The brilliance of the 2019 British Touring Car Championship continues to thrill crowds physically in attendance as well as those who make up the majority of viewers, watching on the telly. Within the mere first two weeks there were already plenty of twists to report back on, bringing into focus the fine margins which often exist between the different racing companies that have their own makes and models of touring cars participating in the epic event.
One such participant which comes into focus is the BTCC Toyota Corolla, backed by many sponsors, fellow participants and fans to mount a serious challenge. This participation of the Toyota Corolla perhaps brings with it many more fans into the inner-circles of what is already a wildly popular event though, simply because of the rather unique implications around its participation this time around.
Owners of the street-legal Toyota Corolla, who naturally likely love their car to bits, have a bit of curiosity aroused in them when they take a closer look at what looks pretty much just like their street-legal version of the one they see lighting up the BTCC trails. Well, they’re in some luck this time around, because all the questions naturally forming as a result have been specifically answered.
This year’s event title sponsor is Kwik Fit and the automotive parts repairs specialist has decided to consolidate on this rather fitting sponsorship with a celebration that answers many of these identified questions fans have about the cars which are used in the event and street normal road cars.
So what is the difference between a passenger car and a touring car, particularly with regards to the passenger version of the Toyota Corolla and its subsequent Touring version?
As is to be expected, in terms of performance the Touring version will naturally outperform its street legal cousin, but that depends on how you define performance. For the purposes of the race itself that obviously means you want a car that offers more handling freedom, but the speed is probably what matters most.
As a result, the touring version is pretty much a stripped down version of the street legal Corolla, with most of the weight shed in the interior. The difference is a weight of 1280kg versus the 1735kg of the passenger Corolla, which in turn results in a top speed of 150mph versus 122mph.
It is NOT however simply a matter of the lighter, stripped down version being faster on account of the weight it’s been made to shed. There are many other technical and mechanical tweaks which make the Touring version faster and more suited to racing than its passenger version iteration, such as the same 2.0L engine which has otherwise been tweaked to generate more power.
You can check out the infographic put together by Kwik Fit to get the full low-down on the technicalities of each area in which a passenger car is transformed into a touring car. Look out for six major areas, including the mentioned interior and the engine.
