Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition.
Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on full-size motorsport circuits. Karting is commonly perceived as the stepping stone to the higher ranks of motorsports, with most drivers of the Formula One—including Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg, Ayrton Senna, Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, Kimi Räikkönen, and Fernando Alonso—having begun their careers in karting.
A kit car is an automobile available as a set of parts that a manufacturer sells and the buyer then assembles into a functioning car. Usually, many of the major mechanical systems such as the engine and transmission are sourced from donor vehicles or purchased new from other vendors. Kits vary in completeness, consisting of as little as a book of plans, or as much as a complete set with all components to assemble into a fully operational vehicle such as those from Caterham.
A dune buggy — also known as a beach buggy — is a recreational off-road vehicle with large wheels, and wide tires, designed for use on sand dunes, beaches, off-road or desert recreation. The design is usually a topless vehicle with a rear-mounted engine. A dune buggy can be created by modifying an existing vehicle or custom-building a new vehicle.
Radio-controlled cars are miniature model cars, vans, buses, trucks or buggies that can be controlled from a distance using a specialized transmitter or remote. The term "RC" has been used to mean both "remote controlled" and "radio controlled". "Remote controlled" includes vehicles that are controlled by radio waves, infrared waves or a physical wire connection.
An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike or quad, as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, has a seat that is straddled by the operator, and has handlebars. As the name implies, it is designed to handle a wider variety of terrain than most other vehicles. It is street-legal in some countries, but not in most states, territories and provinces of Australia, the United States, and Canada.
A Baja Bug is an original Volkswagen Beetle modified to operate off-road, although other versions of air-cooled Volkswagens are sometimes modified as well. Baja bugs often race in off road desert races such as the Baja 1000. There are different classes for bugs, namely class 11, class 5 1600, and class 5 unlimited. According to desert racing association Score International, class 11 is a stock VW beetle with modifications limited to ground clearance and strength. Class 5 1600 rules state that a 1600 cc VW engine must be used and the car must have the exterior appearance of a "baja bug" with body modification limited to whatever cutting is needed to install a consumer baja kit. Class 5 unlimited is any 4 cylinder VW-style engine, and it must have Baja-style fenders and side panels, and VW-style suspension.
A truggy is a type of high performance off-road racing vehicle that combines features from two older existing categories of off-road racing vehicles, trucks and buggies. The first truggies were built for racing in the SCORE and BITD off-road desert racing series, held in Mexico, California, Nevada and Arizona.
Homebuilt machines are machines built outside of specialised workshops or factories. This can include different things such as kit cars or homebuilt computers, but normally it pertains to homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes. Homebuilt aircraft or kit cars are constructed by amateurs. Homebuilt computers have been built at home for a long time, starting with the Victorian era pioneer Charles Babbage in the 1820s. A century later, Konrad Zuse built his own machine when electromechanical relay technology was widely available. The hobby took off with the early development of microprocessors and, since then, many enthusiasts have constructed their own computers. A homebuilt vehicle is a wider concept than a kit car. A homebuilt vehicle is a motor vehicle built by an individual instead of a manufacturer. These machines may be constructed "from scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits. Outside of the United States people wishing to build such complex machinery often have no professional networks to rely on for spare parts, plans, or advice in the matter and therefore have to rely on their ingenuity and intuition in order to build a machine that works.
Off-roading is the act of driving or riding in a vehicle on unpaved surfaces such as sand, dirt, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks, and other natural terrains. Off-roading varies in intensity, from leisure drives with unmodified vehicles to competitions with customized vehicles and professional drivers.
The Meyers Manx dune buggy is a small recreationally-oriented automobile, designed initially for desert racing by Californian engineer, artist, boat builder and surfer Bruce F. Meyers. It was produced by his Fountain Valley, California company, B. F. Meyers & Co. from 1964 to 1971, in the form of car kits applied to shortened chassis of Volkswagen Beetles. The car line dominated dune racing in its time, breaking records immediately, and was eventually also released in street-oriented models, until the company's demise due to tax problems after Meyers's departure. New vehicles inspired by the original Manx buggy have been produced by Meyers's re-founded operation, Meyers Manx, Inc., since 2000. The name and cat logo of the brand derives from the Manx cat, by virtue of the tailless breed's and the shortened vehicle's truncated "stubbiness".
A sandrail, also called a sand rail, rail, or sand car, is a lightweight off-road motor vehicle specifically built for traveling in sandy terrain. Similar in some respects and often mistakenly referred to as a dune buggy or sand car, a sandrail is a different type of speciality vehicle. Sandrails are popularly operated on actual sand dunes. Sandrails can be driven on other types of terrain but are designed specifically for sand.
Kyosho Corporation is a Japanese company based in Tokyo, which operates internationally under the name KYOSHO. The company's main office is located in Chiyoda, and the production headquarters are located in Atsugi, Kanagawa.
VIP style is a car modification trend that translates from the Romanised Japanese term 'bippu.' It refers to the modification of Japanese luxury automobiles to make them lower and wider in stance, with more aggressive wheels, suspension, and body kits. VIP Style cars are typically large, rear-wheel drive luxury sedans, although automotive enthusiasts sometimes use other cars such as minivans or kei cars.
The Tamiya Radio Controlled Nitro Off-road Vehicles entered the radio controlled (RC) nitro engine powered 1/8 scale truck market in July 2002. Produced by the Tamiya Corporation of Japan, these 1/8 scale trucks are designed for stadium competition. Tamiya's first nitro truck, TR-15t, was introduced in 1994. Second truck was the TGM-01 Mad Bison, released in 2000. Third attempt, Terra Crusher, departed greatly from the previous two. Terra Crusher (TGM-02), released in July 2002, capitalized on the off-road monster RC boom of the time; subsequent trucks include the Wild Commando, TNX (TGM-03), TNX 5.2R, and TRG-01 Nitrage. The trucks perform in competitions for Remotely Operated Auto Racers (ROAR) abbreviated as ROAR. ROAR is the sanctioning body of competitive radio-controlled car racing in the United States and Canada, overseen by IFMAR.
The Mid America Off Road Association (MAORA) is an American off road racing sanctioning. It has sanctioned off road racing events since 1972. Web site www.maoraracing.us
Buggy is generally used to refer to any lightweight automobile with off road capabilities and sparse bodywork. Most are built either as a kit car or from scratch.
Off-road racing is a form of motorsports consisting of specially-modified vehicles including cars, SUVs, trucks, motorbikes, quadbikes and buggies racing in off-road environments.
Rupp Industries was a Mansfield, Ohio-based manufacturer of go-karts, minibikes, snowmobiles and other off-road vehicles founded by Mickey Rupp in 1959. Rupp Industries operated from 1959 until bankruptcy in 1978. Rupp vehicles are known for their performance and bright red coloring, particularly the snowmobiles and off-road vehicles.
A 1:10 radio-controlled off-road buggy is a 1:10 scale radio-controlled dune buggy designed for off-road racing. These cars are based on their full-scale equivalents that are commonly found in desert racing. The buggies are split into two race categories, two (2WD) and four-wheel drive (4WD). These can easily be distinguished visually by their wheel size at the front. Cars are typically electric powered, but nitro versions do exist but are less common because racing classes exist for electric cars. The class is inexpensive and similar to a number of other classes, and this makes them popular with newcomers. The cars are also known as 1/10 off-road.
