You would think that racing cars are meant to be on the racing tracks where people can bet on them, and road cars don’t have to worry about these speed-demons stealing their spotlight on the road. However, there is the phenomenon of street races. Illegal racing has been a problem for the local authorities around the world as their potential for property damage and potential loss of human life is enormous. However, we are going to focus on legal street races for this piece. Sounds too farfetched to be true? Let’s see.
Best of Both Worlds
As we’ve said before, racing cars are meant to achieve ridiculous speeds on tracks that can account for the space they need, whereas regular cars are mainly concerned with safety and reliability. They need to get you from point A to point B in a safe and efficient manner. What if we could combine the two? What if we could have all of the speed and power of racing cars enhanced by the road cars’ safety features? As it turns out, we can.
In order to be recognized as a street-legal race car, the vehicle in question must have seat belts, bumpers, license plates, a regular steering wheel, a working horn, all of the lights and a plethora of other regulation features you would expect in a regular car.
The Process
Here is where it gets a bit tricky. Different countries and states have their own idea regarding street racing should be legal and how it’s regulated. To make your car street-legal means that you have to go to your state’s DMV or the equivalent thereof and ask whether your car meets the specifications. There might be a few modifications your car has to undergo before it can join street racing safely and legally.
Furthermore, don’t hesitate to contact your lawyer. Not only is the bureaucracy surrounding the process a miniature nightmare, but you also have to be fully aware of your rights and obligations regarding participating in street races. Public services like the DMV will likely not tell you everything you need to know on the subject.
Modifications
One of the biggest issues is whether to modify a racing car to fit the roads or the road car to fit the races. We would suggest the latter, as it is easier to upgrade a car that has already met the road requirements than to try and make a speed-demon into something that is safe to drive on the road. Furthermore, you should ask yourself whether your time and money should be invested in building your car or jumping through bureaucratic hoops to get a vehicle you can race in the legal street races.
Don’t forget about insurance. This is another obstacle that you have to prepare for ahead of time. Modifying your car makes it more expensive and valuable, which will increase your premium, provided you can insure the car in the first place. Depending on what your car was originally designed for, you will need either regular, special, or exotic car insurance.