Colin McRae
A flamboyant and fearless Scottish driver who became Britain's first World Rally Champion, thrilling fans with his spectacular 'win or crash' approach.
1968–2007 (age 39)·Scottish rally driver·Birthday: August 5·Generation X
Biography
Colin McRae didn't just drive rally cars; he attacked stages with a breathtaking, sideways bravado that made him a global motorsport hero. The son of five-time British rally champion Jimmy McRae, competition was in his blood. Driving for Subaru, his aggressive style delivered the ultimate prize in 1995, making him the youngest ever and first British World Rally Champion. McRae's appeal lay in his palpable passion and refusal to settle for second, a philosophy that produced stunning victories and dramatic crashes in equal measure. His success, mirrored in the wildly popular 'Colin McRae Rally' video game series, brought rallying to a mainstream audience. His life, lived at full throttle, ended tragically in a helicopter crash, but his legacy as a charismatic and uncompromising competitor remains untarnished.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Colin was born in 1968, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Colin Was Born
The biggest hits of 1968
#1 Movie
2001: A Space Odyssey
Best Picture
Oliver!
#1 TV Show
The Andy Griffith Show
Colin's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1968Born
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1973Started school
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1981Became a teenager
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1984Could drive
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1986Could vote
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1989Turned 21
Berlin Wall falls; Tiananmen Square protests
Gas: $1.00/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Look Away" — ChicagoBest Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
1998Turned 30
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2007Died at 39
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
Key Achievements
- Became the first British driver to win the World Rally Championship drivers' title in 1995.
- Was the youngest person to win the World Rally Championship at 27 years old.
- Won the prestigious Rallye Monte-Carlo in 2001 and the Safari Rally in 1997.
- Secured 25 individual rally wins in the World Rally Championship over his career.
Did You Know?
The long-running 'Colin McRae Rally' video game series, first released in 1998, was named for him.
He famously drove a rally stage in Wales with a broken front windshield after a crash, peering through a hole kicked in it by his co-driver.
He competed in the Dakar Rally and the 24 Hours of Le Mans after his full-time WRC career.
He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1996.
“If in doubt, flat out.”
