V8 for Holden racer

Holden's new generation Commodore will get a V8 engine - at least in its racing form.

The news, confirmed this morning, is that the next-generation Commodore racer, which will debut in 2018 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship, will eschew the new twin-turbo V6 developed for it - at least until the end of next season.

The new twin-turbo V6 built to the category's "Gen 2" regulations, is currently still under development in General Motors' Pontiac (Michigan, USA) based, Performance and Racing Center (sic).

Holden says Triple Eight Race Engineering will "seek approval from Supercars to run a V6-powered Commodore as a "wild card" entry at selected rounds in 2018. In part, this will be in an effort to equalise performance between the new turbo engine and existing naturally-aspirated powerplants

Holden says the new Commodore racer will be homologated with the current, successful V8 engine "for the 2018 season only". Once the new V6 is ready to race, it will be offered to supercar teams running Commodores "via a favourable leasing program" the company claims.

Holden says the "staggered introduction" of the V6 powertrain will ease the transition to the new model Commodore bodywork for all Holden teams. By that Holden presumably means customer teams can transition to the NG look in 2017 and then to the new engine in 2018.

Revealed in computer-generated image form, the racer's look is the work of GM Design Australia Exterior Design Manager and long-time Supercar race fan, Peter Hughes.

And don’t read anything into the lack of Red Bull signage on the artwork. It will be there in 2018.

The car itself is the subject of "an intensive and rigorous design and development process being undertaken in partnership between Holden and its official factory racing team, Triple Eight Race Engineering".

There are suggestions the new racer may appear first in an on-track celebratory 'farewell' to Aussie built Commodores at the Bathurst 1000 in October. Supercars' aerodynamic 'validation' testing of the new car is expected to take place late this year.

"Our sport prides itself on Supercars being the closest competition in the world, and the phased introduction of the next-generation Commodore will ensure that is maintained," Triple Eight Race Engineering team principal, Roland Dane said.

Supercars Australia Chief Executive Officer James Warburton called the staggered arrival of the new racer a "pragmatic and sensible approach".

"It is a win for all the current teams... This phased introduction sets a clear path forward for not only Holden but existing and new manufacturers in the sport," Warburton stated.