Details have begun to emerge around what engines will run in the Gen3 era of the Repco Supercars Championship.
The rumour mill had been in full swing at the OTR SuperSprint at The Bend earlier this month, with several pit lane figures expressing concern around how parity would be managed.
That’s because the Ford and General Motors products are set to be different in capacity, making for a challenge to ensure both sides of the brand divide are on level pegging.
Ford appears set to run a 5.4-litre; an already proven machine in other racing cars.
There’s been more intrigue around a new GM engine to power the highly anticipated Chevrolet Camaro Supercar.
It’s understood both 5.7-litre and 6.2-litre options have been investigated.
The former seems to be more in favour of the two, given the smaller difference in displacement to its Ford counterpart.
Among speculation to have circulated widely was the possibility of a radical concept to forgo engine parity if the 5.4-litre Ford and 6.2-litre GM were selected, and instead adopt a GT-style of solution with timed pit stops.
The chances of that kind of system coming to fruition now seem especially slim.
Either way, Speedcafe.com understands the Gen3 engines are much further along than has been publicised by Supercars, which continues to play its cards close to its chest.
Sources have noted both engines have undergone at least initial dyno testing and have run well.
That’s a significant and previously unknown reason for optimism, given the degree of scrutiny associated with Gen3 in recent months.
It’s still not certain exactly when Gen3 regulations will come into effect, with three options apparent: the start of 2022, midway through 2022, or the start of 2023.
Although Supercars communicated that 2022 was still the plan following a crucial meeting with team owners this month, some parties remain convinced a delayed implementation is best for the good of the sport.
To this point, Supercars has only released initial renders last year of the Camaro and new-look Mustang, and pictures of chassis constructed by Triple Eight Race Engineering and PACE Innovations.
Besides that, Speedcafe.com obtained images of steering wheel prototypes that had been displayed to drivers at the Symmons Plains event in April.
While teams long complained of being kept in the dark on the project, it’s been said that CAD drawings have now been distributed, allowing crews to begin preparations.
More broadly, Supercars has begun to be more open with its communications on Gen3.
For a period of time, CEO Sean Seamer was the only representative officially authorised to discuss the project in the public forum; by contrast, Supercars recently on its own platforms had head of motorsport Adrian Burgess and tech guru Mark Larkham in a video speaking about the matter.
Mostech and KRE, respectively, have been charged with developing the Ford and GM engines for Gen3.
Cost, reliability and parity are said to be the core pillars driving how Gen3 engines will ultimately look.
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