As far as I understand the car should be as lightweight as possible, and you need excellent traction. The body of the car has to be rigid so it doesn't absorb engine torque by twisting (this means you will need subframe connectors in a unibody car)

Heavy items such as the battery (or concrete spare tire ;-) ) should be moved rearwards for better weight transfer during launch. (this also means engine set back in chassis if possible)

Drag shocks /springs, slicks and traction bars will help to get traction and weight transfer.

Maybe some of you engineers could do a few calculations how much torque is required for a given car weight assumed you have no body flex and good traction...