8 touring car icons of the ‘80s you can catch at the Donington Historic Festival

Glorious machines from a glorious era

Now in its sixth year, the Donington Historic Festival is rapidly becoming a stalwart of the historic racing calendar – and nowhere is that better evinced than in the return of the Historic Touring Car Challenge.

Scheduled to be a 60-minute race on Saturday 5 May, a newly expanded HTCC will see a decade-spanning crop of touring cars take to the fast curves of the East Midlands circuit.

And, while this year’s Donington round is set to feature machines from 1968 all the way through to 1989, it’s the bumper crop of '80s cars that caught our attention.

So, with that in mind, here are eight touring car icons of the 1980s that you can catch at Donington Park this weekend.

1981 Ford Capri

Ford’s legendary Capri might be more synonymous with the '70s, but its run wasn’t done by the turn of the decade – in fact, more than 10 of the speedy fastbacks entered the 1981 British Saloon Car Championship, with some five of the 11 rounds that season won by Capris.

While you’ll catch several earlier Capris at the Donington event, you’ll also spot a fetching yellow-and-blue 1981 model being piloted by Peter Ratcliff and Graham Scarborough.

1981 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV6

Alfa’s '70s fastback coupé might have enjoyed somewhat unusual proportions – what with its symmetrically sloping shell – but after the marque's competition arm Autodelta had a go at the chassis, the GTV6 became quite the force in European racing.

The model won the European Touring Car Championship for four consecutive years between 1982 and 1985, and the British Saloon Car Championship in 1983 – not to mention a host of rally victories. You’ll find a pair of them racing at Donington.

1982 Volvo 242 Turbo

Aerodynamic it wasn’t, but, courtesy of a bigger turbo, an intercooler and water injection, Volvo’s 'flying brick' managed to squeeze sufficient power from its motor to make what was already the world’s fastest estate car into the champion of European Touring Cars and DTM in 1985.

Volvo narrowly managed to get through homologation regulations, exporting 500 Volvo 240 Turbo Evolutions to the USA and clearing the way for the factory team’s success in '85. You’ll find a 1982 example on track at Donington.

1984 BMW 635

BMW’s feisty 635 was a stalwart of ’80s touring cars, truly finding its stride once Group A regulations came in – with its naturally aspirated straight-six scaring wildlife on both sides of the globe and helping it to record race wins in the UK and a Championship victory in Australia.

A veritable fleet of BMW machines is set to grace the asphalt of Donington, including a pair of Geoff Steel Racing 635s. Besides a 1982 number, you’ll find a stunning Marlboro-liveried 635 recently rebuilt from an original 1984 shell.

1986 Rover Vitesse

Head down to Donington on 5 May and you’ll spot a fleet of Rover SD1s from the early-’80s – but it's the 1986 Rover Bastos Vitesse we’re most keen to see, not least because one of its drivers is the man who almost won the 1983 Championship in one, a certain Steve Soper.

Built in just four weeks for the inaugural year of the British Saloon Car Championship’s Group A, the Vitesse was driven to five victories in 1983 – only to be controversially disqualified in a subsequent court battle that saw Rover pull out to focus on European racing (the TWR machine won five rounds of the 1986 ETCC).

1986 Toyota Corolla

The 1980s were a good time for Toyota in touring cars. With Win Percy’s clean sweep in '82 claiming the Japanese marque’s first title, it was over to Chris Hodgetts in 1986 and 1987 to claim two consecutive Championship wins for Toyota GB in his Corolla GT Coupe.

Following up with two Class D title wins, the Corolla was undeniably a fixture of the late-’80s touring car grid, which makes the 1986 Corolla of John Danby Racing a welcome sight at Donington.

1986 Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500

Arguably one of the most iconic touring cars in history, Ford’s Sierra Cosworth RS500 was an unstoppable force in Group A racing: at the tail end of the 1980s, the RS500 claimed 40 wins in a row in the British Touring Car Championship (albeit with different drivers).

It was a similar story around the world, with the RS500 recording strong finishes in both Australia and Germany, besides netting Robb Gravett his 1990 BTCC Drivers’ title. It’s an earlier model heading to Donington, with Mark Wright fielding a pugnacious 1986 RS500.

1989 BMW M3 E30

Last up is another Beemer, and the German manufacturer’s most successful touring car ever: the M3 E30. Based on the first-generation M3 – essentially a race car for the road – the 300bhp E30 took overall victory in the inaugural World Touring Car Championship, before going on to claim some seven national championships in 1988 – including the DTM and BTCC titles.

In fact, the M3 was the machine to beat across Europe, bringing home a host of championships – which probably explains why some three 1989 models are heading to Donington.

The Donington Historic Festival takes place this week (from Friday 4 to Sunday 6 May) and you can buy tickets and find out more information about it here.