Super Touring

Did You Know?

• Alfa Romeo's 155 in 1994 had a front spoiler with a movable bottom piece acting as a splitter, leading to a protest from Ford and Vauxhall.
• Two fatal accidents occurred in 1995: Gregg Hansford at Phillip Island and Kieth O'dor at Avus, both from broken necks due to side-on hits.
• In 1990, a Vauxhall Cavalier cost £60,000; by the late 1990s, a similar Super Touring car cost £250,000.

Regulations

Super Touring cars were required to be at least 4.20 m in length and have four doors, effectively mandating a small family saloon as the minimum body style. Engine capacity was limited to 2 litres, with a maximum of six cylinders, and engines had to be naturally aspirated. Only two wheels could be driven and steered. For homologation, at least 2,500 units of the model had to be produced initially; in 1995 this was raised to 25,000 units to counter the proliferation of homologation specials.

Until 1993 there was no restriction on body size or number of doors, but that year the rules changed to require a minimum of four doors and a size no smaller than the Euro NCAP 'Small Family Car' class, though 'Large Family Car' cars tended to dominate. Until 1995, teams could only fit aerodynamic devices available through dealers. That changed after the 1994 BTCC season, when Alfa Romeo entered a 155 with a front spoiler that had a movable bottom piece acting as a splitter and a rear spoiler with extensions, increasing downforce.

Alfa then walked out of the Oulton Park race and was forced to run its spoilers in the retracted position, as fitted on the road-going Alfa 155 Silverstone. Renault and BMW responded by introducing limited edition road cars (Laguna Airflow and 318is) to homologate oversized aerodynamic aids. Subsequently, the FIA changed the regulations across all series, increasing the minimum production run to 25,000 and allowing only non-production aerodynamic devices of restricted size.