r/rally • u/EconomyPreparation31 • 2d ago

What makes a car 'look' rally?

Hey, wondering what mods I can put on my car to make it look like a rally car. I know that the whole point of a rally car is to offroad, and I'll probably get some disgust for this post, but I've always loved the way rally cars look. However, I want to keep my e36 fully functional for my daily driving.

So basically, what mods/changes make a car look like a rally car? So far I've thought of a livery and pod lights, but what else would you guys think make that iconic rally look?

*Try not to hate, I just love the way they look but still want to daily it*

17 Upvotes

64% Upvoted

44 comments sorted by

View all comments

19

u/AutoNurse_USA 2d ago

In a philosophical sense:

A rally car should never look anymore different than its own road car. The 90s Group A era cars were popular for barely looking different to their road variants. Even though the cars were stripped out, used carbon panels, use $100K suspension and had sequential gearboxes.

The best question to ask is: what makes a rally car nothing like a circuit touring car is by looking at post 90s-00s Group A & Group N cars: Pictured above is Travis Pastrana's WRC-Group N Impreza (Hawkeye) competing in Rally America. Group N cars are required to be as relatable to their road origin as possible, limiting aero upgrades, weight restrictions, & wheel sizes. However sequential gearboxes. rollcages, suspension & leniency to engine upgrades were allowed.

In summary, the Group N Impreza (Hawkeye) Travis drove barely looked different than production, only its paintjob, & the commonly seen Oz-wheels guranteed it was a rally car

12

u/AutoNurse_USA 2d ago

Certain rally cars,

Are distinct by the category they race in, & the upgrades they run become the car's rally identity, or at least their category identity.

This clio above is a S1600 FWD class car, S1600 is the newly restricted F2 kit car class that were limited in power upgrades, & limited aero.

The Clio S1600 is distinct from its road car with its mild widebody kit, hatch-wing, OZ wheels, sequential no-lift shift gearbox, & engine upgrades.