Comes with V8.
We’ve not yet seen the new Holden Commodore appear in showrooms much less saturate the market - both facts of which we have little doubt are an eventuality - but the company already has its ideas at the ready for how it might look upon a metamorphosis for motorsport.
The new Opel-developed Commodore, based on the European Insignia Grand Sport, will arrive early next year, incidentally close timing-wise to its racing debut in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. In anticipation of that, Peter Hughes, GM Design Australia Exterior Design Manager, has created this computer generated rendition.
Mark Harland, Holden’s Executive Director of Marketing said in reaction to seeing it: “What an incredible-looking race car, it carries on the tradition of Commodores looking awesome on and off the track and ushers in a new era for our brand. I can’t wait to see it out on the track claiming race wins next year.”
Of course, this digital interpretation isn’t just informed by aesthetics, though our opinion is that it achieves those goals too, but rather was based on advanced aerodynamic simulation and sophisticated Computational Fluid Dynamics modelling.
Holden has also confirmed the next-gen Commodore will be homologated with the current, successful V8 engine for the 2018 season only. Meanwhile, a new V6 twin-turbo engine that conforms with Supercars’ Gen 2 regulations is currently under development in Pontiac, Michigan in partnership with the General Motors Performance and Racing Centre.
The new V6 engine, once ready, will be available to all Holden teams through a leasing program and will be deployed over a staggered introduction alongside the existing V8-powered cars in order to ensure they can achieve technical and performance parity.
James Warburton, Chief Executive Officer of Supercars Australia, said: “It is a pragmatic and sensible approach by Holden and Triple Eight Race Engineering in introducing the new Commodore and a twin-turbocharged V6 powered engine to the sport,”
“Importantly it is a win for all the current Teams in terms of the simplicity and market relevance for an easy transition to the new Commodore in 2018. This phased introduction sets a clear path forward for not only Holden but existing and new manufacturers in the sport.”
For more on Holden cars, check out our Showroom.
