Open-wheel car

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This article is about a type of racing motor vehicle. For the UK racing club, see Monoposto Racing Club.
Open-wheel car
A Barlotti go-kart: a low-end open-wheel car
Classification Vehicle
Application Recreation, sports
Fuel source Gasoline, electric, hydrogen
Powered Yes
Self-propelled Yes
Wheels 4
Axles 1–2
Inventor Ferdinand Verbiest

An open-wheel car (formula car, or often single-seater car in British English) is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have their wheels below the body or fenders. Open-wheel cars are usually built specifically for racing, frequently with a higher degree of technological sophistication than in other forms of motor sport. Open-wheel street cars, such as the Ariel Atom, are very scarce as they are often impractical for everyday use.


American racecar driver and constructor Ray Harroun was an early pioneer of the concept of a lightweight single-seater, open-wheel "monoposto" racecar.[1] After working as a mechanic in the automotive industry, Harroun began competitive professional racing in 1906, winning the AAA National Championship in 1910. He was then hired by the Marmon Motor Car Company as chief engineer, charged with building a racecar intended to race at the very first Indianapolis 500, which he went on to win. He developed a revolutionary concept which would become the originator and forefather of the single-seater (i.e. monoposto) racecar design.[2][3]





Open-wheeled racing is among the fastest in the world. Formula 1 cars can reach speeds in excess of 360 kilometres per hour (220 mph). At Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Antônio Pizzonia of BMW Williams F1 team recorded a top speed of 369.9 kilometres per hour (229.8 mph) in the 2004 Italian Grand Prix. Since the end of the V10 era in 2006 speeds like this have not been reached, with contemporary machinery reaching around 360 kilometres per hour (220 mph).[4] It is difficult to give precise figures for the absolute top speeds of Formula 1 cars, as the cars do not have speedometers as such and the data are not generally released by teams. The 'speed traps' on fast circuits such as Monza give a good indication, but are not necessarily located at the point on the track where the car is travelling at its fastest. BAR Honda team recorded an average top speed of 400 kilometres per hour (250 mph) in 2006 at Bonneville Salt Flats with unofficial top speed reaching 413 kilometres per hour (257 mph) using modified BAR 007 Formula 1 car. Speeds on ovals can range in constant excess of 210–220 miles per hour (340–350 km/h), and at Indianapolis in excess of 230 miles per hour (370 km/h). Some sources claim that in 1996, Paul Tracy recorded a trap speed of 256.948 miles per hour (413.518 km/h) at Michigan International Speedway.[citation needed] In 2000, Gil de Ferran set the one-lap qualifying record of 241.428 miles per hour (388.541 km/h) at California Speedway.[5] Even on tight non-oval street circuits such as the Grand Prix of Toronto, open-wheel Indy Cars attain speeds of 190 miles per hour (310 km/h).





  3. ^ "1911 Marmon Wasp - Conceptcarz". Retrieved 17 April 2016. 

See also[edit]