The Opel Ascona 400 holds a precise place in rally history: a Group 4-homologated, rear-wheel-drive saloon that went head-to-head with increasingly sophisticated machinery and won. Werk83's 1:18 scale model captures the exact configuration of car No. 2 during the nocturnal special stages of the 1982 Monte Carlo Rally — white-and-blue Rothmans livery, auxiliary lamp array and all — rather than a generic day-specification replica.
A Rear-Wheel-Drive Weapon in Group 4
The Ascona 400 was built on the Opel Ascona B J-body platform and homologated into FIA Group 4 (Special GT Cars) in 1979. Irmscher and GM Motorsport fitted wide-arch bodywork, a tubular roll cage and a 16-valve, 2.4-litre inline-four developed with Cosworth. All of that power went to the rear wheels — a configuration that was already becoming rare in top-level rally as the four-wheel-drive era loomed. The Ascona 400 competed in the World Rally Championship from 1980 to 1982.
Röhrl's Last RWD Victory on the Monte
The 50th edition of the Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo, held 16–22 January 1982, opened the 1982 World Rally Championship season. Walter Röhrl and co-driver Christian Geistdörfer, running as car No. 2 for the Rothmans-Opel team, took outright victory. It was Röhrl's second Monte Carlo win and, as it turned out, the last outright victory by a rear-wheel-drive car at Monaco before Group B four-wheel-drive machinery took over. The pair also clinched the 1982 WRC Drivers' championship in the same Ascona 400, making this a season-defining result rather than an isolated one-off. The car's white bodywork carried a blue diagonal stripe and wordmark — one of the most recognised liveries in period motorsport.
Werk83's Night-Version Die-Cast
Werk83 produces the model in die-cast metal at 1:18 scale. The "night version" designation is specific: it replicates the auxiliary driving and fog lamps fitted to the Ascona 400 for nocturnal special stages on the Monte Carlo Rally, a detail that distinguishes it from day-specification replicas of the same car. The Rothmans white-and-blue livery, No. 2 race graphics and Röhrl/Geistdörfer identification are reproduced across the bodywork.
Häufig gestellte Fragen
What event does this model represent?
It represents car No. 2, the Rothmans-Opel Ascona 400 driven by Walter Röhrl and Christian Geistdörfer to outright victory on the 1982 Monte Carlo Rally (16–22 January 1982), the opening round of that year's World Rally Championship.
What is the 'night version'?
The night version replicates the auxiliary driving and fog lamp configuration fitted to the car for nocturnal special stages on the Monte Carlo Rally, as distinct from the car's daytime setup.
Why is the 1982 Monte Carlo win historically significant?
It was the last outright Monte Carlo Rally victory by a rear-wheel-drive car before four-wheel-drive Group B machinery dominated the WRC. Röhrl and Geistdörfer also went on to win the 1982 WRC Drivers' title in the same Ascona 400.
Who makes this model and what is it made of?
The model is made by Werk83, a specialist manufacturer, in die-cast metal at 1:18 scale.
