Group 3A 's 1994
Holden VP Commodore ' 1996
Holden VR Commodore The concept of a formula centred around
V8-engined Fords and
Holdens for the
Australian Touring Car Championship had been established as early as mid-1991. With the new regulations set to come into effect in
1993, Ford and Holden were both keen to know the details of the new formula by the end of 1991, putting pressure on the
Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) to provide clarity on the matter. However, CAMS was waiting to see what the
FIA did with its proposed international formula for 2.5- and 2.0-litre touring cars. The new rules for the ATCC were announced in November 1991 and indicated that the V8 cars would be significantly faster than the smaller-engined cars. In 1992, CAMS looked at closing the performance gap between the classes, only to have protests from Ford and Holden, which did not want to see their cars beaten by the smaller cars. In June 1992, the class structure was confirmed: • Class A: Australian-produced 5.0-litre V8-engined Fords and Holdens • Class B: 2.0-litre cars complying with
FIA Class II Touring Car regulations • Class C: normally aspirated two-wheel drive cars complying with 1992 CAMS Group 3A Touring Car regulations:This class would only be eligible in 1993. Both the
Ford Falcon EB and
Holden Commodore VP ran American-based engines, which were restricted to 7,500
rpm and a
compression ratio of 10:1. The Holden teams had the option of using the
Group A-developed 5.0-litre
Holden V8 engine, although this was restricted to the second-tier privateer teams from 1994 onwards, forcing the major Holden runners to use the more expensive
Chevrolet engine. The V8s were first eligible to compete in the endurance races of
1992. The distinctive aerodynamics package, consisting of large
front and
rear spoilers, was designed partly with this in mind, to give the new cars a better chance of beating the
Nissan Skyline GT-Rs in those races. with the Class C cars eligible for 1993 only, the German manufacturer's attention switched to the 2.0-litre class for 1994. Cars from all three classes would contest the
1993 Australian Touring Car Championship, as well as non-championship Australian touring car events such as the
Bathurst 1000. However, for the purposes of race classification and points allocation, cars competed in two classes: • Over 2,000 cc • Under 2,000 cc Originally, the 2.0-litre class cars competed in a separate race to the V8s. This was changed for the second round of 1993 after only nine entrants were in the 2.0-litre class for the first round at
Amaroo Park. Disparity between the Fords and Holdens continued to be a talking point during the next few years, with various concessions given to each manufacturer to try to equalise the two cars. From
1995, the 2.0-litre cars, now contesting their own series as
super touring cars, became ineligible for the Australian Touring Car Championship. They did not contest the endurance races at Sandown and Bathurst, leaving these open solely to the 5.0-litre Ford and Holden models.
V8 Supercars 's 1997
Ford Falcon EL, pictured in 2011 The Australian Vee Eight Super Car Company (AVESCO) – a joint venture between the Touring Car Entrants Group of Australia (TEGA), sports promoters
IMG and the Australian Motor Sports Commission – was formed in November 1996 to run the series. This set the foundation for the large expansion of the series during the following years. The category also adopted the name 'V8 Supercars' at this time, though the cars themselves were much unchanged. A new television deal with
Network Ten and
Fox Sports was organised, although this had
follow-on effects for the
Bathurst 1000 later in the year. In February,
Tony Cochrane and James Erskine left IMG. Together with David Coe, they formed Sports and Entertainment Limited (SEL) in April 1997. TEGA would have a 75% share in AVESCO, with SEL owning the other 25%. TEGA was responsible for the rules and technical management of the series and the supply of cars and drivers, while SEL was responsible for capturing and maintaining broadcasting rights, sponsorship, licensing, and sanction agreements. The expansion of the series began in
1998, with the first round to be held in the Northern Territory taking place at
Hidden Valley Raceway. In
1999, a
new street race on a shortened version of the
Adelaide Grand Prix Circuit became one of the first festival-style events, which would become common in later years. Australia's capital city,
Canberra, hosted its
first event on the
Canberra Street Circuit in
2000. In
2001, a championship round was held in New Zealand for the first time, at
Pukekohe Park Raceway. In
2002, the V8 Supercar support event at the
Indy 300 on the
Gold Coast became a championship round, having been a non-championship event since 1994. Major format changes were made for 1999, with the incorporation of the endurance races into the championship. Control tyres were used for the first time, with
Bridgestone selected as the supplier. The series was also renamed from the "Australian Touring Car Championship" to the "Shell Championship Series", by virtue of
Shell's sponsorship of the category. Reverse-grid races were introduced for multiple rounds in 2000 before being confined to just the Canberra round for 2001. Also in 2001, compulsory
pit stops were introduced at certain rounds and the Top Ten Shootout was used at all rounds. The control tyre supplier changed from Bridgestone to
Dunlop in 2002 and the series name was changed to the "V8 Supercar Championship Series" after Shell discontinued their sponsorship.
Project Blueprint 's 2003
Holden VY Commodore Discussions about parity had returned in 2000, with trimmed from the front spoiler of the Commodore after Holden, in particular, the
Holden Racing Team, had dominated in 1998 and 1999. This was in response to the removed from the Falcon in previous seasons, and coincided with a trim from the Falcon's rear spoiler. The small reduction for the Holden teams was quickly addressed with both cars receiving the same front splitter shortly afterwards, but the Falcon's rear wing remained trimmed. Ford had threatened to withdraw from the series, but nothing came of this. After Holden again dominated in 2001 and 2002, a new set of regulations, dubbed "Project Blueprint", was introduced in
2003 to close the performance gap between the Commodore and the Falcon, thus creating closer, fairer racing. Project Blueprint was developed by Paul Taylor and Wayne Cattach, who spent two years designing a formula which would eliminate most of the differences between the Fords and Holdens. Project Blueprint had the chassis pick-up points,
wheelbase,
track, and driving position become common across both manufacturers. The Holdens were now able and required to use
double-wishbone front suspension, similar to that of the Falcon, rather than the
MacPherson struts used previously, and a Watts link at the rear rather than a Panhard. The aerodynamic packages were comprehensively tested and revised and differences in the
porting of each of the manufacturers' engines were also removed. The performance of the new
Ford BA Falcon and
Holden VY and
VZ Commodores was fairly even for the next four years, with Ford winning the championship in 2003,
2004, and
2005 and Holden winning in
2006. Reverse-grid races were used at certain events in 2006 before unpopularity with the drivers, teams, and fans saw them abolished halfway through the season. , five-time series champion and leader of the new generation V8 Supercar project The
Holden VE Commodore caused controversy when it was introduced in
2007. The production model was longer, wider, and taller than the rival
Ford BF Falcon and outside of the limits set by Project Blueprint. As a result, the VE race car was granted custom bodywork – namely shortened rear doors and a lowered roofline to meet the regulations. Despite this, the VE was approved for use in the series, along with the BF Falcon, after several months of preseason testing.
Sequential gearboxes were introduced in
2008 and became compulsory by the end of the year. In
2009,
E85 (a fuel consisting of 85%
ethanol and 15%
unleaded petrol) was introduced in an effort to improve the environmental image of the sport. Carbon dioxide emissions decreased by up to 50%, but fuel consumption was increased by 30% to produce the same power as before. 2009 also had the introduction of a soft compound tyre at certain events to try to improve the quality of the racing and create different strategies. In 2005, AVESCO changed its name to V8 Supercars Australia (VESA). however the promoter of the race dropped their support and the series did not return thereafter. 2006 saw the series travel to the
Middle East, with an event held at the
Bahrain International Circuit in
Bahrain.
Townsville in
North Queensland and at
Sydney Olympic Park. The series' Middle East expansion continued in 2010 with a second round held at the
Yas Marina Circuit in
Abu Dhabi. 2008 saw the separate boards of directors of VESA and TEGA merge into a single board that was solely responsible for the administration of the category. The new board of directors was composed of four TEGA representatives, two members from SEL and two independent directors. In 2011, TEGA and SEL entered a sale agreement with Australian Motor Racing Partners (AMRP), which had significant financial backing from
Archer Capital. This agreement saw SEL lose its 25% stake in V8 Supercars, with Archer Capital taking up a 60% share and TEGA the other 40%. A new board of directors was appointed, with two TEGA representatives and two AMRP representatives. In 2011, Archer Capital purchased a 65% shareholding in the series with the teams owning the other 35%. In December 2021, both Archer Capital and the teams sold their shareholdings to Race Australia Consolidated Enterprises.
New Generation V8 Supercar In the middle of 2008, a project led by
Mark Skaife was organised by V8 Supercars to investigate future directions for the sport. The project had the primary objective of cutting costs to
$250,000 per car through the use of control parts and to create a pathway for new manufacturers to enter the series, provided that they have a four-door saloon car in mass production. The new formula, called "Car of the Future", was scheduled to be introduced before or during the
2012 season. The plan was publicly unveiled in March 2010 and was shown to incorporate several key changes to the internal workings of the car. The chassis and the cooling, fuel and electronics systems would all be changed to control parts, with changes to the engine, drivetrain, rear suspension, wheels and the control brake package. The safety of the cars was also to be reviewed and improved. While the plans were well received by all of the teams, Holden Motorsport boss Simon McNamara warned potential new manufacturers to stay out of the championship just hours after the plans were released, claiming that they would "gain nothing" from entering the series. Major changes were revealed to include a switch from a
live rear axle to
independent rear suspension; the use of a
rear transaxle instead of a mid-mounted gearbox; the repositioning of the
fuel tank to in front of the rear axle to improve safety; replacing the windscreen with a
polycarbonate unit; and a switch from to wheels. In February 2012,
Nissan confirmed that they would enter the series under Car of the Future regulations with
Kelly Racing. In June 2013,
Volvo announced it would enter the series in
2014 in a collaboration with its motorsport arm,
Polestar Racing and
Garry Rogers Motorsport. The series continued its international expansion in 2013, with the first event in
North America held at the
Circuit of the Americas in
Austin, Texas. In 2015, five drivers took part in a series of demonstration races at the
Kuala Lumpur Street Circuit as part of the
KL City Grand Prix. This was intended to be a precursor to the series holding a championship event at the circuit in 2016, in a push from CEO
James Warburton to build series exposure in Asia. The event was later cancelled due to legal issues affecting the circuit.
Supercars Championship In April 2016, the series reached an agreement with
Virgin Australia to rename the series to the
Virgin Australia Supercars Championship on 1 July. For the 2021 season, this changed to the Repco Supercars Championship on a 5-year deal, extended to an 8-year deal at the end of 2022.
Gen 2 Supercar In December 2014, Supercars released details concerning the future of the category. New regulations, dubbed Gen2 Supercar, were introduced in
2017 to allow the use of
two-door coupé body styles and
turbocharged four- or six-cylinder engines. However, no teams elected to build cars to these alternate engine specifications. Cars were still required to be based on front-engined, rear-wheel drive, four-seater production cars that were sold in Australia. The chassis and control components were carried over from the New Generation V8 Supercar regulations, while engine and aerodynamic parity was reviewed. Where
Holden ZB Commodore made a debut in 2018 and later,
Ford Mustang S550 in the 2019 debut as the only Two-door coupe Gen2 specifications and also the successor of
FG X Falcon, which been discontinued at the end of 2016.
Gen 3 Supercar After being first announced in 2020, and after being delayed for a year due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, the Gen 3 regulations were introduced for the
2023 Supercars Championship. The main aim was to create closer racing, to reduce costs and to increase road-relevance for the manufacturers. To do this, sweeping aerodynamic changes were made to cut the generated
downforce. This reduced the amount of "dirty" air created, and made the cars more challenging to drive. The regulations continued previous changes to ensure technical parity between cars, helping to keep power, downforce and drag levels identical. Engines were further aligned to road going units, to increase longevity, remove the cost of manufacturing custom parts (in particular
velocity stacks) and decrease the cost of a rebuild. ==Supercar specifications==