Three iconic cars shortlisted for the Motor Sport Hall of Fame

A trio of track legends, but only one will get the glory

A true legend doesn’t need an award to be an icon – but it’s always fun to pick favourites, right?

So it is with Motor Sport’s annual Hall of Fame, an event that seeks to induct and celebrate the biggest names in racing with suitable prestige. And this year that honour has been extended to some of history’s greatest racing machines.

For the first time, the public has been asked to pick which of six competition icons will get the nod in 2018. And, with the shortlist already whittled down to three, it’s a fitting time to peruse the trio of machines vying for glory at the 4 June event.

Four’s better than two

First up is a legend of all surfaces: the Audi Quattro.

Announced at the Geneva Motor Show in 1980, four-wheel drive was by no means a certain winner when the German marque declared its intentions for the World Rally Championship, with many labelling it a failure before it even took to a rally stage.

Born to win

While several four-wheel drive systems had been shelved by other manufacturers before it, though, Audi instantly demonstrated the power of a well-executed solution, with the Quattro claiming three wins in its first full season.

Among those wins was the first ever for a female driver, as Michèle Mouton piloted a Quattro to victory in the 1981 Rallye Sanremo.

Winning streak

In its second season? With Walter Röhrl at the wheel, the Quattro took both the Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ championship.

And Audi was by no means slowing down: look through rally results from the early ’80s and you’ll find the Quattro repeatedly at the top, with Stig Blomqvist repeating Röhrl’s feat in the 1984 Championship.

Continued evolution

With the arrival of Group B, so the Quattro evolved, first into the A1 of 1983, then into the A2 and finally the absurd Sport Quattro – a near-600bhp beast carrying vast wings, a thunderous engine and the kind of pace that could terrify Scandinavian trees.

All the while the four-wheel drive formula was refined by Audi to blend massive power with huge grip, setting the precedent for the rally machines of today and creating some of the most intense, exhilarating racing along the way.

Trend-setter

And, while the tragic incidents of the 1986 season put an end to the outrageous Group B era (and Audi’s involvement in it), the Quattro had already laid the foundations for the future of rallying – and they were four-wheel driven.

Five seasons, 23 wins and two World Championships later and it seemed that the extra bulk of that four-wheel drive system might not have been such a bad trade-off.

Poster boy for Porsche

From rally stage to race track, the next shortlisted machine for the Hall of Fame is the mighty Porsche 917.

Most recognisable in 917K form, with its shortened tail end, the 917 defied early development problems to become a dominant force in endurance racing, claiming victory at Le Mans in both 1970 and 1971 – albeit with different teams.

Looking for loopholes

Porsche’s distinctive prototype was born of an expensive effort to exploit a quirk in FIA regulations. Rather than build a prototype for Group 6, which was limited to 3-litre engines, Porsche instead decided to develop an entirely new machine for Group 4 (which had a capacity limit of 5 litres and a homologation requirement reduced in 1968 to 25).

This meant Porsche could build 25 examples of what was essentially a 4.5-litre prototype, enter it into Group 4 and attempt to claim its first overall Le Mans win.

Tail happy

Alas, it wasn’t all plain sailing. The 917’s untested combination of a powerful 4.5-litre flat-12 and lightweight build proved fearfully unstable in testing and cost gentleman driver John Woolfe his life at the 1969 edition of Le Mans, as his 917 hit the barrier hard at Maison Blanche.

It wasn’t until 1970, with a host of teams racing with the 917 – including a factory team – that a trick was found to make the Porsche prototype a true force on the track.

Second chance, first win

An aerodynamic modification to the tail – made in the pits with some spare aluminium – proved just the ticket. With a shorter tail, the 917K gained the downforce it needed to put that power to good use.

Come Le Mans 1970, the 917K hit the track alongside a low-drag, long-tail version, the 917L, operated by Martini Racing – but it was the Salzburg factory team’s 917K that claimed Porsche’s first outright victory at the French circuit.

Short but sweet

The feat would be repeated the following year, with Martini Racing claiming the overall win with a 917K, as three ultra high speed 917LH models failed to finish.

And, while regulations changes meant the 917 would not return to Le Mans, its legend was firmly established – in no small part thanks to its starring role in Steve McQueen’s Le Mans, filmed at the 1970 race.

Red and white legend

Last up is another legend of the track, a machine that dominated the 1988 Formula 1 season with 15 wins from 16 races, and one that played steed to perhaps the mightiest pairing in F1 history: Senna and Prost.

While McLaren’s MP4/4, replete in Marlboro livery, is about as iconic as they come, though, there was no certainty that it would perform when it came to the track.

Perfect partnership

Off the back of a disappointing 1987 season, McLaren’s fortunes needed something special for '88 – and they got it, in the shape of Gordon Murray, a turbocharged Honda V6 and a liberal Ron Dennis.

Given free rein to build a car that could win McLaren the Championship, Murray had a second stab at the low-line idea that had been such a let down in the 1986 Brabham BT55.

Low and steady wins the race

This time, though, it worked. Paired with a low-mounted Honda engine and the first dry-sump gearbox in F1, Murray’s aero masterstroke paid off: besides winning all-but-one of the races that year, the 1988 McLaren achieved 15 pole positions, 12 front row lock-outs and 10 fastest laps.

Of course, even with such an unexpectedly capable drive, someone had to steer the MP4/4 to the podium – which is where the dream team of Senna and Prost came in.

Going lying down

Piloting the MP4/4 in a reclined position – the first machine to utilise such a setup, setting the trend for modern F1 machinery – the Franco-Brazilian team claimed ten 1-2 finishes in the year.

Most dominant of all was their performance at the San Marino Grand Prix, where the pair were some three seconds ahead of the rest of the field in qualifying, due largely to the McLaren’s unbeatable downforce and acceleration.

Dominant to this day

McLaren’s MP4/4, then, was a truly dominant force in Formula 1. Besides giving Senna his first World Championship (and establishing the now infamous rivalry between himself and Prost), the 1988 machine’s enduring legacy lies in its pursuit of aerodynamic gains – whatever the cost.

Truly a trend-setter, then, and one that doubtless changed the face of modern motorsport. Worthy of the Hall of Fame? We’ll only know on 4 June.