Mustang confirmed to replace Falcon -2018 Supercars

[whitels1ss]

Mark Winterbottom confirmed to the Daily Telegraph that his team, Prodrive Racing Australia, are switching from the Falcon
which ended production last year to the Mustang, with work currently underway now.

Ford-Mustang-2016-750x472.jpg

What’s more, despite the rules being opened up to accommodate other engine layouts such as turbocharged six-cylinders,
the Mustang will apparently retain the mighty V8.
Winterbottom said

“I think from a Ford point of few it will be V8s for us. That is what we are working towards. I love the sound of the V8 and that is what attracted me to the sport. This sport is about sound and noise and nothing sounds as good as a big V8. The sport may change but for us it will be a V8.’”

Competitors such as Holden are expected to field turbo V6 engines, while Kia is a potential new entrant, with the Stinger on the way. Nissan could possibly utilise a GTR-based body shell to replace the Altima, which has not been a particularly succesful car in terms of market sales.

CAD work is underway now to see the Mustang finished by the end of the year.


http://performancedrive.com.au/ford-...s-series-0421/

[whitels1ss]

Pity there's not much chance of a Camaro for the "Red Corner."

[Jason01]

Welcome back to the future, the early to mid eighties wasn't it when Ford dropped the V8 and Johnson started racing a Mustang?

[Red CV8 R]

I lost interest in tin top racing when Group A died but I find a V8 Mustang racing sooooo much cooler than the 4 door V6 Opel that Holden will be running.

[macca_779]

Pretty short-sighted to not use the ecoboost engine. Baby steps though

[duke5700]

I forsee some mid season parity changes going on.

[macca_779]

No doubt. With FI now allowed they'll be held back to give the old v8s a chance

[SASLS1]

Speculation Story Again... Nothing Confirmed...


"Prodrive Racing Australia has stressed that a decision on whether the Mustang will enter the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship in 2018 is yet to be reached.

A report in today’s Daily Telegraph claims the Mustang will replace the out-of-production Falcon next season, with the build of the first car said to already be underway.

In the story, driver Mark Winterbottom reaffirmed previous reports that PRA hopes to introduce a Mustang and has undertaken Computer Aided Design around fitting the body to the control chassis.


PRA has subsequently issued a statement clarifying its position and stressed to Supercars.com....... that no physical building of a Mustang Supercar has been undertaken.

Prodrive Racing (Australia) would like to clarify a report in today’s The Daily Telegraph which claims the team will be running a Ford Mustang Supercar in the 2018 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship,

No such decision has been made.

As previously confirmed by the team, it is evaluating options for the eventual replacement of its current multiple championship-winning Ford FGX Falcon Supercar.

This process is ongoing and involves consultation with multiple partners.

Prodrive Racing appreciates the significant level of interest in this process from members, fans and the media, but confirmation of its future plans will be made at the appropriate time.

PRA’s evaluation of the Mustang has been undertaken in collaboration with fellow Ford Supercars squad DJR Team Penske, which has strong connections to Ford through its United States management.

Ford, which currently has a licensing deal with the two teams allowing them to use the Falcon body and Ford logos, would need to sign-off on the Mustang project for it to be introduced.

Alterations to the control chassis are also understood to be needed to fit two-door bodies such as the Mustang or Nissan’s GT-R, which has also been touted as a possible future contender."


From below...

http://www.supercars.com/news/championship/prodrive-no-decision-on-mustang/

[SASLS1]

I can't see Nissan ever bringing the GTR body into Supercars...... in "RWD Only Form"...... as the 2018 Supercar rules only allow...

That would only, totally undermine the GTR brand...

Never going to happen IMO... unless they change the rules in the future, to allow AWD, which I can't see that happening either...

[SASLS1]

How could they let only a "2 Star Car"...... on a race track anyway....

Hahahaha....

[whitels1ss]

Speculation Story Again... Nothing Confirmed...


"Prodrive Racing Australia has stressed that a decision on whether the Mustang will enter the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship in 2018 is yet to be reached.

Sounds to me more like Winterbottom may have just blabbed a little bit early on what they are planning

They must have a plan for the future, lots of things are going to change.

Mustang would make a lot of sense in my opinion.

[GPT]

Personally I'd rather see V8 Supercars killed off and the GT class pushed as the main event.

[amckiwi]

Watched the supercars show on foxtel the other night and evidently the car that the supercar is based on needs to be 4 doors and this rule will need to change for the stang etc

[whitels1ss]

Watched the supercars show on foxtel the other night and evidently the car that the supercar is based on needs to be 4 doors and this rule will need to change for the stang etc

They make & change any of the rules whenever they feel like it.

They will get far more support from Australian spectators racing Mustangs rather than Euro & Asian cars.

[GPT]

They will get far more support from Australian spectators racing Mustangs rather than Euro & Asian cars.

Short term perhaps, long term I strongly doubt.