What is a Rally car?

Answer 1

A rally car is a purpose-built automobile which usually starts its life as one of the high-end cars that are available to the public. Once the car to be rallied has been chosen, it is stripped of most (if not all) of its parts and interior trim pieces. The car is then reassembled leaving out any part that is not crucial to the car's function. The dashboard and seats are almost always replaced with custom or racing parts and the back seat is very rarely reinstalled. A roll cage is installed to increase the stiffness of the car's chassis and increase driver safety. Depending on the class that the car is being built for the engine is either left alone, tuned or replaced entirely. Stock suspension is replaced with aftermarket suspension providing much more wheel travel to reduce the impact of hitting deep bumps and landing jumps. Wheels are rally-specific, built to be strong and lightweight with built-in brake shields to keep rocks and debris from damaging the rotors and affecting stopping ability. Once completed, a rally car will be raced around a dirt, snow or gravel course in which corners are most often taken sideways.