Group 7 (motorsport)

Group 7 two-seater racing cars (1966 to 1975)

The FIA's new Appendix J regulations for 1966 initially listed a category for "Group 9 two-seater racing cars" in draft versions, but this was changed to "Group 7 two-seater racing cars" by the time the 1966 FIA Yearbook was published. These regulations required cars to have fenders, a windshield, two seats, two doors, headlights, taillights, a rollbar, a dual braking system, and a self-starter, and they had to use commercial gasoline. Group 7 cars were defined as "two-seater competition vehicles built exclusively for speed races on closed circuit," with no minimum production requirement for homologation. This gave manufacturers and teams freedom to create unique racing cars with no limitations on engines, tires, aerodynamics, or dimensions, as long as the car had room for two seats and was enclosed in bodywork. Races were generally short sprints with few accommodations for driver comfort. The formula was embraced by several series worldwide, including the Sports Car Club of America's United States Road Racing Championship from 1966 to 1968, the Canadian-American Challenge Cup (Can–Am) from 1966 to 1974, the Nordic Challenge Cup in 1969, and the Interserie from 1970. McLaren and Porsche built the most dominant cars, while other manufacturers such as Lola, Chaparral, Ferrari, BRM, Shadow, Nissan, Toyota, and Isuzu also built Group 7 cars. Big-block Chevrolet and Ford motors were the engines of choice worldwide. The formula remained current through 1975, after which two-seater racing cars were defined under Group 6 regulations from 1976.