Holden has shelved development of its V6 turbo Supercars engine that had been scheduled for introduction in 2019. Holden had announced plans to swap the current Chevrolet naturally aspirated 5.0 V8 that powers all Commodore Supercars for a twin turbocharged 3.6-liter V6 engine.
As featured in a forward-looking article in the latest issue of PMW, the move to a cleaner and more efficient engine was seen as a step change in Supercars vehicle development. The Holden V6 was expected to be the first non-V8 to run in the ATCC/Supercars Championship in almost 25 years.
Driven by marketing – the ZB Commodore production car doesn’t have a V8 option in its range – the team planned to develop a new heart from the ZB’s top performer, the naturally aspirated 3.6 LGX V6. The team will now stick with its current V8 for the foreseeable future.
Mark Harland, marketing director at Holden, said of the reasoning behind the decision, “At Holden we are always assessing the motorsport landscape. After working closely with all Holden teams we have decided to put a hold on the development of the V6 Supercars engine.
“We are 100% committed to motorsport and our sponsorship of the Red Bull Holden Racing Team and supporting all Holden teams in both the Supercars and SuperUte paddock.
“We’re excited to see how the all-new Commodore supercar is performing on the track and the interest the road car is getting in our showrooms. It’s a great car and we’re proud of it.”
With development on the unit starting in 2016, the engine underwent track tests midway through last year, before making its public debut with a Bathurst demo in October.
Triple Eight owner Roland Dane has said the decision will enable the team to focus on winning races with its current V8-powered ZB package: “We at Triple Eight are extremely proud of and grateful for the hard work and effort put in by all those involved in the development of the V6TT engine thus far.
“We’re very confident that the package would have been fully competitive and know that we have an extremely valuable bank of knowledge to refer to as and when a different engine platform is explored again in the future.
“For now, we can turn our focus solely onto ensuring that the all-new 2018 Commodore is a race-winner for not just Triple Eight, but for our valued customers, partners and fans as well.”
More details to follow.
