Will The Turbo V6 Supercar Bring The Noise?

F1 Fears...


Article heading image for Will The Turbo V6 Supercar Bring The Noise?

Love it or loathe it, and let's face it, you're probably the latter if you're reading this... Holden's V6 Turbo is on its way to a Supercar track near you.

Bob Dylan was onto something years ago when he crooned "the times they are a changing."

Whether the purists are ready (or indeed willing) to change remains to be seen.

The impending arrival of the V6 has many scratching their heads as to just how it'll sound out on track.

Triple Eight engineering guru and former McLaren and Williams chief Sam Michael reckons we can all breathe easy.

Michael's part of the crew developing the new unit and reckons it won't sound like the Formula 1s did when they made the controversial V6 switch a few seasons back.

"It was nothing like the experience we had in Formula 1 where the noise was shocking,” Michael told Supercars.com.

The V6 Turbo Is Destined For Holden's New ZB Commodore

Sam's not one to mince his words.

“The loudest thing in F1 now is the bloody wheel guns, you can’t hear the cars.

 “The sound of the Supercar we tested was actually really good."

“I thought it’d be terrible, but it was louder than I thought... it’s not absorbing exhaust energy back into an electric motor like Formula 1 does, it’s just a traditional turbo supercharger."

But it's still a six right?

“It’s not a V8, but it’s a lot louder than a Formula 1 car.”

The Supercars have been all about the howling V8s since the category was conceived as "V8 Supercars" back in 1993.

In recent seasons, the "V8" part has been dropped from the name as the category broadens its horizons and eyes future growth offshore.

V6 Turbos won't go racing next year with only wildcard appearances planned at selected rounds before full time adoption in 2019.

But it might not be the end of the road for the V8 in Supercar racing as engine regulations loosen up.

“As far as Supercar regulations go, you don’t have to do a V6 turbo, that just happens to be Holden’s choice. Someone else can do something else."

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Sean Maynard

4 October 2017

Article by:

Sean Maynard




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