Race Car vs Regular car
Purpose
Power
Materials
User experience
Shape
Race car
Regular road car
Designed to last for a season or shorter.
Designed to last way longer
Designed to hold up to harsh conditions
Designed for daily traveling, can not withstand hard punishments that race cars receive.
Race car
Has far less mass than a road car
Auto sport connecters will use more aluminum and a twisting click mechanism for connections.
Road car
Automotive connecters tend to be plastic with a clip used as a latching mechanism.
Wiring
Wiring
The length of wiring cable has increased significantly in the past few decades
Early 90s: 5 meters(Certain models.)
Today: Similar cars has 30 meters.
Material changed from copper to aluminum
Did not make the change in material
Reduces weight of the vehicle.
Aluminum requires a slightly wider cable.
This change is ideal for long straight paths found in road cars.
Not suitable for short bend radius found in race cars.
Do not have the reliability that copper does.
Aluminum relaxes after a period of time, although it will still pass a current, the connection is not as strong, which is not enough for high intensity operations that is needed in race cars.
Aesthetics
Safety
Comfort
Race car
Comfort is a big part of the design because the car is for daily use.
Less consideration on comfort.
Race car
Road car.
Race car
That safety requirements for race cars are much higher than road cars since it is build to survive harsh accidents.
Road car
Race car
Safety is also an very important part of a road car, but they are not but for harsh accidents that race cars would experience, so
Race car
Road car
Their engines are performed oriented.
Engines are designed to offer maximum power and torques in higher rpms.
Driving in a higher rpm is very taxing for the engine, the engine has to last the whole duration of the race.
Engines tuned for relaxed and comfortable driving.
Power spread over a range of rpm to attain a linear acceleration
Engines has to last for years.
Has to survive a varying set of conditions.
The aesthetics is not so important in a race car, because the car is born to race, its purpose and goal is to win the race, to have a faster speed and be safer for the driver, both the driver and the designer usually does not consider aesthetics as a very important feature of the vehicle.
Compared to race cars, road cars has a much higher requirement on aesthetics, because drivers(customers) usually take the aesthetics of the vehicle as a very important part to consider when choosing a vehicle to buy, so companies(designers) are likely to make the vehicle aesthetically pleasing to make it appealing to the customers.
Road car
The shape of a race car is very important.
You can see that the shape of most of the race cars are pretty flat, this is because if the car is big and high, the car is likely to be unstable when turning, so the driver will have to slow down, and slowing down is not what is expected in a race, so the shape is important.
The shape of a regular car is not as considerable compared to the shape in a race car, but it is still important, if the car is large, the car might be unstable when turning, so the driver would have to slow down. Also, the shape is a part of the aesthetics, so as I said, the customers and designers would both consider it.