Triple Eight is in discussions with Supercars teams interested in upgrading to the new 2018 Commodore next season.
The factory Holden squad has been charged to develop the latest iteration of the Commodore Supercar, which will be based on the European designed Opel Insignia sedan.
Triple Eight had originally planned to run the five-door hatchback Commodore with a 3.6 litre twin-turbo V6 engine, developed by General Motors in America, for at least Shane van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup.
The news coincided with the official release of images of the new-look Holden Supercar.
As a result, the squad will now run the car powered by existing V8 engines, paving the way for privateer Holden teams to follow suit and upgrade to the latest specification Commodore package.
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Triple Eight owner Roland Dane says his outfit is working to ensure the new Commodore will be available to teams and is currently fielding enquiries.
Dane has been encouraged by the amount of interest in the car, which is expected to undergo aero testing and homologation later this year.
It is unlikely the car will make a public demonstration this year. Meanwhile, plans to run the V6 engine in the wildcard program remain on course.
“We are fully intending to get availability to other teams that want it as soon as it is possible,” Dane told Speedcafe.com
“We are working on it now and we are talking to the teams that are interested in running the cars for next year.
“There has certainly been plenty of interest from the teams that are running Holdens right now.”
Costs to upgrade to the next generation Commodore are yet to be finalised although it is not expected to differ too much from the current VF Commodore components.
“We are still trying to cost and we are still some way away from being able to do that 100 percent, but it’s panels and it is not going to differ massively from what it costs for a front splitter for today versus a front splitter next year,” Dane added.
It is understood several teams are evaluating the prospect of upgrading, however, only Triple Eight has confirmed intentions to run the new car next year.
Brad Jones Racing is among the teams to hold tentative discussions but the Albury squad is waiting for more information to become available before making its decision.
“I’ve spoken to Roland about it a bit but we have got a bit more work to do before we decide exactly what we do,” Jones told Speedcafe.com.
“Roland will let us know when he gets his stuff sorted but I think they have got a lot of work to do before they are in a position to tell anyone what is available.
“Obviously we will look with interest when it does its aero testing, see what the package is and make a decision in due course, but I don’t have a timeline for that.”
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