2 Litre Hot Rod were introduced in 1986 to bridge the gap between National Hot Rods and Stock Rods. The original class was called 1600 Hot Rods because they used the Ford 1600 crossflow engine. The Spedeworth rules were also used in Northern Ireland. Mainland Europe and South Africa also ran their own versions of the class. The class was relatively successful up until the mid-90's when numbers dramatically reduced, at this stage in Northern Ireland their drivers dominated the class.

To bring drivers into the class, reduce costs and move away from the ageing Toyota Starlet the rules were changed slightly in 1997, allowing front to rear wheel conversion and use the Ford Pinto engine that was already being used in Lightning Rods and Superstox. This did make the cars go slower but has made the class probably the best domestic hot rod class in the country. During the mid 90's Ringwood also ran the class and were represented at major championships. The racing has a good rivalry between Northern Ireland and England, both nations have had similar success in the championship meetings since the class has been under 2 litre power. The World Championship is held in Northern Ireland every 3 years and in England the other two.

Domestic meetings take place in normal graded order, because of the sheer amount of drivers racing some meetings have split grids for the heats. To keep interest in these domestic meetings small series like the Ludlow series take place. Other titles have been sponsored by BP and sent the winners to Daytona or South Africa.

Other 2 litre classes exist around the country, the older GMP based class and Buxton pinto based formula's are closer in specification to National Hot Rods, while Barford's are closer to Stock Rods. Swaffham also have a 2 Litre class for the budget racer. The Standlake hot rod formula is becoming a home for older 2L Hot Rods.

The Cars
The car construction is similar to that of a National Hot Rod as full space frames are allowed, but the exaggerated body panels aren't, nor is the use of kevlar and glass fibre on the whole car. Most cars are a mixture of steel wings and doors with kevlar doors and bonnets. The cars run use one tyre supplied by Hoosier.

The variety of cars is larger than any other class of hot rods, the class does tend to mimic the Nationals. The latest trend seems to be the Vauxhall Tigra. The Vauxhall Nova and Corsa are the most popular car on the grid but Saxo's are catching up in numbers. A few oddballs like a Nissan Almera and Suzuki Baleno have also been seen in the class. Ludlow and Haird are main constructors in the class while cars built by John Simms, Kevin Randell and Tim Barnes have also proved successful.

Tracks
Racing takes places on all the Spedeworth tracks plus the two Northern Ieland tracks. With Incarace being controlled by Deane Wood's Spedeworth the class ventured to Northampton in 2008 for the National Championship. For 2009 the World Final was held at Hednesford for the first time, the class also made one appearance at Ballymena that previously promoted 1600 Hot Rods.

Tracks Used: Eastbourne, Great Yarmouth, Hednesford, Ipswich, Northampton, Nutts Corner, Wimbledon For further information check out the track guide.

The Drivers
There are a large amount of drivers registered in England and Northern Ireland. A comprehensive guide to all the registered drivers and their cars can be found on the drivers page.

Championship Winners
The first title held was the Southern back in 1986, The World final was first contested at the 1989 Ipswich Spedeweekend and won by 57 Alan Dent. All the recorded title winners can be found on the champions page.

The Future
Ringwood and Rolling Thunder had previously ran similar classes and those numbers have dropped morphing the class into their Outlaw classes. On the otherhand Northern Ireland has never looked so strong, while Incarace are looking to run the class under their own right. Initially the formula will run along side the Lightning Rods. The ageing Ford Pinto needs to be replaced soon and the zetec or duratec are possible solutions.