Open wheel racecars

Open-wheel car
1993 Lola Indy car driven by Nigel Mansell
Classification	Vehicle
Application	Recreation, sports
Fuel source	Gasoline, electric, hydrogen
Powered	Yes
Self-propelled	Yes
Wheels	4
Axles	1–2
Inventor	Ray Harroun

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, , and touring cars, which have their wheels below the body or inside 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. 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. Harroun has also been credited by some as pioneering the rear-view mirror which appeared on his 1911 Indianapolis 500 winning car, though he himself claimed he got the idea from seeing a mirror used for a similar purpose on a horse-drawn vehicle in 1904.

A typical open-wheeler has a minimal cockpit sufficient only to enclose the driver's body, with the head exposed to the air. In the Whelen Modified Tour and other short track modified series, the driver's head is contained in the car. In modern cars the engine is often located directly behind the driver, and drives the rear wheels; except in asphalt modified cars, such as the Whelen Modified Tour, where the engine is in front of the driver. Depending on the rules of the class, many types of open-wheelers have wings at the front and rear of the vehicle, as well as a very low and virtually flat undertray that helps achieve additional aerodynamic downforce pushing the car onto the road.