Corgi VA11403 Vauxhall Nova 1.3 Sport Group A – 1988 Lombard RAC Rally Harry Hockly and Nicky Grist

Vauxhall Dealer Sport approached successful Mini driver Harry Hockly to help develop their promising new Nova into a Group A rally car for the 1984 season. The car showed promise, and Harry subsequently worked with GM Dealer Sport to produce the Nova Sport Group A homologation package. Harry rallied Novas until he retired from the sport in 1989, achieving numerous class victories, winning the British Rally Championship three times, and finishing in the top three in his class on five consecutive RAC rallies between 1984 and 1989. The car modelled finished second in class on the 1988 RAC after being delayed by a broken driveshaft. Did you know? To avoid costly type approval the Nova Sport included a kit, found in the boot of the car, containing all the parts needed to give a 1.3-litre Nova the performance to be competitive in rallying. This included twin Weber 40 DCOE carburettors, which allowed the engine to produce 117bhp@6500rpm.