The V8 engine has become Supercar racing’s greatest strength, but arguably its biggest weakness.
If you’re the kind of person looking forward to a day when the Bathurst 1000 race is fought out by multiple brands in production-relevant touring cars, we have bad news for you. Supercars insistence of sticking with V8 engines all-but rules out any new car maker joining as the V8 engine becomes an endangered species in the showroom.
This weekend’s Bathurst event marks the end of the road for Holden at our most famous race, with Chevrolet arriving in 2023 to replace it, but that will likely be the only new car brand to enter the sport any time soon, even if the new Gen3 regulations have been designed to accommodate more brands – as long as they have a V8.
Former Supercars CEO Sean Seamer said at the launch of the Gen3 rules at Bathurst in 2021 that the sport wants “to stay loud, V8 proud”.
Supercars even dropped the ‘V8’ from its name back in 2018 when Holden began developing a Cadillac twin-turbo V6 for the ZB Commodore, but when the brand decided to drop it, the sport reaffirmed its commitment to V8 engines for now and into the future.
Ford Performance boss Trevor Worthington told CarsGuide he’s open to more competition in the sport, saying he would happily welcome the likes of Toyota and Nissan with their Supra and Z models – especially as the Chevrolet Camaro won’t be sold in Australia despite racing in the series.
“Absolutely. Always. The more the merrier,” he said. “Because we want to prove ourselves against the best, that’s what we do, that’s the whole point of it. So, I absolutely encourage competition because you’re going to get more punters, it’s going to make the sport bigger. The fact there’s only one real competitor and it’s not a real car – a mainstream car – that’s not a reason not to be in it.”
However, when asked if he’d be open with them racing with an engine other than a V8, Mr Worthington wasn’t as welcoming.
“That’s a different question,” he said. “Because you’ve got to make sure, whether it’s balance of performance or ‘here’s a set of rules, go do the best you can’.
“Having experienced the challenges of balance of performance, when you don’t have the same engine architecture it becomes very, very problematic. You don’t want to be arguing before and after the race.”
The problem for Supercars is there are very few cars that meet the criteria of a V8-powered coupe currently available in Australia. In recent weeks we’ve seen the reveal of the new Mercedes-AMG C63, which has ditched its V8 engine in favour of a turbocharged four-cylinder hybrid powertrain. Even a brand as steeped in V8 history as Maserati revealed its new GranTurismo model with a turbocharged V6 (or electric motors).
The Audi RS5 Coupe, BMW M4, Toyota Supra and Nissan Z are all powered by six-cylinder engines, making any potential Supercars entry unlikely as running a V8 engine would diminish the production relevance that the Gen3 rules were meant to promote.
Holden may be departing, but in Chevrolet the General Motors connection remains and it seems will continue to be the sport’s only rivalry for the foreseeable future.
Keyword: Will Bathurst ever be open to more than Ford and GM? Why V8 Supercars has all-but closed the door to having new brands joining the sport