Homologation

From NAGTROC

Homolagation occurs when an auto maker creates a specific number (which varies with the different class requirements) of "identical" cars and records that "event" with the FIA (a large sanctioning entity) in order to legally compete in a given class (like Group A).

typically, a car must exist as a "normal" production car, for sale to the public, before it may be eligible for competition; all of the cars are then inspected, and must be fully functional.

there are exceptions to this, as in the case of LMP1, LMP2 (le mans purpose-built one-off classes may only require one or two prototypes be built), but often 500-5000 units of a car must be homologated for GT types. this requirement intentionally poses challenges to any given auto maker as to the cost-effectiveness of homologation, and to the extent of modifications these special cars may feature.

often, homologated cars for production will offer unique features, some of which that cannot be legally sold or "benchmarked," but can be attained with very minor tweaks that a racing entity will allow for the track. a classic example of this is the GT-R: in japan exists/existed a rule that a car cannot exceed "280ps," despite the fact that the GT-R is cabable of far more than that.

most racing regulations allow for some minimal changes to the cars for competition. so with some simple actions taken (like adding a modified downpipe, porting and/or upgrading the turbo, reprogramming the ecu, etc), the GT-R is capable of 400-500ps --barely modified from stock; ready for LM GT1 or Group A.

article from: bonzelite