Supercars considering category engine for Gen3

Supercars is considering introducing a category-branded engine for prospective manufacturers with the advent of Gen3.

The branded engine concept is akin to that seen in the British Touring Car Championship, which offers a TOCA-branded engine manufacturer by Swindon.

Domestically, Touring Car Masters also offers a category-branded ‘TCM Engine’ that is a Chevrolet LS-derived 6.0-litre V8.

The introduction of a category-branded engine would allow manufacturers to enter Supercars with fewer development obstacles.

Supercars has previously investigated introducing a category engine and partially developed a generic V8 engine for new manufacturers.

Discussions around the concept have been ongoing for over a decade and were reported by Speedcafe.com as far back as 2011.

Erebus Motorsport and Nissan Motorsport (then Kelly Racing) both opted not to pursue the generic category engine.

As Mercedes-AMG customers, Erebus brought in engines from Germany. Meanwhile, Nissan Motorsport developed a Nissan Patrol derived VK56.

Gen3 will see the current power-to-weight ratio maintained across all engines in the category.

The car will be 100kg lighter and feature engines that make 600 bhp at 7500 rpm.

Changes to the engine rules have been designed in an effort to make them cheaper to buy and operate.

Lengthening the engine life, reducing fuel consumption, and having more engine options available whilst remaining competitive is also targeted.