Homologation – Part one

Homologation special. Those two words send a little frisson down the spine, do they not? Depending on your predilections, they may conjure up images of Teutonically-cool E30 BMW M3s, fire-spitting Porsche 917s, the machismo of square-arched Lancia Delta Integrales, or even the French insouciance of my own modest little example, the Peugeot 106 Rallye.

But what is homologation? Well, it’s from the Greek, dontchaknow – homologeo, ‘to agree’. And that’s the gist of it – homologation is the process of requesting agreement or approval from an official body for something.

Now, the word as used in the only world we care about – that of cars – has two applications. The first is in motorsport. Here, homologation is the process whereby an official competition governing body – be it the FIA, NASCAR, the ACO or whoever – grants approval to a car to race legally under the rules it has set: regulations that may limit vehicle dimensions, engine capacity or aerodynamic aids. Anyone who wants to race must prove that their car meets these rules.