The Avalon Vortex, Are We Looking at the Wrong thing?

Ever now and then, somebody comes along with an idea that makes everyone stop and take notice. Sometimes those ideas quietly disappear. Sometimes they become the next big thing,  and every now and again they spark a debate that spreads far beyond the track.

The Avalon Vortex has certainly managed that. Spend five minutes scrolling through Facebook and you'll find opinions from every angle. Some racers love it because it's something different. Others think it's the point where touring cars have finally lost their identity. I've seen plenty of comments saying it's ugly, doesn't look like a touring car, or that body shells have simply gone too far.

Personally, I think it's a fascinating discussion. Not because of the shell itself... but because I think it really means we should ask a much bigger question.

A few years ago I wrote an editorial called Speed and Style, where I talked about the direction modern touring car bodyshells were heading.  I love them, and I like the direction of travel that they presented. 

Even back then, people were saying the shells were becoming too aggressive. They weren't really based on road cars anymore. The roofs were lower, the bonnets flatter and the rear sections longer. Every new release seemed to push aerodynamics just that little bit further. 

Fast forward to today and those same shells are the norm and that will also happen with the Avalon Vortex, it's just another bold attempt at increasing performance within the regulations. That's exactly what racing has always encouraged.

This to me is the spirit of racing, every time I come away from the track, my next thought is 'How can I make the car faster?'*  This is what a racers think, and this is exactly what we want from the people who expect us to spend our hard earned cash on their items. In the case of the Avalon Vortex, as a bodyshell manufacturer they have simply asked the same question, and you don't have to like the answer, but you can certainly appreciate the engineering decision behind it.

* Well actually it's my second thought, the first is where is the nearest junk food outlet? :) 

Why is touring car the class where this debate always happens?

Take a look at modern 1/10 off-road buggies. Those bodyshells have evolved over decades into something that bears very little resemblance to a real off-road vehicle. The cab is just behind the wheels, the proportions are exaggerated. The shapes are designed entirely around performance, stability and handling rather than scale appearance.

Offroad is the biggest and healthiest class in RC racing across the world. Nobody walks into a national meeting wishing the cars looked more like a full-size Baja bug. The class has developed its own identity, and I think that's one of the reasons it's so successful.

I understand why some people think the on-road category should resemble real cars because that's how it started with us racing Tamiya TA01's. But if we are honest, we've been drifting away from that for decades. The Avalon Vortex hasn't suddenly changed the direction of travel. It's simply just edged further away from looking like a standard 90's BTCC car. 

Perhaps the real question isn't whether the Avalon Vortex resembles a real car, it's What do we actually want touring cars to become?

If we want the fastest possible cars, then innovation within the rules should always be encouraged.

However, if we want touring cars to retain a stronger visual link to their full-size counterparts, then maybe the regulations need to evolve to reflect that.

Neither answer is wrong.

I have the shell here, ready to test at a local club, and in the flesh it really isn't too different to the other shells already available.. It has a longer front than most, and the rear is more of a feature when you look at the shell.. I'll cover it in more detail after the back to back track test.. 

Whatever happens next, I don't think the Avalon Vortex controversy will be remembered as the shell that divided opinion, instead maybe it could just act as the the trigger point that made the touring car community stop and think about where the class should really be heading?

What do you think? Is the Avalon Vortex simply the next step in the evolution of touring cars, or do you think we've finally reached the point where performance has started to overshadow what we want from the class?

I'd genuinely love to hear your thoughts.