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Holden Commodore (ZB)

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The Holden Commodore (ZB) is the final generation of the Holden Commodore range produced by now-defunct Australian brand Holden from 2018 to 2020.

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73-608: This was Holden's first and only imported model to be sold under the Commodore nameplate. The range included the five door liftback and five door station wagon bodystyles. Holden previously sold the first generation Insignia under the Opel brand (Opel Insignia) in 2012 and 2013, as well as under the Holden brand (Holden Insignia) from 2015 to 2017. It was the first Holden Commodore model to be manufactured outside of Australia, following

146-498: A compression ratio of 10:1. The Holden teams had the option of using the Group A -developed 5.0-litre Holden V8 engine , although this was restricted to the second-tier privateer teams from 1994 onwards, forcing the major Holden runners to use the more expensive Chevrolet engine. The V8s were first eligible to compete in the endurance races of 1992 . The distinctive aerodynamics package, consisting of large front and rear spoilers ,

219-699: A new street race on a shortened version of the Adelaide Grand Prix Circuit became one of the first festival-style events, which would become common in later years. Australia's capital city, Canberra , hosted its first event on the Canberra Street Circuit in 2000 . In 2001 , a championship round was held in New Zealand for the first time, at Pukekohe Park Raceway . In 2002 , the V8 Supercar support event at

292-420: A 60% share and TEGA the other 40%. A new board of directors was appointed, with two TEGA representatives and two AMRP representatives. In 2011, Archer Capital purchased a 65% shareholding in the series with the teams owning the other 35%. In December 2021, both Archer Capital and the teams sold their shareholdings to Race Australia Consolidated Enterprises. In the middle of 2008, a project led by Mark Skaife

365-569: A 75% share in AVESCO, with SEL owning the other 25%. TEGA was responsible for the rules and technical management of the series and the supply of cars and drivers, while SEL was responsible for capturing and maintaining broadcasting rights, sponsorship, licensing, and sanction agreements. The expansion of the series began in 1998 , with the first round to be held in the Northern Territory taking place at Hidden Valley Raceway . In 1999 ,

438-663: A Ford and Holden duopoly in 2020 with the departure of Nissan, while Ford replaced the Falcon with the Mustang in 2019. Holden announced its final year of competition in 2022, to be replaced by the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the 2023 season. Starting in 2026, Toyota will make its debut in the championship, competing with the GR Supra . The concept of a formula centred around V8-engined Fords and Holdens for

511-545: A front spoiler and splitter ,and a rear wing . The aerodynamics package for each manufacturer is homologated after a series of tests which ensure that the different body styles produce near-identical downforce and drag numbers. By modern racing vehicle standards, Supercars have relatively low amounts of downforce. This is intended to make it easier to follow other cars, and make the handling more similar to road cars. The Gen 3 cars were originally reported to produce about 140 kg of downforce at 200 km/h, similar to

584-536: A liftback with the V6 powertrain. Retaining the previous generation's familiar name, the Calais was the base premium model. Standard equipment included 18" alloy wheels, leather seating with a heating function, wireless phone charging, Blind Spot Alert, Rear Cross Traffic Alert and an 8" MyLink system. Available as a Liftback or Tourer, the former received the 2.0L petrol four cylinder engine, or an optional diesel engine, while

657-516: A mid-mounted gearbox; the repositioning of the fuel tank to in front of the rear axle to improve safety; replacing the windscreen with a polycarbonate unit; and a switch from 17 inches (430 mm) to 18 inches (460 mm) wheels. In 2011, it was announced that the Car of the Future would not be introduced until 2013 . In February 2012, Nissan confirmed that they would enter the series under Car of

730-440: A road-registerable Porsche 911 GT3 RS . Revisions in 2024 are stated to produce about 20% more downforce. The minimum weight of each car is 1,335 kilograms (2,943 lb) including the driver and excluding the fuel, with a minimum load of 725 kg over the front axle. The minimum weight for the driver is 95 kg and includes the driver dressed in a full racing suit the seat and seat mountings and any ballast needed to meet

803-590: A second round held at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi . In November 2010, the series was granted international status by the FIA for the 2011 season , allowing the series to race at up to six international venues each year. As a result, the series name was changed to the 'International V8 Supercars Championship'. 2008 saw the separate boards of directors of VESA and TEGA merge into a single board that

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876-475: A six-piston caliper, while the rear discs are 355 millimetres (14.0 in) diameter and have a four-piston caliper. The cars use 18-inch (460 mm) control wheels, produced by Rimstock and supplied by Racer Industries, and control tyres from Dunlop. Supercars are provided with Soft, Supersoft, and Hard slick tyres as well as grooved wet tyres for each event, The requirement to use varying compounds and how many tyres need to be changed per race are dependent on

949-481: Is a "parity formula" which attempts to ensure that competitors using any of the available car models compete on an equal basis. In this aspect, it is similar in philosophy to the NASCAR Cup Series .The category's current rules, and the charter between organisers and teams state that "..to the extent that it is possible, Competition will take place between the different makes and models of Cars as equalised by

1022-603: Is broadcast in 137 countries and has an average event attendance of over 100,000. With over 250,000 in attendance annually, the Adelaide 500 is the most attended Supercars race in Australia . The vehicles used in the series are loosely based on road-going cars. Cars are custom made using a control chassis, with only certain body panels being common between the road cars and race cars. The cars are controlled for "technical parity" - ensuring that teams and drivers using any of

1095-765: Is held in New Zealand, with events previously being held in China, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States. The Melbourne SuperSprint championship event is also held in support of the Australian Grand Prix . Race formats vary between each event, with sprint races between 100 and 200 kilometres (62 and 124 mi) in length, street races between 125 and 250 kilometres (78 and 155 mi) in length, and two-driver endurance races held at Sandown and Bathurst . The series

1168-684: Is intended to extend to aerodynamics, engine performance, and handling characteristics. In practice, achieving technical parity has proven difficult and contentious, with a number of changes for the 2023 and 2024 season to aerodynamics and engines. The body of each car is based on its corresponding production car in Right Hand Drive and with homologation requirements. The bodies of both models are aerodynamically balanced through these homologations requirements, along with general balancing upon entering Composite and Exotic materials are generally not permitted. The tail lamps are carried over from

1241-461: The 2012 season . The plan was publicly unveiled in March 2010 and was shown to incorporate several key changes to the internal workings of the car. The chassis and the cooling, fuel and electronics systems would all be changed to control parts, with changes to the engine, drivetrain, rear suspension, wheels and the control brake package. The safety of the cars was also to be reviewed and improved. While

1314-692: The Australian Touring Car Championship had been established as early as mid-1991. With the new regulations set to come into effect in 1993 , Ford and Holden were both keen to know the details of the new formula by the end of 1991, putting pressure on the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) to provide clarity on the matter. However, CAMS was waiting to see what the FIA did with its proposed international formula for 2.5- and 2.0-litre touring cars. The new rules for

1387-571: The Indy 300 on the Gold Coast became a championship round, having been a non-championship event since 1994. Major format changes were made for 1999, with the incorporation of the endurance races into the championship. Control tyres were used for the first time, with Bridgestone selected as the supplier. The series was also renamed from the "Australian Touring Car Championship" to the "Shell Championship Series", by virtue of Shell's sponsorship of

1460-783: The Repco Supercars Championship under sponsorship, is a touring car racing category in Australia and New Zealand, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport. Supercars events take place in all Australian states and the Northern Territory , with the Australian Capital Territory formerly holding the Canberra 400 . Usually, an international round

1533-428: The final drive ratio are fixed with drop gears at the front of the transaxle allowing the teams to alter the overall transmission ratio for different circuits. The cars use a triple plate clutch. The cars run on E75 fuel with a fuel tank capacity of about 130 Litres An electronic control unit (ECU), provided by MoTeC, is used to monitor and optimise various aspects of the engine's performance. Numerous sensors in

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1606-625: The 2.0-litre class cars competed in a separate race to the V8s. This was changed for the second round of 1993 after only nine entrants were in the 2.0-litre class for the first round at Amaroo Park . With the new regulations intended to be a parity formula, protests by the Holden teams indicated that the Fords had an aerodynamic advantage after they won the opening three rounds, beating the Commodores comprehensively. After round five at Winton , Holden

1679-705: The ATCC were announced in November 1991 and indicated that the V8 cars would be significantly faster than the smaller-engined cars. In 1992, CAMS looked at closing the performance gap between the classes, only to have protests from Ford and Holden, which did not want to see their cars beaten by the smaller cars. In June 1992, the class structure was confirmed: Both the Ford Falcon EB and Holden Commodore VP ran American-based engines, which were restricted to 7,500 rpm and

1752-671: The Australian Touring Car Championship. They did not contest the endurance races at Sandown and Bathurst, leaving these open solely to the 5.0-litre Ford and Holden models. The Australian Vee Eight Super Car Company (AVESCO) – a joint venture between the Touring Car Entrants Group of Australia (TEGA), sports promoters IMG and the Australian Motor Sports Commission – was formed in November 1996 to run

1825-773: The Car of the Future moniker was dropped in favour of the name "New Generation V8 Supercar". The series continued its international expansion in 2013, with the first event in North America held at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin , Texas . In 2015, five drivers took part in a series of demonstration races at the Kuala Lumpur Street Circuit as part of the KL City Grand Prix . This

1898-573: The Class C cars eligible for 1993 only, the German manufacturer's attention switched to the 2.0-litre class for 1994. Cars from all three classes would contest the 1993 Australian Touring Car Championship , as well as non-championship Australian touring car events such as the Bathurst 1000 . However, for the purposes of race classification and points allocation, cars competed in two classes: Originally,

1971-470: The Falcon, rather than the MacPherson struts used previously, and a Watts link at the rear rather than a Panhard. The aerodynamic packages were comprehensively tested and revised and differences in the porting of each of the manufacturers' engines were also removed. The performance of the new Ford BA Falcon and Holden VY and VZ Commodores was fairly even for the next four years, with Ford winning

2044-405: The Future regulations with Kelly Racing . Later in 2012, Australian GT Championship team Erebus Motorsport announced they would be running Mercedes-Benz cars in the championship, taking over Stone Brothers Racing . In June 2013, Volvo announced it would enter the series in 2014 in a collaboration with its motorsport arm, Polestar Racing and Garry Rogers Motorsport . In November 2013

2117-624: The Gen 3 regulations were introduced for the 2023 Supercars Championship . The main aim was to create closer racing, to reduce costs and to increase road-relevance for the manufacturers. To do this, sweeping aerodynamic changes were made to cut the generated downforce . This reduced the amount of "dirty" air created, and made the cars more challenging to drive. The regulations continued previous changes to ensure technical parity between cars, helping to keep power, downforce and drag levels identical. Engines were also changed, to increase longevity and decrease

2190-588: The Holden Commodore due to falling sales and losses. The ZB Commodore proved to be unpopular in Australia resulting in cuts to the production schedule and the lowest unit sales per month on record since the original VB Commodore was released in 1978. November 2019 was the lowest month recorded with only 309 Commodores sold. The ZB Commodore, and the Commodore nameplate, was discontinued at the end of 2020 due to low sales. Two months later, The Holden brand would be retired altogether by 2021. Development for

2263-612: The Mustang) is a 5.4L V8 with four camshafts and 4 valves per cylinder. These engines were designed to be cheaper and have a higher longevity compared to previous engines, along with being more road-relevant. The Toyota engine (for use in the GR Supra) introduced in 2026 is a 5.0L V8 with DOHC with 4 valves per cylinder. Power is transferred from the engine to the rear wheels through a six-speed sequential transaxle with an integrated spool differential . The individual gear ratios and

Holden Commodore (ZB) - Misplaced Pages Continue

2336-522: The Opel Insignia platform to PSA platforms as early as 2021, which means the current model would be discontinued as PSA plans to export PSA-based, Opel "Holden" models globally from 2018 onwards. On October 17, 2018, Holden halted production on the Commodore due to slow sales and unsold inventory at its dealerships. The Holden Commodore ceased to exist by the end of 2019, with the ZB becoming convincingly

2409-486: The ZB Commodore started in 2012, with Holden helping Opel design and develop the next generation Insignia, catering it to Australian conditions. Once the car was ready, prototypes were sent to Australia for testing. Holden completed over 100,000 km of testing, with engineers bracing the cars to withstand local roads and make it feel similar to previous Commodore generations. Akin to its VF Commodore predecessor,

2482-502: The ZB Commodore was raced in various motorsport disciplines, including Supercars . However, the race cars generally had no physical or mechanical relationship with the production model, other than similar looks, as an exterior shell was built to resemble the road going cars, with a rear wheel drive tube frame chassis underneath. The ZB Commodore is used by teams running Holdens in the Supercars Championship . Powered by

2555-628: The ZB achieved five stars in the ANCAP safety ratings. Originally, the ZB ANCAP rating was awarded based on the Euro NCAP test of a 1.6 litre model which was not sold in Australia. ANCAP conducted an audit test on specification of Australia V6 and confirmed its rating. The ZB Commodore was available with a range of engines including a four-cylinder petrol, four cylinder diesel and six-cylinder petrol engine. Front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive

2628-456: The car collect information which is then transmitted to the team, allowing them to monitor things such as tyre wear and fuel consumption and find potential problems with the car. The ECU is also used by officials during the scrutineering process. During the race it can also serve functions such as to automatically limit a car's speed. All cars are required to use a double wishbone setup for the front suspension and independent rear suspension. Both

2701-667: The category. Reverse-grid races were introduced for multiple rounds in 2000 before being confined to just the Canberra round for 2001. Also in 2001, compulsory pit stops were introduced at certain rounds and the Top Ten Shootout was used at all rounds. The control tyre supplier changed from Bridgestone to Dunlop in 2002 and the series name was changed to the "V8 Supercar Championship Series" after Shell discontinued their sponsorship. Discussions about parity had returned in 2000, with 100 millimetres (3.9 in) trimmed from

2774-411: The championship in 2003, 2004 , and 2005 and Holden winning in 2006 . Reverse-grid races were used at certain events in 2006 before unpopularity with the drivers, teams, and fans saw them abolished halfway through the season. The Holden VE Commodore caused controversy when it was introduced in 2007 . The production model was longer, wider, and taller than the rival Ford BF Falcon and outside of

2847-412: The closure of Holden's Australian car manufacturing facilities at Elizabeth, South Australia and Fishermans Bend, Victoria on Friday 20 October 2017. It was the first Commodore in thirty years to come with a four-cylinder engine as standard, and controversially, the first in its forty year production not to have a V8 powertrain option. GM made the decision to discontinue Australian manufacturing of

2920-522: The cost of a rebuild. The current Gen 3 regulations are a complete refresh of the previous generation, with the cessation of volume car production in Australia being a major factor. The current cars are the Ford Mustang GT and the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 . The full list of regulations, Sporting and Technical, can be found on the Supercars website in the operations manual [1] . Supercars

2993-469: The driver in the event of a crash. The fuel tank is positioned in front of the rear axle to prevent it from being damaged or ruptured in a rear end impact. The driver is seated towards the centre of the car and extra reinforcement is used on the roll cage on the driver's side to lessen the risk of injury in a side-on collision. The cars also feature a collapsible steering column and a fire extinguisher system. All cars have an aerodynamics package consisting of

Holden Commodore (ZB) - Misplaced Pages Continue

3066-584: The event The highest speed recorded in a Supercar of any generation is 300.5 km/h on the (downhill) Conrod Straight on the Mount Panorama Circuit , by Shane van Gisbergen in qualifying for the 2023 Bathurst 1000. 2024-spec cars are expected to be about 10 km/h slower. Supercar lap times are similar to the 992 GT3 Cup cars running in the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship . At

3139-1114: The first time. The series travelled to the Shanghai International Circuit in China in 2005, originally on a five-year agreement, however the promoter of the race dropped their support and the series did not return thereafter. 2006 saw the series travel to the Middle East , with an event held at the Bahrain International Circuit in Bahrain . Multiple new street circuits appeared on the calendar in 2008 and 2009, with new events held in Hamilton in New Zealand , Townsville in North Queensland and at Sydney Olympic Park . The series' Middle East expansion continued in 2010 with

3212-428: The front and rear suspension systems feature adjustable shock absorbers and an anti-roll bar which, as of the introduction of the Gen 3 regulations, can not be adjusted from inside the car The cars use disc brakes supplied by AP Racing on the front and rear, with the master cylinders provided by AP Racing or former control brake supplier Alcon. The front discs have a diameter of 395 millimetres (15.6 in) and

3285-467: The front spoiler of the Commodore after Holden, in particular, the Holden Racing Team , had dominated in 1998 and 1999. This was in response to the 300 millimetres (12 in) removed from the Falcon in previous seasons, and coincided with a 10 millimetres (0.39 in) trim from the Falcon's rear spoiler. The small reduction for the Holden teams was quickly addressed with both cars receiving

3358-560: The homologated cars have a chance to build and drive a winning car. All cars currently use either a 5.4L or 5.7L Naturally aspirated V8 engine . Originally only for Ford Falcons and Holden Commodores , the new generation V8 Supercar regulations, introduced in 2013, opened up the series to more manufacturers. Nissan were the first new manufacturer to commit to the series with four Nissan Altima L33s followed briefly by Erebus Motorsport with Mercedes-Benz E63 AMGs and Garry Rogers Motorsport with Volvo S60s . The series returned to

3431-509: The liftback body style). It came with 18" alloy wheels. The model was available as a liftback or a wagon. The RS–V was similar to the RS Model but included more features such as an upgraded 8" MyLink system incorporating satellite navigation, wireless phone charging, Hi Per Strut Suspension and an Adaptive AWD system. Only the V6 AWD powertrain was offered in liftback and wagon forms. The VXR

3504-580: The limits set by Project Blueprint. As a result, the VE race car was granted custom bodywork – namely shortened rear doors and a lowered roofline to meet the regulations. Despite this, the VE was approved for use in the series, along with the BF Falcon, after several months of preseason testing. Sequential gearboxes were introduced in 2008 and became compulsory by the end of the year. In 2009 , E85 (a fuel consisting of 85% ethanol and 15% unleaded petrol )

3577-512: The lowest selling version ever. Liftback Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.150 via cp1114 cp1114, Varnish XID 924028994 Upstream caches: cp1114 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 07:44:06 GMT Supercars Championship The Supercars Championship currently known as

3650-537: The minimum weight. Some other components also have a minimum weight, such as the engine and the front uprights All cars must be front-engine, rear-wheel-drive , and powered by a V8 engine designated by Supercars for use in the respected model of car, and balanced in power and weight. Currently, the GM engine (for use in the Camaro) is a 5.7L V8 with a single camshaft and two valves per cylinder. The Ford engine (for use in

3723-412: The plans were well received by all of the teams, Holden Motorsport boss Simon McNamara warned potential new manufacturers to stay out of the championship just hours after the plans were released, claiming that they would "gain nothing" from entering the series. Major changes were revealed to include a switch from a live rear axle to independent rear suspension ; the use of a rear transaxle instead of

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3796-470: The previous generation's Evoke model, which was also $ 3,935 cheaper than the predecessor's drive away price. It featured a front wheel drive 2.0L Turbo four cylinder engine with a nine speed automatic, or an optional 2.0L diesel, with an eight speed automatic. It came with 17" alloy wheels, Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), Lane Keep Assist, a 7" MyLink system with Apple CarPlay & Android Auto and Passive Entry & Push Button Start as standard. The model

3869-522: The record of 87 victories and being the Commodore that delivered Holden's final Bathurst, championship and race win. Sales of the new Commodore commenced in February 2018. The ZB is the first Commodore produced outside of Australia since the nameplates induction in 1978, leading to much public backlash. Consumer uptake and acceptance have been the lowest for any Commodore branded vehicle in the history of Holden manufacturing, however, this has also come at

3942-629: The road car, while the windscreen is replaced by a polycarbonate unit. The cars also carry cameras for broadcasting. The bodies are built around a chassis provided by official accredited builders, including certain race teams. Currently, Triple Eight Race Engineering homologate the Chevrolet Camaro and Dick Johnson Racing homologate the Ford Mustang . The new for 2026 Toyota GR Supra will be homologaged by Walkinshaw Andretti United . Many safety features are utilised to protect

4015-541: The same V8 engine as used in the VF, a turbo-charged V6 engine was under development for use in 2019 , however the project was cancelled in April 2018 amid engineering concerns that the V6 would not be competitive. The ZB Commodore proved to be an instant success, prompting Ford to controversially push for upgrades for its ageing FGX Falcon which was in its final year of competition. The ZB failed in its championship success due to

4088-414: The same front splitter shortly afterwards, but the Falcon's rear wing remained trimmed. Ford had threatened to withdraw from the series, but nothing came of this. After Holden again dominated in 2001 and 2002, a new set of regulations, dubbed "Project Blueprint", was introduced in 2003 to close the performance gap between the Commodore and the Falcon, thus creating closer, fairer racing. Project Blueprint

4161-667: The same time as the nameplate has shifted market segment and competition, with the ZB outperforming all but the Toyota Camry in the Medium/Large segment, including the Mazda6 and Ford Mondeo . When the decision was made to cease vehicle production in Australia and source the ZB Commodore from Europe, Opel was still a subsidiary of GM. That ceased on 1 August 2017 when Opel and Vauxhall were sold to Groupe PSA . These new owners of Opel/Holden have announced that they will transfer

4234-536: The series. This set the foundation for the large expansion of the series during the following years. The category also adopted the name 'V8 Supercars' at this time, though the cars themselves were much unchanged. A new television deal with Network Ten and Fox Sports was organised, although this had follow-on effects for the Bathurst 1000 later in the year. In February, Tony Cochrane and James Erskine left IMG. Together with David Coe, they formed Sports and Entertainment Limited (SEL) in April 1997. TEGA would have

4307-416: The technical parity mechanisms enshrined in the Rules.". However, the rules go on to state that "The Category is not about equalisation of the abilities of participating Drivers and/or Teams (such equalisation could be, and is in some categories, defined as sporting parity). It is up to individual Drivers and/or Teams to Compete to the best of their abilities under the principle of technical parity." Parity

4380-419: The upgraded DJR Team Penske FGX Falcon of Scott McLaughlin triumphing in 2018 before dominating in the Mustang GT from 2019 to 2020. The ZB hit back in both 2021 and 2022 with Shane Van Gisbergen sending both the ZB and Holden off in style due to the brands retirement from both the road and racetrack. The ZB Commodore achieved Bathurst success immediately with victories in 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022. The ZB holds

4453-439: The use of two-door coupé body styles and turbocharged four- or six-cylinder engines. However, no teams elected to build cars to these alternate engine specifications. Cars were still required to be based on front-engined, rear-wheel drive, four-seater production cars that were sold in Australia. The chassis and control components were carried over from the New Generation V8 Supercar regulations, while engine and aerodynamic parity

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4526-404: The wagon was exclusively fitted with the V6 powertrain. Carrying over the previous generation "V" flair, the Calais–V was the flagship premium model. Standard offerings included 20" alloy wheels, an Adaptive AWD system, a 360 degree camera, and massaging driver seat. It was available in either a liftback or a wagon bodystyle, with the V6 powertrain being the only on offer. For marketing purposes,

4599-409: Was Holden's new flagship model following Holden's decision to rest the well known SS nameplate along with the V8 Engine configuration. The VXR nameplate was originally used for the British Vauxhall VXR. It featured 20" alloy wheels, sportier lavishings and leather seats with a massage function. Safety features included a 360 degree camera and Continuous Damping Control Suspension. It was only available in

4672-423: Was available across the liftback and wagon body styles. Compared to the VF Commodore, Holden rearranged the specification levels and model nameplates, with only the Calais (and Calais-V) surviving into the ZB series, this name having originated in the VK-series of 1984 as a luxury focused model. Various price cuts were made and wagon variants are more expensive. The LT was the new entry level Commodore, replacing

4745-457: Was available as a liftback or a wagon. The RS was a visually sportier improvement over the LT model, with an upgraded interior featuring different seats and steering wheel. It also possessed more safety features, including Blind Zone Alert and Rear Cross Traffic Alert. The RS had two drivetrain choices, a front wheel drive 2.0L Turbo four cylinder engine with a nine speed Automatic, or an All Wheel Drive 3.6L V6 (available as an exclusive option with

4818-483: Was designed partly with this in mind, to give the new cars a better chance of beating the Nissan Skyline GT-Rs in those races. The new rules meant that cars such as the turbocharged Nissan Skyline GT-R and Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth were not eligible to compete in 1993, while cars such as the BMW M3 were. However, the M3 received few of the liberal concessions given to the new V8s and also had an extra 100 kilograms (220 lb) added to its minimum weight, so with

4891-402: Was developed by Paul Taylor and Wayne Cattach, who spent two years designing a formula which would eliminate most of the differences between the Fords and Holdens. Project Blueprint had the chassis pick-up points, wheelbase , track , and driving position become common across both manufacturers. The Holdens were now able and required to use double-wishbone front suspension, similar to that of

4964-426: Was granted a new front and rear wing package. The BMWs were also allowed new splitters and full DTM-specification rear wings. Disparity between the Fords and Holdens continued to be a talking point during the next few years, with various concessions given to each manufacturer to try to equalise the two cars. From 1995 , the 2.0-litre cars, now contesting their own series as super touring cars , became ineligible for

5037-403: Was intended to be a precursor to the series holding a championship event at the circuit in 2016, in a push from CEO James Warburton to build series exposure in Asia. The event was later cancelled due to legal issues affecting the circuit. In December 2014, Supercars released details concerning the future of the category. New regulations, dubbed Gen2 Supercar, were introduced in 2017 to allow

5110-521: Was introduced in an effort to improve the environmental image of the sport. Carbon dioxide emissions decreased by up to 50%, but fuel consumption was increased by 30% to produce the same power as before. 2009 also had the introduction of a soft compound tyre at certain events to try to improve the quality of the racing and create different strategies. In 2005, AVESCO changed its name to V8 Supercars Australia (VESA). The series continued to expand during this time, with races held outside of Australasia for

5183-414: Was organised by V8 Supercars to investigate future directions for the sport. The project had the primary objective of cutting costs to $ 250,000 per car through the use of control parts and to create a pathway for new manufacturers to enter the series, provided that they have a four-door saloon car in mass production. The new formula, called "Car of the Future", was scheduled to be introduced before or during

5256-646: Was reviewed In April 2016, the series reached an agreement with Virgin Australia to rename the series to the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship on 1 July. For the 2021 season, this changed to the Repco Supercars Championship on a 5-year deal, extended to an 8-year deal at the end of 2022. After being first announced in 2020, and after being delayed for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic,

5329-491: Was solely responsible for the administration of the category. The new board of directors was composed of four TEGA representatives, two members from SEL and two independent directors. In 2011, TEGA and SEL entered a sale agreement with Australian Motor Racing Partners (AMRP), which had significant financial backing from Archer Capital . This agreement saw SEL lose its 25% stake in V8 Supercars, with Archer Capital taking up

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