Car companies tend to make vehicles similar to what they had in collaboration with other companies for the race track with a somewhat tuned performance. The cliché of describing a sports car as a “race car for the modern road” is as old as it is inaccurate, indeed car pundits will argue that there are modern road cars that offer race level performance, but in reality the engineering and the body structure between the two are wildly different. but a race car uses many of the same basic components as a road car, but are designed with a completely different task in mind.
Many of us fantasize about driving arace carto work. The power, the acceleration and the speed seem like they would be a dream come true on the road. However street cars and race cars are far from being the same animals. Both have four wheels, an engine, and a drive train; but the similarities stop there. Although the racing circuits are a main contributor of new technology that does make its way to the street, the technology in its raw racing form would probably be all but unmanageable for an everyday driver
POWER MANAGEABILITY
Especially in the world of sports cars, manufacturers put a great deal of effort into making the power that the engine produces manageable for everyday driving. Race cars put out raw power and it is largely up to the driver to filter that force as the car is driven. For example, the clutch in a race car doesn’t do much to dampen the engagement shock when the driver lets off the clutch pedal. All the dampening is done manually. The driver varies the way they engage the clutch under different conditions. In a road car, the vehicle itself has special systems to help the driver manage power effectively, like dual-mass flywheels, spring dampeners, and traction control systems. Without these considerations, a race car could be all but impossible to use for an average motorist.
SUSPENSION AND RIDE
Similar to issues with power manageability, the ride of a race car would definitely leave something to be desired under road conditions. Race suspensions are extremely stiff and transmit even the finest textures of the road to the driver. In racing conditions this is a good thing, allowing the driver to “read” the road surface and keep a good handle on traction availability. On the road, this would be a nightmare and may well rattle the teeth right out of your head. Road cars are equipped with more versatile suspensions that not only perform well in a variety of conditions, but also insulate the passengers from uncomfortable bumps and vibrations.
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SERVICE LIFE
Road cars are built with a long life in mind. Nowadays there isn’t any reason not to expect any new car to perform reliably for hundreds of thousands of miles. They are built to last. This is not the case with race cars. A race engine is built with one thing in mind: big power. Race engine components are built to be light and strong, but in most cases, they don’t have to last much longer than the end of one race. Race teams routinely rebuild engines before each and every event to make sure their motor is in peak condition. This keeps them competitive, but it also means that a race car certainly won’t earn any awards for long life.
The Corvette Z06 and the C7.r race car
There are other things that make race cars stand out, like the industrial ruckus it makes when the engine is running let alone when you’re speeding. We also have its looks which even though is mad and outstanding, isn’t what you’ll call appealing to the everyday pleasure of the eyes. Oh yes, the price is another way to differentiate between them, if the comfortable normal road or street car cost say $100,000, you can expect the race version to go for something around $500,000. Finally, we have the absence of all the comfort and luxury you can imagine for the everyday use; no air-condition, no radio, no cup holders, no connection to anything what so ever and it has the most purposeful interior you can imagine. Ouh, allow me add one more thing that makes the race car stand out and it is the way you start it, most conventional cars have very easy sequence of starting a car; slot a key in, turn it and there you have it or just sit in the car with a key present, push the brake pedal then push the start button and there you have it, very easy way to start it. Whereas with the race car, you would have to be a degree holder or a Masters holder to even have the slightest idea of starting it.
The darling Benz also getting the treatment. That is the CLA and the the CLA45 AMG racer
For those who are very close followers of Top Gear, I have just the best example for you; season 10 episode 1 where they were in search of the perfect road. Clarkson and Hammond came with lightened weight versions of sports and super cars whiles May brought the Aston Martin V8 Vantage N24, that is a classic example of a road car turned into a race. The Aston Martin V8 Vantage is a road car, the one in fact we are all accustomed to, but the V8 Vantage N24 is a purpose-built race car.
The Aston Martin V8 Vantage N24
The Aston looks good whether its a race car or a road car
Who said lush and plush can't be hard and violent; the Bentley Continental GT and the Bentley GT3
The Japanese with the legendary GT-R which has a racer equivalent
The Porsches; the Sublime 911 Carrera with the 911 GT3 racer
From the Germans specifically Mercedes Benz we have the SLS AMG Black and its racer equivalent
The way I see it, they can make a race car out of any performance car……………. and the difference will be very clear.
Just think about that before you describe something as a “race car for the road”.
So then, someone might just ask, "where will the tuned car fall?" hmmmmm.........that will be another blog I will write in the not so far future.