Ari Vatanen and his unique BMW M3 land at OttOmobile!

Who is Ari Vatanen, driver of the Gr.A BMW M3?

Ari Vatanen is one of the "Flying Finns" and certainly one of the most famous and popular rally drivers in the history of the sport. He is also a driver in a class of his own: the only one to have won the WRC, the Paris-Dakar, and Pikes Peak!

But history could have been completely different. Indeed, at eight years old, Ari was involved in a serious car accident. His father, a former bomber pilot during World War II, was killed instantly. The rest of the family emerged unharmed, but cars were off-limits for years. Four years later, Ari’s mother passed her driving test and bought an Opel Kadett Rallye. She took her children to see the first rally organized in Tuupovaara. For 12-year-old Ari, it was love at first sight. Sitting on an embankment at dawn, he fell in love with a sport where the risk of an accident was nevertheless high. Seven years later, he entered his first rallies... behind the wheel of an Opel Kadett. His aggressive and spectacular style quickly got people talking.

In 1975, he went to learn his craft in the United Kingdom, a territory renowned at the time for its events and level of competition. Very quickly, he caught the eye of Ford, who promoted him to factory driver. In 1976, he became British Rally Champion—a first for a non-English speaker. At the time, he was co-driven by a certain David Richards. In 1980, he claimed another British championship title as well as his first WRC victory at the Acropolis Rally (Greece). Still with Ford, the 1981 season brought him ultimate glory: he became World Rally Champion! The following year, he could not defend his title due to Ford’s late withdrawal and only competed in a few rallies. At the end of the season, he left Ford for Opel. He won an event (the Safari Rally) with the Ascona 400.

He was then recruited by Jean Todt to develop and showcase the Peugeot 205 Turbo 16. He claimed three victories in 1984 and became one of the legends of Group B. The 1985 season started in the best possible way with two consecutive wins. Then, Ari suffered a string of retirements (crashes or mechanical failures) leading up to the 1985 Rally Argentina. There, the Finnish driver suffered a horrific crash that left him between life and death. Some doctors said he would never drive again!

But the following year, he returned to Peugeot to "open" the legendary San Remo Rally behind the wheel of the 205 T16. Competition still seemed far away, though. And yet, in January 1987, he was at the start line of the Paris-Dakar! Jean Todt and Peugeot recycled the 205 T16s, now banned from the WRC, into Rally-Raid. Called back by his former employer, Ari Vatanen did them proud by winning the Paris-Dakar on his very first attempt! A masterclass and historical performance. That same year, he competed in a few more rallies as a privateer.

In 1988, he returned to the Dakar with a car specifically designed for the famous rally-raid: the 405 T16! Leading the event once again, the car was stolen in the middle of the night! A forced retirement for "Vata". That same year, he entered legend status by winning the race to the clouds, the famous Pikes Peak Hillclimb (USA). The film "Climb Dance", directed by Peugeot Sport, became iconic, notably thanks to the scene where he blocks the sun with his hand—a scene that inspired a whole generation of kids, including a certain Sébastien Loeb!

A true rally enthusiast, Ari Vatanen went on to combine his rally-raid commitments with factory drives for new manufacturers looking to enter the WRC: first Mitsubishi with the Galant VR-4, then Subaru with the Legacy. Between 1989 and 1998, Ari Vatanen enjoyed a second youth. In 2003, he took part in his final WRC rally—fittingly, Rally Finland—behind the wheel of a Peugeot 206 WRC. Ari Vatanen is still cited as a benchmark today. It must be said that the Finnish legend boasts a WRC title, a Pikes Peak victory, and four Paris-Dakar wins!

Before Subaru, Prodrive worked with BMW and created a buzz with Vatanen!

A few years before helping Subaru launch into rally, Prodrive gained its initial experience with BMW! In the 1980s, the war of German sports saloons was raging: Mercedes-Benz 190E vs. BMW M3 (E30). The two rivals battled on the road, but above all on the racetrack (mainly DTM). Yet it was the M3 that took home numerous titles and over 1,400 victories worldwide!

David Richards (yes, Ari Vatanen’s former co-driver) was captivated by the M3’s potential. He decided to develop a rally version of the Group A car used on circuits. His young company, named Prodrive, took charge of the project. Prodrive’s BMW M3 E30 Gr.A hit the rally stages in 1987. BMW France followed the project and decided to enter M3s in the French Championship and selected international rallies. Bernard Béguin achieved his first victory with this M3 after three events (Critérium de Touraine). But the masterstroke came a few weeks later at the Tour de Corse! The French driver won ahead of the factory Lancia Deltas! It remains the first and only World Championship victory for this German-British creation.

In 1988, David Richards called upon his former teammate for a promotional guest appearance on home turf: Rally Finland! While the BMW M3 excelled on French tarmac, it had to prove it could tame rally’s number one terrain: gravel! Ari Vatanen accepted and entered the 1988 Rally Finland with this unusual car for gravel surfaces. The white livery featured only one sponsor: MILK Energy, a Finnish dairy company—an ideal partner for Vatanen, who preferred a glass of milk over champagne on the podium.

Ari struggled a bit to tame the beast, but set great times alongside factory drivers, battling Ford’s Didier Auriol and Carlos Sainz. Unfortunately, broken steering prevented him from reaching the finish line. No matter: the car was instantly adopted by the Finnish driver’s fans! This guest appearance also demonstrated Vatanen’s love for rally and his loyalty to longtime friends.