CAMS Manual wrote:
1.1 ... This group caters for dedicated circuit racing cars of essentially free construction which utilise coachwork being recognisable as that of a production vehicle. The basic vehicle shall be a front-engined car utilising either a steel tube chassis to which a non-load bearing coachwork shall be attached (spaceframe vehicle), or heavily modified vehicle that utilises the standard factory sheetmetal (floorpan vehicle). ...
2. ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible for this group cars must be series production closed cars, manufactured primarily from steel and must be or have been:
(1) on sale in Australia through a recognised manufacturer franchised dealer network, or
(2) of a type of which a minimum of 5,000 examples have been manufactured worldwide, or
(3) automobiles which otherwise do not comply with (1) and (2) above but which have been recommended by NSSC and approved by CAMS.
3. COACHWORK
3.1 The body shell (deemed to be the roof, A, B and C pillars, sill panels, scuttle/plenum panel and the front door frames) shall be unchanged in external shape except as hereinafter provided.
3.2 (i) The bumper bars and grilles must retain their original shape and position
3.4 Mudguards:
...The flares may be extended in width up to a maximum of 100mm per side in excess of the original width of the body at the measured point. From the reformed wheel arch the mudguard flare must merge from the allowed 100mm to 50mm by 50% of the length of flare, and therefore merge with the original body at an included angle of not more than 45° ...
4.4 Engines
... (ii) Engines mounted in the front (subject to the above) may intrude into the space originally intended for passengers, save that no part of the cylinder block may extend across a line drawn at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle at a point halfway between the front and rear wheel hub centres. ...
8. RACING WEIGHTS
up to 1300cc 680kg
1301 – 1600cc 730kg
1601 – 2000cc 780kg
2001 – 2500cc 800kg
2501 – 3550cc 900kg
3551 – 4500cc 975kg
4501 – 5100cc 1050kg
5101 – 6000cc 1125kg
Front-wheel drive:
subtract 50kg from the above weights
Multi-valve vehicles:
add 75kg to the above weights for vehicles above 2501cc swept volume
All four-wheel drive vehicles:
add 50kg to the above weights
Note: These are minimum racing weights for rear-wheel drive vehicles, and include the driver.
These weights may be revised by CAMS.
These are the most relevant rules when looking at that pic.
Mini is eligible, no matter what age, because more than 5000 were built worldwide. There used to be a rule that any car manufactured prior to 1980 had to have the same wheels driven as it came from the factory, so for Minis this meant you could not make it RWD. Not the case any more.
The Mini Sprint as a sports sedan is only eligible if given specific approval by CAMS as there was not more than 5000 of these made and they do not comply with 3.1. This rule would also discount a lot of the UK and Japanese spaceframe cars because of the core body shape changes, like the rake of the A pillars in the pic. I daresay this would only become a real issue if you started winning.
The flares on the one in the pic do not comply with 3.4.
Your idea of laying the engine back behind the axle line works as long as you comply with 4.4 (ii).
The thing that would kill any real advantage of a modern Mini sports sedan is the minimum racing weights. Everyone who has a 2Lt car will be on the same weight, saving only 50kg for FWD. You have to compare that to the disadvantage of traction of a FWD, but if you set it up like the old FWD 2Lt supertourers it could be very good.
Victoria is the only state really running a U2Lt sprts sedan championship. Best you talk to those guys at the next meeting to get a feel for the series and what is the best approach.
http://www.2litress.com/calendar.php
cheers
michael
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