Differences between touring cars and sports cars

For the informal observer, there can be a great deal of confusion when it comes to classifying closed-wheel racing cars as 'touring cars' or 'sports cars'. In truth, there is often very little technical differentiation between the two classifications, and nomenclature is often a matter of tradition.

In common, however, touring cars are based upon 4-door 'family' sedans or, more rarely, 2-door coupe cars, while GT racing cars are based upon more exotic vehicles, such as Ferrari's or Lamborghini's. Underneath the bodywork, a Touring Car is often more intimately related to its road-going origins, using many original components and mountings, while a top-flight GT car is often a purpose-built tube-frame racing chassis underneath a cosmetic bodyshell. Many Touring Car series, such as the BTCC and the now-defunct JTCC differentiate themselves from sports-car racing by featuring front-wheel drive cars with smaller engines.

However, while in common Touring Cars have a lower technical level than sports cars, there are notable exceptions to the rule. The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) is measured to be one of the most technologically advanced racing series in the world, with cars that, underneath their four-door shells, are more purebread racing machines than most FIA-GT vehicles.

Touring car racing

Touring car racing is a common term for a number of distinct automobile racing competitions in heavily-modified street cars. It is notably all the rage in Britain, Germany, Scandinavia, and Australia.

What constitutes a touring car?

While rules differ from country to country, most series require that the competitors start with a standard bodyshell, but nearly every other component is allowed to be heavily modified for racing, including engines, suspension, brakes, wheels and tyres. Wings are generally additional to the front and rear of the cars. Regulations are generally designed to limit costs by banning some of the more exotic technologies available (for instance, many series insist on a "control tyre" that all competitors must use) and keep the racing close (sometimes by a "lead trophy" where winning a race requires the winner's car to be heavier for subsequent races). In this, it shares some resemblance with the American NASCAR series, but raced exclusively on road courses and street circuits rather than the American series' primarily oval tracks.

History of Honda

In 1997 Honda began producing a street-oriented GT motorcycle using in olden times important name: Superhawk. The previous (60's) Superhawk was a similar twin motorcycle that Robert M. Pirsig rode in "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance".

The original Superhawk was a profitable success, hence the name being recycled. The new Superhawk was introduced later than the Ducati 916 made V-twin sportbikes popular again. The new Superhawk uses an every part of new 90 degree V-twin.

The bike introduced more than a few new design concepts such as the "pivotless frame", side radiators, single casting engine case, connecting rods with cap screws instead of nuts, and the largest carburetors Honda ever put on a motorcycle. "Pivotless frame" predestined that engine was a stressed member with the swingarm bolted directly to the enigne. The bike was released in 1997 as an before time of release 1998 model year.

One motorcycle magazine recommended (circa 2000) that this bike was the fastest 0-60 mph production bike at the time.

A racing version of the bike was estimated from Honda. Honda produced in 2000 the RVT1000R (RC51) identified outside the United States as the VTR1000SP, though the bike had only four engine parts in common with the modern Superhawk.

The RC51 was an completely new V-twin racing platform that won the World Superbike championship its first year racing with Colin Edwards and the Castrol team.