BMW M3 CS 10

Modern Car Homologation Specials

Which Modern Cars Do You Like To See Homologated Versions Of?

There was once a moment in history where household car marques invested millions of dollars turning their mundane motoring metal into pure motorsport machines.  Ford, Rover, Renault, Lancia, Peugeot, Subaru, Mitsubishi…  The list just goes on of manufacturers who we so often liken to everyday family transporters yet were capable of producing delirious performance weapons.  I imagine an attempt at writing a book about them would result in a lawsuit for the copyright infringements of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

Such were the glorious days of homologation, and thankfully, some of the effects are still left over.  Your lust for a new Subaru WRX or Mitsubishi Lancer Evo and your nightly fantasy of a Porsche 911 GT3 RS or a BMW M3? Indeed, all thanks to that wonderful era where it seemed the prevailing mentality of manufacturers was ‘Sod practicality, we’re going racing.

Alas, one thing you may notice of the four brilliant cars listed above is that all of them are no longer made in order to satisfy the FIA’s homologation requirements.  Sure you may see a rally-spec Scooby or two following in the muddy path of a Lan-Evo if you attend a local rally; and yes, you may watch a GT3 RS and an M3 duke it out in an endurance race, but it’s just not the same.  Not that we’re complaining or anything, of course.

Most of the homologated cars that we see today, though, are, dare I say it, not incredibly special.   Take, for example, the BMW 320si.  Used in the WTCC and the BTCC, the road car was homologated in order for the racing version to compete in touring car racing.

But as a BMW E30 M3 shocked the touring car world and the motoring world with its performance capabilities, the 8.1 second 0-60 time of the 320si will never truly furrow the brow, and it is arguably the most unlikely of homologation specials.

And that brings us to the all-important question: which modern car would you wish to see a genuinely bonkers homologated version of?  It would need to be one that could be witnessed in professional motorsport events and then bought from the showroom.  It would need to be wildly quick, a riot on the road, impractical and there would need to be evolutions of the car as the manufacturer seeks success in the racing series in which it competes.

So we leave it up to you.  Which modern cars do you desire disorderly homologated versions of, and why?  Leave your response in the comment section below.

1 Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *