How SUV-Based Race Cars Became The Next Big Thing

Stock car racing once meant exactly what it sounded like. It was about racing unmodified production cars, then later on, it came to refer to race cars that were at least based on real production machinery. These days, what we call stock cars are now really “silhouette” racers that merely bear an external visual resemblance to the cars they’re supposed to be. In Argentina and Brazil, though, stock cars won’t even be cars anymore! The two countries are seeing their premiere stock car racing series switch to racing SUV models instead.

In Brazil, the top series is known as the Stock Car Pro Series. Presently, it sees competition that is ostensibly between the Toyota Corolla and the Chevy Cruze. It also plays host to some big names, like Felipe Massa and Reubens Barrichello, both of whom claimed victories this year. From 2025, though, the series is set to switch to new SUV-based race cars. From Toyota Gazoo Racing will come the Corolla Cross race car, while GM will field a Chevy Tracker. Two more automakers are expected to join the series at this point with the switchover to SUVs.

Hilariously, both race cars look more like racing wagons, given their low ride height (chosen for better handling). According to reporting from Quatrorodas, the series will also move away from V8 power, instead switching to 2.1-liter turbo four-cylinder engines that meet a similar power output of around 500 hp. They will also feature movable rear wings and sequential semi-automatic XTrac transmissions.

A partir de 2025 os carros da STOCK CAR serão SUVs (Tracker e Corolla Cross) ???? pic.twitter.com/M3H3f4UO6e

— Lasanhas Culture (@lasanhasculture) December 14, 2023

It might sound crazy to old-school enthusiasts, but research undertaken by the series says it’s going in the right direction. According to surveys of both “fanatical” and “standard” fans, the series claims these groups are 77% and 54% in support of the change, respectively. It perhaps makes some sense, given the taste for SUVs in the general population. The manufacturers are on board too, given their popularity, says Chris Rego, marketing director at GM South America.  “SUVs already represent more than 40% of passenger vehicle sales and have evolved a lot in design, technology, and vehicle dynamics,” said Rego, translated from Portugese. “The aim is to bring even more excitement and appeal to the Stock Car.”

It follows on from an earlier announcement that Argentina’s TC2000 series will go to SUVs in 2024. Presently, series competitors race a variety of models based on road-going compacts, including the Chevy Cruze, Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, Fiat Cronos, Citroen C4, and Renault Fluence.

In the case of this series, it won’t be a hard switchover to a new format. Instead, the SUVs will race alongside existing cars next year. Some teams will split their efforts, with YPF Honda RV Racing announcing it will run two Honda Civics and two Honda ZR-Vs in the 2024 season. The Volkswagen Nivus is also expected to star in the series in future, and was recently shown off in development at a test in San Nicolás.

It’s interesting to see these South American series and to imagine NASCAR doing the same. In the United States, 46% of new vehicle sales in 2021 were SUVs, and yet NASCAR sticks with the Chevy Camaro, Ford Mustang, and Toyota Camry (lol). Reportedly, NASCAR has been testing a Crossover-style body for its experimental electric car racing series and a probable leak shows something that could work as either a Blazer or a Mach-E.

If you speak Spanish or Portuguese, you might like to tune in to next year’s telecasts of the TC2000 and Stock Car Pro Series. For the rest of us, it’s a little hard to follow, but it might be worth keeping your eye out for some quality on-track action. Not since the Volvo 850 Estate took on the British Touring Car Championship has the world seen such family-hauling heft celebrated on the racing circuit. Let’s see how it goes this time.

Image credits: Stock Car Pro Series, TC2000, Volvo