A silhouette racing car is a

race car Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organi ...

which, although bearing a superficial resemblance to a

production model Production vehicles or production cars are mass-produced identical models, offered for sale to the public, and able to be legally driven on public roads ( street legal). Legislation and other rules further define the production vehicle within part ...

, differs mechanically in fundamental ways. The purpose of silhouette cars is to provide a

manufacturer Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a ran ...

with a tangible link to their consumer product offerings so as to derive maximum marketing benefit from their investment in the sport. They also provide spectators with familiar, identifiable car models.

Construction

Silhouette cars often employ radically different chassis construction techniques, such as tubular space frames or

carbon-fibre Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

tubs in place of regular monocoques, and many also have completely different

drivetrain A drivetrain (also frequently spelled as drive train or sometimes drive-train) is the group of components that deliver mechanical power from the prime mover to the driven components. In automotive engineering, the drivetrain is the components o ...

configurations than their road-going counterparts. The body shells themselves are generally made of lightweight materials such as

fibreglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

or carbon fibre, and often, few parts (or none at all) are shared between the race and road versions of the cars. These changes are aimed at improving the desirable characteristics of the vehicle, such as increasing the stiffness of the chassisGM Racing Technology
or the output of the engine.DTM technical specifications

Silhouette racing series

Entire championship fields can consist of silhouettes. Sometimes, only a single class in a multi-class field may permit silhouettes. Notable racing classes where silhouette cars have been used include

Trans-Am The Trans-Am Series is a sports car racing series held in North America. Founded in 1966, it is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Primarily based in the United States, the series competes on a variety of track types includi ...

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

Stock Car Brasil Stock Car Pro Series, formerly known as Stock Car Brasil, is a touring car auto racing series based in Brazil organized by Vicar. It is considered the major Brazilian and South American motorsports series. Starting in 1979 with Chevrolet as the ...

Group 5 Group 5 may refer to: *Group 5 element, chemical element classification *Group 5 (racing) Group 5 was an FIA motor racing classification which was applied to four distinct categories during the years 1966 to 1982. Initially Group 5 regulations def ...

Group B Group B was a set of regulations for grand touring (GT) vehicles used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World Sportscar ...

, DTM, JGTC/Super GT,

monster trucks A monster truck is a specialized off-road vehicle with a heavy duty suspension, four-wheel steering, large-displacement V8 engines and oversized tires constructed for competition and entertainment uses. Originally created by modifying stock pi ...

and the Australian

Supercars Championship The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport. Supercars events take place in all Australian ...

. Due to

homologation Homologation (Greek ''homologeo'', ὁμολογέω, "to agree") is the granting of approval by an official authority. This may be a court of law, a government department, or an academic or professional body, any of which would normally work fr ...

rules (e.g. Group B

rally cars Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event Sports ...

), some silhouette racing cars, such as the

Lancia 037 The Lancia Rally (''Tipo 151'', also known as the Lancia Rally 037, Lancia 037 or Lancia-Abarth #037 from its Abarth project code ''SE037'') was a mid-engine sports car and rally car built by Lancia in the early 1980s to compete in the FIA Group ...

and

Lancia Delta S4 The Lancia Delta S4 is a Group B rally car manufactured by the Italian car company Lancia. The Delta S4 competed in the World Rally Championship in 1985 and 1986, until Group B class was disbanded and the cars were eventually banned from competi ...

, also end up being sold as road cars.

Gallery

References

{{reflist Racing cars Modified vehicles Motorsport terminology