without losing performance. Maybe we can also reduce
the capital investment for our teams. But certainly the
intention of Supercars has always been that, and when
people migrate away from the existing Holden and Ford
V8s, that future engines come from one builder.
“So the Nissan engines come from one builder. Obvi-
ously, it’s only one team, so that’s easy. But if future
engines for a different manufacturer come from a spe-
cific builder for that manufacturer, then it makes it
much easier to police. It makes it much easier to ensure
that everyone’s got the same equipment. So that’s very
much the part of the thinking behind this as well.”
Triple Eight will run the V6 in race trim for some wild-
card entries next season before a full switch in 2019. The
wildcards will allow the team to work with its partners
to ensure a smooth transition. So it means the new car
will be engineered for both engines.“The V8 engine is straightforward; the amount of
space we’ve got under the bonnet is almost identical to
the current car and since there are so many other regula-
tions around the engines and Car of the Future, it is no
real issue there,” says Dane.
“The V6 turbo is obviously a completely different
kettle of fish. We have run that engine in the Sandman
vehicle that we built several years ago with this job in
mind. And we are happy with that initial run. What
we’ve got is a very good base unit at the moment and it is
good enough to be truly competitive in a Supercar field.
“The parity modelling of Supercars, where you could
well end up having current V8 engines competing
against a completely different layout such as a V6 twin-
turbo, is important. There’s plenty of work to do for
all of us around that and we don’t underestimate that
amount of work.HOLDEN COMMODORE
LION’S ROAR
Scan to watch Craig Lowndes
drive the new V6 twin-turbo
Commodore at full noise.