Holden says it has paused development of a new turbocharged V6 Supercars engine with the brand set to stick with its current V8 for, at the very least, one more season.
Talking with Supercars.com, Holden marketing director Mark Harland said the the company is still committed to the category long term and thanked Triple Eight Race Engineering for spearheading V6 development for over two years.
"At Holden we are always assessing the motorsport landscape. After working closely with all Holden teams we have decided to put a hold on the development of the V6 Supercars engine," said Harland.
“We are 100 per cent committed to motorsport and our sponsorship of the Red Bull Holden Racing Team and supporting all Holden teams in both the Supercars and SuperUte paddock.
“This is thanks to the monumental effort Holden and Triple Eight have put into engineering and developing the Holden Supercar and we remain committed to that advancement of motorsport engineering in what is one of the most technically advanced motorsport categories in the world.
“We’re excited to see how the all-new Commodore supercar is performing on the track and the interest the road car is getting in our showrooms. It’s a great car and we’re proud of it.”
Development of the V6 engine has been underway since 2016, with the powerunit scheduled to debut in 2018.
The engine made its first public appearance at Bathurst last year in Triple Eight Racing's 'Sandman' station wagon, and the team was expected to field a V6-powered wildcard entry at Bathurst this year.
Triple Eight owner Roland Dane said the decision allows the team to focus on fine tuning the current 5.0-litre V8 with the all-new ZB Commodore.
“We at Triple Eight are extremely proud of and grateful for the hard work and effort put in by all those involved in the development of the V6TT engine thus far,” he said.
“We’re very confident that the package would have been fully competitive and know that we have an extremely valuable bank of knowledge to refer to as and when a different engine platform is explored again in the future.
“For now we can turn our focus solely onto ensuring that the all-new 2018 Commodore is a race-winner for not just Triple Eight, but for our valued customers, partners and fans as well.”
Supercars’ CEO Sean Seamer was quick to remind fans that both naturally aspirated and forced induction engines are welcomed in the categories Gen2 rules.
“Our current rules allow manufacturers and teams to implement various configurations of power plants,” he said.
“So, while the ZB won’t have a turbo engine configuration at the moment, it’s important that we, as a category, continue to build our learnings and expertise on forced induction.
“We look forward to continuing our great relationship with both Holden and the Teams, irrespective of what engine they choose to run."