EXTENSIVE efforts to refine the Gen3 platform could soon have Supercars revisiting the opportunity to bring in new manufacturers.
Having enjoyed the presence of five different marques a decade ago, Supercars has returned to a Ford versus General Motors showdown after Nissan, Volvo and Mercedes-AMG’s stints all proved brief.
The two-horse race has evolved though, the Holden Commodore being succeeded by the Chevrolet Camaro as Ford’s opponent.
Following a bumpy first year of Gen3, the new regulations have begun to hit their stride, as recently declared by four-time Bathurst 1000 winner Greg Murphy.
Supercars/RACE chairman Barclay Nettlefold believes the category is approaching the point where it can begin to explore the addition of a new marque.
“Our focus has been around getting the (Gen3) car to the level that we can have constructive discussions with other manufacturers,” he told News Corp Australia.
“We hope that we will be through that hurdle in the next months to come, where we can then hand on heart be very proactive in talking to other manufacturers, which will make it cost efficient, turnkey to come in on the product.
“I think we all would (like to have another manufacturer in the sport). Even Ford has openly said we think it would be the best thing for the sport. So, yes, we would love to.
“We would love to see another two cars on the grid, the more the better.”
Nettlefold further said: “We need to have done our work where we can make it easy for a manufacturer to turnkey on to our product and know we can do it within a nine-month window, where we do wind-tunnel testing, AVL testing and make sure that it’s a competitive product because we don’t want manufacturers to come on and not be competitive.”
Supercars CEO Shane Howard has previously indicated an expectation that there will be a new General Motors product on the grid in 2026.
Supercars has committed to running the Camaro, production for which has ceased on the road car front, until the end of next season.
