- Nissan is the first manufacturer to commit to the V8 Supercar Series in 2013.
- The Australian series will introduce its new "Car of the Future" next year.
- Ford and GM have battled for superiority in the series for 20 years.
SYDNEY, Australia — Nissan has confirmed its plans to enter the Australian V8 Supercar Series in 2013, joining Ford and Holden, and Chrysler may be next to confirm its participation.
Nissan was a dominant competitor in the predecessor to the V8 series with its Skyline GT-R under Group A touring-car rules.
Since 1993, when the series assumed its present form, American-made pushrod V8 engines from Ford and Chevrolet — quite similar to the engines in NASCAR Sprint Cup stock cars — have been the power plants of the Australian series.
Ford, with its Falcon sedan, and Holden, a General Motors company that races the Commodore model, have been the only participants in the revamped series.
However, rule changes coming next season as the series adopts its "Car of Tomorrow," will open up competition to other manufacturers, and Nissan is the first automaker to confirm its plans to compete.
Chrysler is another potential competitor. The resurgent American company, now controlled by Fiat, first expressed an interest in the series last month.
Chrysler's 300 is a niche-market favorite in Australia. The company has aggressively marketed its Hemi V8 engine and competes, along with Ford, Chevrolet and Toyota, in NASCAR.
Nissan is expected to race a series-spec version of its Altima sedan. The Japanese company has a production V8 engineered for its U.S. Titan pickup.
Inside Line says: V8 Supercars are Australia's predominant motorsports form, featuring cars that have much in common with NASCAR stock cars in that they are purpose-built racing machines with production stock car appearances. The series is coming to the U.S. in 2013 at the new Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
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a9x says:
03:16 AM, 02/14/2012
@ isend2c - No, not like nascar, these will actually look like the real thing. Doors will open, lights will work etc. The big benefit will be a control chassis meaning reduced cost and the ability for other manufacturers to join.
I agree it seems stupid to use a FWD car for this, the M56 or something AWD at least sounds better, as well as the 300C from Chrysler.
http://www.v8supercars.com.au/technical/carofthefuture/thenewgenerationofv8supercars/tabid/1418/default.aspx
smartalec65 says:
02:13 AM, 02/14/2012
It seems pretty strange that nissan would choose to race the Altima since it is not even sold in australia, all of the australian reports claim that Nissan will race either the Maxima or infiniti m56
PikachuRacer says:
09:11 PM, 02/13/2012
If the V8 Supercars are based on a production V8 RWD Sports Sedan in Australia, why does Nissan want to use a 4-cylinder FWD midsize car as it's entry?
It's a bit unusual, unless Nissan wants to turn the Altima into a V8-powered RWD Sports Sedan.
I think they should design a real V8-powered RWD Sports Sedan before they enter the V8 Supercars series and use that one. Otherwise, It may confuse Nissan's loyalists
crossfire2004 says:
05:33 PM, 02/13/2012
Chrysler is going to kill the competition if & when they enter. Also i'd pit ANY mondern day Junk against even the BEST old car stuff & i'm 1000% sure the new vehicle will win! Modern vehicles are safer, more comfortable, & WAYYYY more reliable than the old stuff! No Comparison!!
cz_75 says:
03:36 PM, 02/13/2012
Can't add anything, since my thoughts have been posted by others. Sounds like V-8 Supercars have jumped the shark at the same moment they are attempting entree into the US market - wonder if that's coincidence or if they feel Americans like phoney baloney "stock cars" that require body decals and logos to cue spectators as to which production vehicle they're pretending to be?
stovt001 says:
12:40 PM, 02/13/2012
"V8 Supercars are Australia's predominant motorsports form, featuring cars that have much in common with NASCAR stock cars in that they are purpose-built racing machines with production stock car appearances."
isend2c covered the problem with NASCAR, and while V8 Supercars are indeed tube-frame purpose-built racecars, at least until now they were modeled after legitimately V8-powered, RWD performance sedans, and actually look like those sedans. I simply don't understand why a manufacturer would want to link their racing program to their tamest, least performance oriented offerings. I could buy into the conceit that I was watching actual Commodores and Falcons racing even if in the back of my mind I knew that wasn't the case. There's no way I can make the mental leap to believe the conceit that I'm seeing an Altima race, any more than I can accept the conceit of Impalas and Camrys racing. Now the only thing keeping V8 Supercars above NASCAR status is their ability to turn right.
isend2c says:
12:06 PM, 02/13/2012
If I ever buy a Camry and it doesn't go 195 like the Camry's in NASCAR I'll sue Toyota for fraud, like the lawyers did at Honda for their MPG Estimates...
isend2c says:
12:05 PM, 02/13/2012
With production stock car appearances? You mean lights stickers on a shared shape that every car is required to have because otherwise it's not perfectly fair?
http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2009/01/26/the-nascar-story/
That is a wonderful article on NASCAR back in the 1950's when it WAS STOCK CAR racing, not this modern useless junk.