Racing Sport Concepts are changing the automotive industry as we know it. What used to be racing-inspired design elements on sports cars are now becoming fully formed sports cars in their own right, no longer needing to rely on the performance of larger cars or even supercars to get the job done.
What are racing sport cars?
What exactly is a racing sport car? Well, it’s not a specific type of car. In fact, it encompasses all different types of cars that race in motorsports competitions. What defines these cars is that they have been specifically modified for performance. Of course, every racing sport car will be slightly different, but there are two common elements: powerful engines and lightweight bodywork. These elements allow drivers to steer their vehicles quickly and efficiently around turns on racetracks such as Nürburgring and Daytona International Speedway. In fact, Ferrari’s LaFerrari has been deemed the fastest road-legal sportscar ever made. This supercar can reach speeds up to 217 miles per hour—impressive considering it weighs less than 2 tons.
The future of racing sport cars?
These days, we’re almost more excited about seeing what new technology racing cars bring than watching them on track. In fact, some of these concepts could soon be revolutionizing ordinary road-going vehicles that you and I drive every day. Taking a closer look at what future racesports cars will be capable of is a great way to start imagining how vehicle tech will evolve in coming years; whether it’s stronger materials or super-smart driver assistance systems, everything first has to make its debut in racing. Here are five features of tomorrow’s racing sport car that have already been revealed—and may just give us an idea of where our cars will be going next.
Why do people love racing sport cars?
People love racing sport cars because they get to do something that a lot of people think is impossible, or at least not possible for them to achieve. These cars can go from 0-60 in about 4 seconds and go up to 200 miles per hour. That’s fast. Not only can you hear them before you see them, but your hair will blow back just from standing by one as it goes down a straightaway. But what if you could own one? This is when car manufacturers come into play, because once they start producing more affordable models of these sport cars, more people will have access to them and be able to drive their own sports car concepts down highways instead of just watching and admiring others doing it.
How do these vehicles differ from traditional sports cars?
A sports car is traditionally a two-seater, with a sportier than average body style. The sportier style is usually built for two reasons. The first is for aesthetics—they just look cool. But more importantly, most sports cars only have two seats to make them lighter and faster.
Are they really that different?
The Chevrolet Corvette is not your typical car. The Corvette is not made for everyday use, but rather is a highly engineered vehicle designed for racing and track usage. The same is true for most other racing sport concept cars. Because these cars aren’t intended to be driven in normal traffic conditions, they often have unusual designs that would never make it to production in a normal production car or used by ordinary consumers. For example, some of these vehicles don’t even have doors or windshields! However, it’s easy to look at these extreme designs and decide that they’re impractical—and you may be right!
Let’s talk about how they look.
Though beauty is certainly in the eye of each beholder, some racing sport car concepts simply look better than others. Most people can agree that wedge-shaped cars and hatchbacks with a dramatic rear window fall into good-looking territory, while boxy four-door sedans probably don’t make most lists of beautiful cars. With sleek lines, aerodynamic features and futuristic materials, racing sport car concepts have had a huge impact on auto design—and they will continue to do so for years to come. And once you see them in person, it’s hard not to appreciate their style. The concept below showcases what you could be driving next year!
What is their purpose?
Every racing sport concept car is different from another, in terms of design and performance. The purpose of these prototypes is to race in various races and events such as MotoGP, 24 Hours of Le Mans, World Endurance Championship etc. They are being developed by some renowned manufacturers like Nissan Motorsports (Nismo), BMW Motorsport, Peugeot Sport etc. Each team works out a specific race-ready concept so that it can be easily identifiable as well as distinguishable with other racing vehicles during competitions. This results in enhanced overall aesthetics and styling along with better functionality capabilities to add more value to an automobile brand or manufacturer.
What else can we say about them?
The massive fanfare and interest around these concept cars speaks for itself. Not only are they striking in their own right, they’re a signal that major changes could be coming to road cars soon. From hybrid or electric powertrains, to autonomous functions and new construction materials, racing concept cars often serve as a sneak peak at innovations that could become popularized in our normal vehicles. While it’s not always practical to build new features like self-driving capabilities into production models (at least not yet), many of these ideas do have potential in the near future, according to Kelley Blue Book analyst Karl Brauer. It’s an exciting time in racing sport concepts that could very well change how we drive—and what we drive—in years to come.
