![\"Race-ready](\"http:\/\/blog.privatefleet.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/porsche-911-race-car-pictures-photo.jpg\")
<\/a>Ever since the motor vehicle has been chugging on the road they have been raced.\u00a0 One of the first races ever was the Paris-Rouen in 1894.\u00a0 The cars had to travel 126 km between two French cities.\u00a0 Simply put; as motorcars developed, so did racing.\u00a0 However, particularly in modern times, you could also say that as motor racing developed, so did the motor car.\u00a0 I enjoy a bit of motor racing, and have occasionally enjoyed watching it trackside.\u00a0 One of the joys of watching the cars race around the circuit is that you can recognise the makes and models of the race cars and associate them with their everyday, road-legal versions.\u00a0 So what\u2019s the difference between the road-going version and its racing cousin?\u00a0 Let\u2019s take a closer look.<\/p>\n
A mass-produced road car needs to have its set-up catered toward keeping its occupants comfortable, safe and relaxed on a journey.\u00a0 So, you\u2019ll see the majority of features like a comfortable ride, air-conditioning, premium audio sound, a standard engine geared for economy and leather upholstery inside a mass-produced road car.\u00a0 The race car is usually stripped right back to the bare shell, and therefore lacks all these comfort features to ensure that the race-car remains as light as possible.<\/p>\n
Rally cars have to cope with a wide range of road surfaces, and some of the surfaces can be extremely rough.\u00a0 The rally car must be specially prepared with this challenge in mind.\u00a0 All non-essential items are removed from the interior of a rally car.\u00a0 Two seats, a gear lever and a roll cage are the necessary bits you\u2019ll find inside the rally car interior.\u00a0 When it comes to the chassis, the car\u2019s ride height has actually been increased to travel over uneven surfaces more easily.\u00a0 Larger tyres with button studs absorb impact and provide greater grip on loose surfaces.\u00a0 The suspension has been stiffened, and the engine usually has been increased in size to gain greater power at the expense of low fuel economy.\u00a0 Exterior panels are usually steel and alloys in a road-going version, however in the race car these are replaced with fibreglass to reduce weight.\u00a0 All windows are plastic, except for the front windscreen which remains glass \u2013 reduction in weight being the reason for this.\u00a0 The Volkswagen Polo R has been the most successful WRC rally car in 2015, so too has the Hyundai and Citroen variants.<\/p>\n
If you are into drifting, then the changes made to a car prepared for drifting include: lowering the suspension height to reduce body roll, stiffened anti roll bars, massive power \u2013 especially to the rear wheels, very quick steering and tyres that can last big slides for lengthy periods.<\/p>\n
Obviously, with endurance racing like Le Mans, the cars are extremely aerodynamic, they have quick release wheels, quick to remove bumpers \u2013 in case they get damaged, slick tyres, bigger brakes and huge power for high speeds \u2013 often well over 320 km\/h.\u00a0 A Le Mans car has to travel at high speed for 24 hours with minimal stops for refuelling and tyre changes.<\/p>\n
Motor racing is a hugely lucrative business for car manufacturers because the models of road-going cars that are transformed to a race car are shown off on the race track to a huge proportion of car enthusiasts.\u00a0 If a car manufacturer\u2019s model wins in the weekend, then this success translates to more car sales during the week.\u00a0 It\u2019s pretty simple really.<\/p>\n