Famous Moments in Motorsports History
Here you can check out lineups for different seasons and see the biggest moments in racing history.
Famous moments is WIP
Cup Racing Cars
Pre-90s Cup cars are WIP
1992-2005
This series of cup cars is one of the most famous. Sales of the road going production models was ridiculously high; many of them were offered in manual versions for cheap, and could easily be modified into better handling and higher performing cars.
1992 Abran Miranda Cup
The Miranda began to suffer in later years, before it was ultimately replaced in 2000, but in its earlier days was a fierce competitor. The Miranda’s main drawback was the engine. Due to limitations with the engine block, the engine could not rev very high without overstressing the connecting rods. This meant that in 1995, when the power limits changed, the Miranda was not able to make any improvements to keep up. However, to make up for this, the Miranda does make nearly 150hp and weighs just over 2000 pounds. A worthy trade-off if you ask the die hard fans.
1996 Mikuni Scarlet 9-6 Cup
The Mikuni Scarlet was a brand new model introduced in 1996, and as a hot hatch, it was obviously brought to Cup racing. With 174 hp, Mikuni was making use of the lifted power restrictions introduced a year earlier. The Scarlet weighs just 7 pounds over the minimum, a mere 6 pounds heavier than the Abran Miranda. However, the Miranda was better balanced and had more grip.
2000 Daimura Nomarui Cup
The cute production sedan turned mean cup car, the Nomarui Cup car was aggressively tuned at 189 horsepower out of its 2L boxer engine. With excellently tuned suspension and instant throttle response, the Nomarui was a fierce contender. Many Cup racing fans loved the Nomarui for its underdog-esc feel and for how cheaply production models could be had.
2001 Crown Chloe Cup
The Chloe was designed as a Cup car, and nerfed back down to a production model. The Cup spec was making 188hp out of a twin-cam 2L inline 4, one of the most powerful motors in the sport at the time. An impressively low weight that barely passed inspection and impressive amounts of grip helped make the Chloe essentially the best in its class.
2002 Concordia Exunaugh Cup
Concordia had been out of the racing scene for nearly two decades before the Exunaugh landed in Cup racing. The production model was designed to be a practical and economical hatchback for the masses, but a close friend of the Exunaugh’s lead designer sketched up a theoretical Cup version and asked the designer if it was “gonna happen.” After a few months of pestering, the Concordia race team was revived and the Exunaugh’s designer was appointed its head. Armed with a Microsoft Paint sketch, the second Exunaugh off the production line, and a limited budget; the young designer turned racing team leader turned his boring little economy car into an aggressive Cup car. The M-1.6 engine was tuned up significantly. However, due to budget constraints, the little 1.6L was not turbo charged and only made 175hp. But this was made up for with dialed in suspension and a linear powerband.
2004 Mikoto Turbo 4 Cup
The Turbo 4 was designed and built for Cup racing. The production model was just an economy tuned spec of the Cup version. With 177 turbo charged horses in a 2100 pound shell, the Turbo 4 was ready to compete. However, the Turbo 4 had an atrocious weight distribution of 61/39, which hurt handling slightly. However, the turbocharger definitely gave an advantage on the straightaways.
Post 2005 Cup cars are WIP