In American Le Mans, what are the cars and classes....GT, GT2?

Question

What are the different cars that race in the different classes...such as Corvettes and Aston Martin?

Answer 1

P1 - The Prototype 1 class is for cars with upto 6.0L normally asperated engines (or upto 4.0L Turbo). These are open cockpit "tunnel" cars, and are generally the fastest cars in ALMS (though, sometimes P2s have been faster as they carry a lower minimum weight than the larger engined P1s). Manufacturers in P1 for 2007 are Audi, Lola, and Zytek

P2 - The Prototype 2 class is for the open cockpit "tunnel" cars with upto 3.4L normally asperated engines, limited to 8 cylinders (or upto 2.0L turbo charged engines, limited to 6 cylinders). P2 cars can apply for homologation - though not sure how many examples must be produced and what criteria would then apply for technical updates; if this is the case, this allows for upto a 4.0L normally asperated engine (no turbos allowed in this case). Manufacturers currently involved in P2 are Porsche, Radical, Mazda, Honda, Lola, and Courage.

GT1 - All GT cars must be accepted for homologation. GT1 cars require that 100 examples be produced (though only 25 in the case of some smaller manufacturers). All GT classes allow upto an 8.0L normally asperated engine (4.0L turbo). Minimum weight is determined by the size of engine actually used. Manufacturers involved in the GT1 class are:Cheverolot, Aston Martin, and Saleen.

GT2 - Similar to GT1, though the homologation requirement for GT2 is 200 examples (50 in the case of a smaller manufacturer). Engine limits are the same as GT1, and weight is determined by engine size actually used. Manufacturers currently involved in GT2 include Porsche, Panoz, Ferrari, BMW, and Lexus.

That covers the basics (the AOC rules on the classes are about 40 pages for each class, covering pretty much every detail). The rules can change quite a bit from year to year (which can also result in a large turn over of which manufacturers will compete at any given time).