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A sports prototype, sometimes referred to simply as a prototype, is a type of
*
A sports prototype, sometimes referred to simply as a prototype, is a type of race car
Race, RACE or The Race may refer to:
* Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species
* Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
that is used in high-level categories of sports car racing
Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing that uses sports cars with two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be either purpose-built Sports prototype, sports prototypes, which are the highest level in sports car racing; or grand to ...
. They are purpose-built auto-sports race cars, as opposed to production-car based or street-legal, low-volume homologation
Homologation (Greek language, Greek ''homologeo'', ὁμολογέω, "to agree") is the granting of approval by an official authority. This may be a court of law, a government department, or an academic or professional body, any of which would n ...
specials – thus entirely not intended for consumer purchase, or production beyond the fabrication of the (nearly) unique cars entered into races and in race-car competition classes or "formulas", with sufficiently open regulations to allow for vehicles of unique design to partake.
Prototype racing cars have competed in sports car racing since before World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, but became the top echelon of sports cars in the 1960s as they began to replace homologated sports cars. Current ACO regulations allow most sports car series to use two forms of cars: ''grand tourer
A grand tourer (GT) is a type of car that is designed for high speed and long-distance driving with performance and luxury. The most common format is a Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, front-engine, rear-wheel-drive two-door coupé with ...
s (GT cars)'', which are strictly based on production street cars, and ''sports prototypes'', which are allowed a great amount of flexibility within set rule parameters.
From the 1953
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season to 1984
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* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
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, the World Sportscar Championship
The World Sportscar Championship was the world Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing series run for sports car racing, sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), from 1953 World Sportscar Championship, 1953 t ...
titles were awarded to ''manufacturers'' of sports prototypes (except 1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...
–1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
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). From 1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
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to 1992
1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General.
* January 6
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, titles were awarded to ''teams'' entering sports prototypes.
In historic racing, they are often called "sports racing cars". Sometimes, they are metonym
Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something associated with that thing or concept. For example, the word "wikt:suit, suit" may refer to a person from groups commonly wearing business attire, such ...
ically referred to as "Le Mans cars", as the 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...
has been closely associated with the category in recent decades and features entries from several of the main championships contested by prototypes.
Types of sports prototypes
Since the 1960s, various championships have allowed prototypes to compete. However, most championships have had their own set of rules for their prototype classes. Listed here are some of the more commonly known types of prototypes.
* Group 7 Group 7 may refer to:
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*Group 7 element, chemical element classification
*Halogens
The halogens () are a group (periodic table), group in the periodic table consisting of six chemically related c ...
* Group 6 Group 6 may refer to:
* Group 6 element, chemical element classification
* Group 6 (motorsport), FIA classification for sports car racing
* Group 6 Rugby League, rugby league competition in New South Wales, Australia
{{disambig ...
* Group C
Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for Touring car racing, touring cars and ''Group B'' for Grand tourer, GTs.
It was designed to replace both Group 5 (motorspor ...
* Group CN
* Grand Touring Prototype (GTP)
* Le Mans Prototype
A Le Mans Prototype (LMP) is a type of sports prototype race car used in various races and championships, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series, and Asian Le M ...
(LMP)
* Le Mans Prototype Challenge (LMPC)
* Le Mans Hypercar (LMH)
* Daytona Prototype
A Daytona Prototype was a type of sports prototype racing car developed specifically for the Grand-Am Road Racing, Grand American Road Racing Association's Rolex Sports Car Series as their top class of car, which replaced their main prototype rac ...
(DP)
* Daytona Prototype International (DPi)
* Le Mans Daytona h
LMDh (Le Mans Daytona h) is a set of sports prototype regulations used alongside Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) in both the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class of the IMSA SportsCar Championship and the Hypercar class of the FIA World Endurance Championsh ...
(LMDh)
* Sports 2000
Sports 2000 is a restricted-rules class of two-seat, mid-engined, open-cockpit, full-bodied sports-prototype racecar used largely in amateur road racing. Sometimes known as S2000 or S2, the class was developed by John Webb, then of the Brands Ha ...
References
External links
Sports car racing {{Sportscar-autoracing-stub