If you have a Ford, Citroen, Suzuki or Subaru, on TV you can see a look-alike of your car blasting round the special stages of the World Rally Championship (WRC).
World Rally Cars are based on production two-litre four-cylinder cars, but while they look similar to the ones you might see in a showroom, just about everything about them is different. And so is the price - a WRC car will set you back around $1million - and that doesn't include spares. A set of competition tyres will last around 100kms and after every two rallies you're going to have to budget for an engine and gearbox rebuild.

FIA rules say that WRC cars must be based on a standard road car bodyshell. For WRC use it is stripped to the bare metal and the spot-welds that hold it together are replaced by seam welding. All unnecessary brackets and mounting plates are removed to save weight, and a tubular steel roll-cage is welded in. After around 700 hours of work it emerges vastly stronger and stiffer than before. Most WRC cars could support the weight of ten road cars. The FIA requires all WRC engines to have a 34mm restrictor in the air intake, which holds down power output to around 300bhp. The cylinder block and head(s) must be based on those in the standard road car, but the crankshaft, con-rods, pistons, cylinder linings, valves and camshafts can be modified. Typical turbo boost is 4-5 bar - compared with up to 1 bar for an average road car - while anti-lag systems mean the turbocharger delivers maximum boost from tick-over. The result is massive torque - up to around 700Nm - about the same as a Ferrari Enzo.

All WRC cars have four wheel drive and six-speed semi-automatic gearboxes. Electronically controlled shifting systems allow the driver to make clutchless gearchanges in around four hundredths of a second - as fast as on a Formula 1 car. Most cars also use a Formula 1-type launch control to get them away from a standing start as quickly as possible. The cars have a clutch, but the driver tends to only use it to move off from a standing start.

Inside a WRC car there is no upholstery or trim - just bare metal and two carbon fibre seats that are tailored to the driver and co-driver. There's no room in the back - the tubes of the roll cage take up the rear passenger space - and the floor is pretty crowded because everything the car needs to carry, such as a fire extinguisher, tool kit and spare wheel, is bolted to - or under - it to keep the centre of gravity as low as possible.

Rally rules allow spoilers and other aerodynamic aids that you will not see on a road car. These are designed to manage the airflow around the car to cool mechanical components - like engines and brakes - and keep the car planted firmly on the road - or level in flight.

The result is a car that reaches 60 mph in around three seconds on all surfaces and - in the right hands - can power slide between the trees on a narrow gravel track under full control at 200 kph-plus.