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HomeNewsSUPERCARS TO SELL PROTOTYPE CARS

SUPERCARS TO SELL PROTOTYPE CARS

THE pair of Car of the Future prototypes built 10 years ago are to be sold off by Supercars.

One Holden Commodore and one Ford Falcon were completed back in 2011 by Pace Innovations for Supercars and were used for testing both prior to and during the introduction of the Car of the Future era of machinery.

The chassis are now surplus to requirement given the introduction of the new Gen3 car platform and are being placed on the market by Supercars.

V8 Sleuth has been engaged by Supercars to find new homes for the cars and they’re expected to be snapped up quickly by eager collectors given their unique nature.

Interested parties can contact V8 Sleuth here to discuss these cars.

The Falcon, originally built with FG panels but now panelled as an FG X, has been used as the reference point car in aerodynamic testing for all new models introduced to the category in recent years, including the ZB Commodore and Mustang GT.

The Falcon COTF prototype as it sits now in FG X specification. Photo: Supplied.

It did plenty of on-track running in 2011 with then-Fujitsu Series drivers Scott McLaughlin and Jack Perkins doing the driving and Matt Stone Racing preparing and running the car during the testing program.

Others to drive the Falcon during testing include 2015 Supercars Champion Mark Winterbottom, 2014 Bathurst 1000 winner Chaz Mostert and Lee Holdsworth.

In fact, Holdsworth drove the car during Dunlop Series and ‘main game’ co-driver practice sessions at Bathurst in 2012 for a final validation test of the 18-inch Dunlop tyre.

Lee Holdsworth at the wheel of the COTF Ford prototype at Bathurst in 2012 while conducting tyre testing mid-session within the co-driver and DVS sessions. Photo: Supplied.

The Falcon prototype comes as a complete, running car, with a Ford V8 Supercar engine (and its original FG Falcon panels included in the sale), whereas the Commodore is more of a static display with no engine or driveline, though it does have a wiring harness, brakes system and suspension.

Both cars were unveiled publicly at the 2011 Sydney 500.

The Commodore originally ran with VE II panels before being re-skinned as a VF and was driven by the likes of Mark Skaife, Rick Kelly, Jamie Whincup, James Courtney and Nick Percat.

It was taken to the United States in April 2013 and driven by Courtney, Fabian Coulthard, NASCAR star Kurt Busch and motocross legend Chad Reed at the Circuit of The Americas as part of promotional efforts ahead of the first V8 Supercar round in the United States that May.

Appearing on display as the XBOX Commodore in the tech centre in the TV coverage of that year’s Bathurst 1000, the car was later modified for use of the V6 twin-turbo GM engine that was mooted for the category a few years ago and indeed had a test engine in and out of its engine bay a few times.

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