Silhouette vehicle

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DTM car from 2004 with partially removed body.
V8 Star series vehicle with Lexus shell

Silhouette vehicles are motorsport prototypes that consist of a chassis with an attached body , usually made of plastic, and externally resemble a mass-produced vehicle. Well-known racing series are, for example, the NASCAR from the USA, the vehicles of the Trophée Andros in France or the DTM .

In order to avoid an " arms race " between the individual racing teams and to keep costs low, standardized and heavily regulated vehicles were introduced in some motorsport series. Both the American stockcars of NASCAR and the racing prototypes of the DTM only have to have external features in common with the cars in series production. This made it possible to prescribe unit parts for all manufacturers in order to keep costs down. Many parts such as the gearbox , brakes and tires are the same for everyone. The individual manufacturers save development costs and the races are exciting because the cars are technically equivalent.

This was consistently implemented in Europe in the German V8 Star series held from 2001 to 2003 . The V8-Star was not manufacturer-specific. All vehicles had a tubular space frame with a 5.7 liter V8 engine imported from the USA with around 365 kW (500 PS) (2001: 330 kW (450 PS)) and 600 Nm maximum torque, which its power via a sequential Six-speed transmission delivered. Electronic driving aids were prohibited. The drivers sat in a monocoque that technically resembled those of formula vehicles. In addition, CFRP crash boxes were installed in the vehicles .

See also

literature

  • Deutscher Motor Sport Bund (Ed.): Handbuch 2011 - Automobilsport / Karting. Deutsche Motor Sport Wirtschaftsdienst GmbH, Frankfurt 2011.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ DTM Technical Regulations 2011 (German), PDF file (4.6 MB), DMSB homepage, accessed on November 4, 2011 ( Memento from October 18, 2011 in the Internet Archive )