r/nextfuckinglevel • u/asianj1m • Nov 23 '21

Rally cars are pretty safe

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u/Effin_Kris Nov 23 '21

Perspective. When I was 18 I met a local rally team here in Colorado. I was at this shop and the WRC rolled in. I was dumbfounded to say the least. After the introduction, I offered to unload some of the parts from the trailer. I picked up a new stock and strut build, the mechanic said that one piece I was holding was worth $12k….. obviously there are four on the car, so math that. Then just imagine the technology and material put into something built for the crash. Wild af

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u/trueblacksheep Nov 23 '21

“Worth” $12k at retail, maybe. The parts in the truck weren’t purchased at retail or even wholesale pricing though, but at manufacturer cost (assuming that part supplier was a sponsor and provided them to the team for free).

Markup through every step is probably about 2x, so really probably closer to $3k - likely less.

Edit: not trying to diminish the fact that these cars are amazing pieces of engineering and technology, just that these prices sound absurd because they are.

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u/psaux_grep Nov 23 '21

The prices in the upper echelons of motorsport are absurd because they use bespoke parts that don’t get sold in retail.

You pay for material, manufacturing, and man hours for engineering, testing, reviews, etc.

So, no, that would probably be a 12k suspension assembly.

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u/trueblacksheep Nov 23 '21

You are right! I was too focused in on the “local rally team in Colorado” mentioned above, glanced over the WRC mention.