Many millions of people across the world love the sport of rallying, a type of motorsport which involves driving what look like road cars over a range of challenging terrain. The terrain varies from dirt tracks to tarmac roads and tracks covered in thick mud. This means that every component of the vehicles used, from their rally mud flaps to their seats, is designed to maximise power and speed.
Obviously, there are strict regulations in place which provide detailed specifications as to the kind of set-up that rallying cars can use. These are put in place by the sport's governing body, the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). So while the cars you see whizzing past in rallying events resemble the vehicle you might drive to work or to do the shopping, the similarities are only skin deep.
The FIA stipulates that all rally cars used in events under its jurisdiction must have the body shell of a standard road car. In the case of rally cars though, this shell is stripped down to the metal and then rebuilt. Items such as mounting plates or brackets are taken off, with weight reduction key to the process.
A tubular roll cage made from steel is then welded into the shell, making it stronger. This part of the process of preparing a rally car for events takes some 700 hours of work to complete. But the results are highly impressive indeed, with a typical rally car being able to support the weight of 10 ordinary road cars.
Power output in the cars is limited to around 300bhp, a figure which is largely the result of a 34 milimetre restriction in the vehicle's air intake. There are more similarities with a standard road car in terms of the cylinder block and heads, as these components must follow the same specifications as road cars. Other components, like camshafts, cylinder linings and pistons, among other things, can be altered though.
An average road car has a turbo boost of one bar, but the vehicles used for rallying can reach four to five bar, showing just how powerful they are. The turbocharger is also given a hand by the anti-lag systems that the cars use, meaning that maximum boost can be delivered even from a situation where the vehicle is ticking over. Torque is therefore huge, sometimes more than 600Nm.
As those less familiar with the sport might expect, the vehicles used in rallying have four wheel drive, essential for coping with the rough terrain they often race over. A sequential gearbox is usually fitted, along with a clutch. Drivers only rarely use this feature though, which is mainly utilised when driving off from a standing start.
The inside of the car is made comfortable for the driver and co-driver by having personally moulded seats for them. Little else speaks of comfort though, with the interior striped down to painted metal in order to minimise weight. Rally mud flaps are just one tiny component of these massively impressive machines.
Obviously, there are strict regulations in place which provide detailed specifications as to the kind of set-up that rallying cars can use. These are put in place by the sport's governing body, the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). So while the cars you see whizzing past in rallying events resemble the vehicle you might drive to work or to do the shopping, the similarities are only skin deep.
The FIA stipulates that all rally cars used in events under its jurisdiction must have the body shell of a standard road car. In the case of rally cars though, this shell is stripped down to the metal and then rebuilt. Items such as mounting plates or brackets are taken off, with weight reduction key to the process.
A tubular roll cage made from steel is then welded into the shell, making it stronger. This part of the process of preparing a rally car for events takes some 700 hours of work to complete. But the results are highly impressive indeed, with a typical rally car being able to support the weight of 10 ordinary road cars.
Power output in the cars is limited to around 300bhp, a figure which is largely the result of a 34 milimetre restriction in the vehicle's air intake. There are more similarities with a standard road car in terms of the cylinder block and heads, as these components must follow the same specifications as road cars. Other components, like camshafts, cylinder linings and pistons, among other things, can be altered though.
An average road car has a turbo boost of one bar, but the vehicles used for rallying can reach four to five bar, showing just how powerful they are. The turbocharger is also given a hand by the anti-lag systems that the cars use, meaning that maximum boost can be delivered even from a situation where the vehicle is ticking over. Torque is therefore huge, sometimes more than 600Nm.
As those less familiar with the sport might expect, the vehicles used in rallying have four wheel drive, essential for coping with the rough terrain they often race over. A sequential gearbox is usually fitted, along with a clutch. Drivers only rarely use this feature though, which is mainly utilised when driving off from a standing start.
The inside of the car is made comfortable for the driver and co-driver by having personally moulded seats for them. Little else speaks of comfort though, with the interior striped down to painted metal in order to minimise weight. Rally mud flaps are just one tiny component of these massively impressive machines.
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