Although the popular Retro Round theme has not officially returned for the 60th anniversary running of the event, teams remain free to adopt throwback looks.
Ford squads Tickford Racing, through its Thomas Randle/Tyler Everingham driven Castrol entry, and Grove Racing have both opted to wind back the clock.
Tickford released a teaser on Monday featuring a screen from video game Gran Turismo, pointing towards a 1990s-theme for car #55.
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A second teaser released today ahead of a morning reveal showed off the iconic scheme set to be used.
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Grove Racing will take the covers off its Penrite-backed cars at the circuit the following day.
Penrite, which is also the naming rights sponsor of the event, has supported a series of retro schemes at Sandown over the years, including an Allan Moffat Federation Insurance look in 2023.
The Tickford and Grove Mustangs will add to the retro flavour of Matt Stone Racing’s SP Tools sponsorship, and Jack Perkins’ 1979 throwback that has been granted a late Super2 dispensation.
Supercars is too embracing Sandown’s heritage by bringing together a series of classic machines for display under the Turn 1 grandstand.
The centrepiece is a recently completed tribute car that recreates the XB Falcon that Moffat drove to victory in the 1974 Sandown 250.
Known as ‘Project B52’, the original car famously underwent an intensive development program in the United States ahead of an attack on the Sandown and Bathurst races.
The Falcon streaked to victory at Sandown in plain blue Brut 33 colours, before a full race livery was applied for what proved a disastrous campaign at Bathurst.
A variety of other machines from across the decades will sit alongside it, covering the Group C, Group A and five-litre V8 eras of Australian touring car racing.
This year’s anniversary could also spell the last running of the Sandown 500.
The Bend is set to host a 500km Supercars race next year, while Sandown may fall off the calendar completely amid moves to return to Queensland Raceway.
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