lightening and fattening it.

It was a successful GT racer and claimed many class victories.

The road cars are now among the most prized rare-breed Porsches.

22. 1997 Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution

The mid-to-late 1990s were all about ever-increasing power and performance from Subaru and Mitsubishi, and while the Evo models are suitably pumped up, they’re not quite as broad shouldered as the Pajero Evolution.

Designed to take part in rally raids, the road cars feature a naturally aspirated V6, which meant it could shift its 1970kg (4343lb) from 0-60mph in 8.5 secs.

23. 1998 Subaru Impreza 22B

The ultimate first-generation Impreza? The P1 might be better set up for British roads, and there are several JDM models that put in a good shout, but the market values the 22B highest – it’s a six-figure car now.

It’s easy to see why just by looking at its aggressive stance – and that’s before you consider its burbly performance potential.

24. 1999 Ford Racing Puma

Ford had largely abandoned the RS moniker after the Escort Cosworth, but it seems the car maker can’t help itself when it comes to hot cars with rally leanings.

The compact Puma had competed in motorsport, and that knowledge was brought to the road car with lots of expensive parts.

Sadly this made it just as expensive as an Impreza but nowhere near as quick, which hurt sales.

However, now it is a rare, in-demand model.

25. 2001 RenaultSport Clio V6

Renault took more than 20 years to repeat the mid-engined, small-car recipe, though this one was even faster.

It grabbed the V6 from a Laguna, mounted it behind the ears and teamed it with brilliantly bold styling.

Its weight meant that other fast Clios were quicker, but that’s not really the point – they don’t look as spectacular as this.

26. 2001 Aston Martin Vanquish

The last of the old-school Aston Martins was also the first of a new breed from the marque.

A 5.9-litre V12 sat in an aluminium composite chassis with a carbonfibre backbone that had been developed with the aid of Lotus.

The Ian Callum-penned shape boasted a 190mph top speed.