FORD has somewhat gone against the grain by declaring it is not advocating for electrification in motorsport categories including the Repco Supercars Championship.
There has been a broad push in recent years in global automotive and motorsport sectors towards hybrid/electric power and Supercars itself has deliberately left scope with its Gen3 project for that path to be pursued down the track.
However, that’s not necessarily something Ford is keen on.
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“Our position on that has actually changed,” admitted Ford Performance Motorsports global director Mark Rushbrook.
“We were definitely two or three years ago pushing for electrification including hybrid in a lot of different series around the world. We’re not, honestly, at this point.
“I know we have it with our Puma hybrid in WRC and it’s actually working quite well there and we have learnt a lot from that that we can transfer to our road cars, but in series including Supercars and NASCAR and some other sportscar racing series that we’re in, we do believe that ICE (internal combustion engine) will continue to work very well for us for the foreseeable future.
“Because it does create that spectacle, it does create that emotional, passionate connection to the vehicle, which helps our brand.
“At this point, with some of the cost and complexity with hybrid, if it’s not going to add to the race, then we don’t think it needs to be on there.
“So at this point, for Supercars or many of our other global series, we’re not advocating to add it.”
That’s likely to be music to the ears of many fans, given the general affection for the V8 engine’s roar.
It’s been a big couple of days for the Blue Oval, unveiling its S650 Mustang road car and Supercar.
The updated Ford Gen3 prototype is due to be seen in the flesh for the first time at next month’s Repco Bathurst 1000.
