- 94
- Italy
Sister car Moby Dick II:
Manufacturer: AMC (current ownership: FCA Group)
Year: 1972
Gran Turismo body class: race-modified car
Gran Turismo engine class: NA
Layout: 4WD
Power: ~260 hp (source: Popular Mechanics, Nov. 1974, p. 172)
Displacement: 5886.3 cm³ (359.21 cu.in.) (sources: Brickfield Publications, Motor Sport Yearbook 1973, p. 362; Wikipedia, AMC_V8_engine)
Weight: ~2177 kg (~4800 lbs) (source: Popular Mechanics, Nov. 1974, p. 77)
Background
Yes, a Jeep rally car - in fact, the first successful 4WD rally car ever.
In 1972, the FIA added the American Press-on-Regardless rally to the International Championship for Manufacturers (the predecessor to the WRC). To attract the interest of American manufacturers, the FIA put aside the usual classification of cars in groups 1 through 4, instead adopting SCCA groups A through E. This resulted in possibly the unlikeliest cars ever entered in a rally: two two-ton, 4WD, 5.9 liter V8 AMC Jeep Wagoneers, respectively driven by portly ex-cop Gene Henderson and team mate Erhard Dahm. Not only they both finished (they wouldn't be so lucky in the next years), but they finished first and third, proving the worth of all-wheel-drive in rallying. Some say, in fact, that the shockingly unexpected victory was to blame for the subsequent ban of AWD cars in rallying.
AWD wouldn't be seen again until the 1979 Ivory Coast raid, where the rules were changed to let the Range Rover team apply. At the time, it seemed that AWD would be limited to heavy SUVs on the hardest terrains, until Audi unveiled the quattro in 1980 and changed rallying forever - but that is another story.
Why add it to Gran Turismo? It's the legendary rally car that everyone has forgotten. It has great historical significance as the first 4WD rally winner (and the first American-made rally winner), and the possible origin of the AWD ban. It's also an incredibly unusual car that would feel right at home along with the other historical oddities featured in Gran Turismo.
What am I asking for: premium model of Henderson's "Moby Dick I" Jeep Wagoneer in its 1972 version, interiors optional; Dahm's "Moby Dick II" as a color/livery option.
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. I guess they were identical though
