Hopefully this will inspire Factory Five to build the 818 into a proper Rally Car

[Cooluser23]

A spiritual successor to the Lancia Stratos (not necessarily in looks, but in spirit) would bring grassroots Rallying to the masses.
Affordability would help the sport of hobby/regional rally immensely.
If people want to go beyond that, I'm sure Factory Five could work out a deal Rally America to make a competition class based on a Spec Factory Five 818.

[N8Salem]

A spiritual successor to the Lancia Stratos (not necessarily in looks, but in spirit) would bring grassroots Rallying to the masses.
Affordability would help the sport of hobby/regional rally immensely.
If people want to go beyond that, I'm sure Factory Five could work out a deal Rally America to make a competition class based on a Spec Factory Five 818.

I love that car but AWD dominates Rallying as it does everything else.

[Cooluser23]

Why should Bill Caswell have all the fun?

[wvonkessler]

A spiritual successor to the Lancia Stratos (not necessarily in looks, but in spirit) would bring grassroots Rallying to the masses.
Affordability would help the sport of hobby/regional rally immensely.
If people want to go beyond that, I'm sure Factory Five could work out a deal Rally America to make a competition class based on a Spec Factory Five 818.

Mike Hurst, who does safety for RA has said on a number of occasions that he will not let composite roofed vehicles compete.

Makes more sense to go to NASA Rally Sport with whom FFR has an existing relationship. I know - for a fact -that they would be fine with a rally version of the 818.

Wilson

[Oppenheimer]

Dave has said he is a fan of the old Group B Rally cars. We know he has big plans for the 818, which I feel go beyond even the 3 body styles, and purposes, he has already outlined and 'committed' to.

So I wouldn't be surprised if the 818 succeeds well, that down the line he might build other body styles (beyond the 3 already discussed), including a rally inspired offering.

[BipDBo]

Wouldn't it be ironic to build a RWD rally car by stripping an AWD Subaru WRX?

[StatGSR]

^ more like Alanis Morissette Ironic......

[Evan78]

So who's going to build the first long travel 818?

[Nelff]

possibly me...

[Rockraven]

As a massive fan of the Lancia Stratos, salivating at the possibility of a $15,000 FFR Stratos, I pleaded the case more than a year ago. Dave actually PM'd me, and confessed he's a big fan of the Stratos as well, and that such a car could indeed be built around the go-kart chassis as designed.

[spaceywilly]

Only problem is the donor car is already an awesome rally car with just a cage and suspension. I don't think this would bring rallying to the masses at all, it would actually be one of the more difficult and expensive ways to get into rallying. You can buy a used FWD rally car for probably 1/3 the price of a rally built 818 and 1/1,000,000th the effort, and you would be a lot less likely to get intimate with a tree at your first event. On the other hand, I am 100% behind a Stratos replica body.

[riptide motorsport]

yup ......intimate with a tree, not good with a steel vehicle, worse with fiberglass.

[Cooluser23]

Maybe this will help inspire FFR to do a rally capable 818 variant. This could be the spiritual successor to the abandoned Colin McRae "R4" project of building an affordable rally racer.

Colin McRae chose the 2006 Goodwood Festival of Speed to unveil the McRae R4, which had been conceived at the beginning of 2005. The intention was to make a cheaper alternative to WRCs (World Rally Cars) with significantly lower running costs. The McRae R4 was designed for use in rallying, rally cross, circuit racing and ice racing events, with the possibility of a one-make race series.
Designed by Colin McRae and Dave Plant and built by DJM Race Preparation, the McRae R4's chassis is based on a steel safety cage with carbon panelling front and rear, and a steel-covered cockpit area. Suspension consists of twin wishbones with Proflex dampers. The body styling has been done by Keith Burden and Tom Webster. It appears that some components of the vehicle have been taken from existing production cars, the doorline in particular appears very close to that of the Ford Ka.
The engine is a naturally aspirated, 4-cylinder, 2.5-litre Millington Diamond Engine producing 350 BHP. Transmission is via a six-speed gearbox, manual or semi-automatic, and by mechanical front and rear differentials with the option of mechanical or active central differential. The car can be produced in either 2 or 4 wheel drive formats.
Alison McRae has said that she would like production of the car to continue following Colin's death.

Source: WIkipedia Colin McRae "R4"