World Rally Car
Encyclopedia
World Rally Car is a term used to describe racing automobiles built to the specification set by the FIA
, the international motorsports governing body, and used to compete in the outright class of the World Rally Championship (WRC)
. The WRC specifications were introduced by the FIA
in 1997.
up to 2.0L, forced induction
(including an anti-lag system), addition of four wheel drive
, fitment of a sequential gearbox, aerodynamic body modifications, weight reduction to a minimum of 1230 kg and chassis
strengthening for greater rigidity.
Unlike the requirements for the preceding Group A
cars, manufacturers were no longer required to build "homologation specials" in order to meet approval. The base model did not need to have all the characteristics of the WRC car, as evidenced from cars such the Peugeot 206
, 307
, Citroën Xsara
and Škoda Fabia
, which during this period had no road car variant with a turbocharged petrol engine or four wheel drive.
To limit power, all forced induction cars were fitted with a 34 mm diameter air restrictor before the turbocharger inlet, limiting the air flow to about 10 cubic meters per minute. The restriction was intended to limited power output to 300 hp although some WRC engines were believed to produce around 330–340 hp. Engine development did not focus on peak power output but towards producing a very wide powerband (or power curve). Typically, power output in excess of 300 hp was available from 3000 rpm to the 7500 rpm maximum, with a peak of 330–340 hp at around 5500 rpm. At 2000 rpm (the engine idle speed in "stage" mode) power output was slightly above 200 hp.
cars, with a different engine and an aerodynamic kit. The cars are smaller models (there is no longer a minimum 4m length), with a 1600 cm3 direct injection
turbo engine with a 33 mm diameter air restrictor and a maximum pressure of 2.5 bar absolute (this will limit torque
to about 400 N.m or less). Exotic materials (titanium
, magnesium
, ceramics and composite
) are forbidden except when present in the base model. Carbon fibre and aramid fibre
are very restricted ("only one layer of fabric is used and is affixed to the visible face of the part"), except for bodywork's side protections where multiple layers of aramid fibre are allowed.
The gear changes must be made with a mechanical system (so paddle shifters are not allowed). There is no center differential (earlier it used to be 3 differentials, with a center/3rd differential included), but the new regulation allows only front and rear axle differential (eliminating the center differential to run down on the cost and make it more economical), and they must be mechanical, without electronic control or hydraulic or viscous systems (from 2006 to 2010 the center differential and previously all 3 could be active).
Minimum weight is 1200 kg empty and 1350 kg with driver and co-driver (in both cases with only one spare wheel).
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile is a non-profit association established as the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users...
, the international motorsports governing body, and used to compete in the outright class of the World Rally Championship (WRC)
World Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship is a rallying series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver and manufacturer. The driver's world championship and manufacturer's world championship are separate championships, but based on the same point system. The series currently consists of 13...
. The WRC specifications were introduced by the FIA
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile is a non-profit association established as the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users...
in 1997.
1997–2010
Between 1997 and 2010, the regulations mandated that World Rally Cars must have been built upon a production car with a minimum production run of 2500 units. A number of modifications could be made including increasing the engine displacementEngine displacement
Engine displacement is the volume swept by all the pistons inside the cylinders of an internal combustion engine in a single movement from top dead centre to bottom dead centre . It is commonly specified in cubic centimeters , litres , or cubic inches...
up to 2.0L, forced induction
Turbocharger
A turbocharger, or turbo , from the Greek "τύρβη" is a centrifugal compressor powered by a turbine that is driven by an engine's exhaust gases. Its benefit lies with the compressor increasing the mass of air entering the engine , thereby resulting in greater performance...
(including an anti-lag system), addition of four wheel drive
Four Wheel Drive
The Four Wheel Drive Auto Company, more often known as Four Wheel Drive or just FWD, was founded in 1909 in Clintonville, Wisconsin, as the Badger Four-Wheel Drive Auto Company by Otto Zachow and William Besserdich.-History:...
, fitment of a sequential gearbox, aerodynamic body modifications, weight reduction to a minimum of 1230 kg and chassis
Chassis
A chassis consists of an internal framework that supports a man-made object. It is analogous to an animal's skeleton. An example of a chassis is the underpart of a motor vehicle, consisting of the frame with the wheels and machinery.- Vehicles :In the case of vehicles, the term chassis means the...
strengthening for greater rigidity.
Unlike the requirements for the preceding Group A
Group A
In relation to motorsport governed by the FIA, Group A referred to a set of regulations providing production-derived vehicles for outright competition. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, the Group A referred to production-derived vehicles limited in terms of power, weight, allowed...
cars, manufacturers were no longer required to build "homologation specials" in order to meet approval. The base model did not need to have all the characteristics of the WRC car, as evidenced from cars such the Peugeot 206
Peugeot 206
The Peugeot 206 is a supermini car, manufactured by the French automaker Peugeot from 1998 to 2010.Even though the 206 has finished production in most markets as of 2010, in Europe since 2009, it is available the 206+, with a back and especially a front design that resembles the Peugeot 207.-The...
, 307
Peugeot 307
The Peugeot 307 is a small family car produced by the French Peugeot manufacturer since 2001. It was awarded the European Car of the Year title for 2002, and continues to be offered in China and certain South American markets through 2009 despite the French launch of the 308 in September...
, Citroën Xsara
Citroën Xsara
The Citroën Xsara is a small family car produced by French automaker Citroën from 1997 to 2006.Like its predecessor, the Citroën ZX, the Xsara shares running gear with the Peugeot 306....
and Škoda Fabia
Škoda Fabia
The Škoda Fabia is a supermini produced by Czech manufacturer Škoda Auto since 1999. It was the successor to the Škoda Felicia, which was discontinued in 2001...
, which during this period had no road car variant with a turbocharged petrol engine or four wheel drive.
To limit power, all forced induction cars were fitted with a 34 mm diameter air restrictor before the turbocharger inlet, limiting the air flow to about 10 cubic meters per minute. The restriction was intended to limited power output to 300 hp although some WRC engines were believed to produce around 330–340 hp. Engine development did not focus on peak power output but towards producing a very wide powerband (or power curve). Typically, power output in excess of 300 hp was available from 3000 rpm to the 7500 rpm maximum, with a peak of 330–340 hp at around 5500 rpm. At 2000 rpm (the engine idle speed in "stage" mode) power output was slightly above 200 hp.
2011
Starting in 2011, rules for WRC cars have changed to be more restrictive. Now the regulations are derived from the ones for S2000Super 2000
Super 2000, also known as S2000, is an FIA specification and classification for production based race cars. The specification is split to cover both rally and touring car racing. Super 2000 rally cars are also permitted to compete in Super 2000 World Rally Championship events...
cars, with a different engine and an aerodynamic kit. The cars are smaller models (there is no longer a minimum 4m length), with a 1600 cm3 direct injection
Gasoline direct injection
In internal combustion engines, gasoline direct injection , also known as petrol direct injection or direct petrol injection, is a variant of fuel injection employed in modern two-stroke and four-stroke gasoline engines...
turbo engine with a 33 mm diameter air restrictor and a maximum pressure of 2.5 bar absolute (this will limit torque
Torque
Torque, moment or moment of force , is the tendency of a force to rotate an object about an axis, fulcrum, or pivot. Just as a force is a push or a pull, a torque can be thought of as a twist....
to about 400 N.m or less). Exotic materials (titanium
Titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It has a low density and is a strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal with a silver color....
, magnesium
Magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...
, ceramics and composite
Composite material
Composite materials, often shortened to composites or called composition materials, are engineered or naturally occurring materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties which remain separate and distinct at the macroscopic or...
) are forbidden except when present in the base model. Carbon fibre and aramid fibre
Kevlar
Kevlar is the registered trademark for a para-aramid synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed at DuPont in 1965, this high strength material was first commercially used in the early 1970s as a replacement for steel in racing tires...
are very restricted ("only one layer of fabric is used and is affixed to the visible face of the part"), except for bodywork's side protections where multiple layers of aramid fibre are allowed.
The gear changes must be made with a mechanical system (so paddle shifters are not allowed). There is no center differential (earlier it used to be 3 differentials, with a center/3rd differential included), but the new regulation allows only front and rear axle differential (eliminating the center differential to run down on the cost and make it more economical), and they must be mechanical, without electronic control or hydraulic or viscous systems (from 2006 to 2010 the center differential and previously all 3 could be active).
Minimum weight is 1200 kg empty and 1350 kg with driver and co-driver (in both cases with only one spare wheel).
Cars
| Manufacturer | Car | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | Victories | Tot. | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citroën Citroën Citroën is a major French automobile manufacturer, part of the PSA Peugeot Citroën group.Founded in 1919 by French industrialist André-Gustave Citroën , Citroën was the first mass-production car company outside the USA and pioneered the modern concept of creating a sales and services network that... |
Citroën Xsara Kit Car | 2 | 2 | 80 | |||||||||||||||
| Citroën Xsara WRC | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 32 | ||||||||||||
| Citroën C4 WRC Citroën C4 WRC The Citroën C4 WRC is a World Rally Car built for the Citroën World Rally Team by Citroën Racing to compete in the World Rally Championship. It is based upon the Citroën C4 road car and replaced the Citroën Xsara WRC... |
8 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 36 | ||||||||||||||
| Citroën DS3 WRC Citroën DS3 WRC The Citroën DS3 WRC is the World Rally Car built for the Citroën World Rally Team by Citroën Racing for use from the 2011 World Rally Championship season. It is based upon the Citroën DS3 road car, and replaces the highly successful Citroën C4 WRC... |
10 | 10 | |||||||||||||||||
| Ford | Ford Escort WRC | 2 | 2 | 49 | |||||||||||||||
| Ford Focus WRC Ford Focus WRC The Ford Focus RS WRC is a car built for the Ford World Rally Team by Ford and M-Sport and based on the Ford Focus Climate 2-litre production hatchback, developed to compete in the World Rally Championship. The RS stands for Rallye Sport and the WRC for World Rally Car, the car's FIA specification... |
2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 44 | |||||||
| Ford Fiesta WRC | 3 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| Subaru Subaru ; is the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Fuji Heavy Industries .Subaru is internationally known for their use of the boxer engine layout popularized in cars by the Volkswagen Beetle and Porsche 911, in most of their vehicles above 1500 cc as well as... |
Subaru Impreza WRC | 8 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 35 | 35 | |||||||
| Peugeot Peugeot Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion... |
Peugeot 206 WRC Peugeot 206 WRC Peugeot 206 WRC is a World Rally Car based on the Peugeot 206. It was used by Peugeot Sport, Peugeot's factory team, in the World Rally Championship from 1999 to 2003. The car brought Peugeot the manufacturers' world title three years in a row from 2000 to 2002... |
6 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 24 | 27 | ||||||||||||
| Peugeot 307 WRC | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| Mitsubishi Mitsubishi The Mitsubishi Group , Mitsubishi Group of Companies, or Mitsubishi Companies is a Japanese multinational conglomerate company that consists of a range of autonomous businesses which share the Mitsubishi brand, trademark and legacy... |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV | 4 | 1 | 5 | 19 | ||||||||||||||
| Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V | 4 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Mitsubishi Carisma GT Evo IV | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| Mitsubishi Carisma GT Evo V | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI | 4 | 1 | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
| Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6.5 | 3 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| Toyota | Toyota Corolla WRC | 3 | 1 | 4 | |4 |