GEN3 CHASSIS TO COST $55K

As Supercars prepares for a Gen3 summit today, teams have finally received details of the updated chassis, which will cost close to $55,000 in kit form.

New information has also come to light about the cost of the proposed switch to electronic gear shifting and Gen3 engine testing by Ilmor in the USA.

Team bosses will meet Supercars supremo Sean Seamer in Sydney to be fully briefed on Gen3 and potentially decide whether to delay the change until 2023.

Seamer is in the firing line because he took over control of Gen3.

Original project manager John Casey has left, assumed to be the ‘sacrificial lamb’ for on-going delays and growing criticism.

Gen3’s aim is to halve the cost of building a car to $350,000.

At today’s meeting, Seamer will need to address teams’ concerns and convince them that Gen3 can be delivered on time and on budget.

Few, if any, believe the targets are achievable in the existing timeframe.

The main proponent of Gen3 happening in 2022 is Roland Dane, whose Triple Eight Race Engineering has a head start.

As the Camaro homologation team, Triple Eight was also tasked with developing the Gen3 chassis, which it has done.

Prototypes of the Gen3 Camaro and Mustang are due to begin testing late next month or early July.

With many control components still to be commissioned, most teams aren’t convinced there will be enough proper testing to be ready for a late February start to next season.

They also claim a rush build over summer will stretch staff and increase costs.

All the concerns will be thrashed out at today’s meeting, which most informed observers expect will result in Gen3 being postponed until 2023.

In the meantime, AUTO ACTION has learned that the teams have been sent CAD drawings and specifications of the Gen3 control chassis, which is a heavily modified variation of the existing platform.

Mainly made to accommodate the low-line body shapes of the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro, the changes are major enough that teams will have to build or buy new platforms.

As now, they will have the option to construct the tubular steel frame to strict specification themselves or purchase a prefabricated kit from official supplier PACE Innovations.

PACE designed the Car Of The Future control chassis and builds the ‘spaceframe’ underpinnings for some teams – most notably DJR.

AA has also been informed that Supercars has priced the Gen3 chassis kit at $49,250 + GST – a total of $54,175.

The cost is for the basic chassis only. It does not include body panels, engine, transaxle, suspension or wheels, etc.

The Gen3 chassis is lower, wider and safer. Lowering the height of the front brace of the roll cage is the main change to aid making the Mustang and Camaro racers look like muscular versions of the road cars.

Sticking with the COTF chassis, designed for sedans, resulted in the mutated appearance of the current Mustang, the first two-door Supercar in the V8-only era.

Amid growing concerns about delayed development and poor communication, at this morning’s meeting team bosses will discuss and debate postponing Gen3 from next year to 2023.

Although characterised as a regular gathering of team owners and Supercars senior management, the agenda will be dominated by Gen3.

Not all 11 teams will be represented, with Charlie Schwerkolt’s Team 18 abstaining because of the late notice.

Among teams, the conference at Supercars’ North Sydney HQ is regarded as at least a Gen3 summit, with others describing it as a “crisis meeting”.

If the majority of team owners aren’t convinced Gen3 will be ready for 2022, Supercars bosses will be under extreme pressure to delay it for a year.

“There’s a lot going on at the moment,” an influential team owner told AUTO ACTION. “A lot of questions are being asked.”

Another was waiting to be convinced.

“I’m all for Gen3 and I want it to happen on schedule,” he said. “So if it can be done properly as scheduled, go ahead. If not, don’t.”

As Supercars debates a switch to semi-automated paddle gear shifting, an insider has revealed that changing to electronic actuation – for which the Xtrac transaxle gearbox is designed – will be expensive.

It is a $10,000 conversion per unit regardless of whether gear changes are controlled by the existing central stick shift or levers on the steering wheel, which is set to become an F1-style electronic tiller.

Supercars is funding development of Ford and GM ‘crate’ engines to replace the long-serving five-litre V8s.

To reduce the cost from $100,000 to $60,000 per motor while extending engine life from 4000 km to 10,000 km, Gen3 will swap to variants of Ford’s 5.4-litre DOHC Coyote and GM’s 6.2-litre pushrod LS3.

Achieving parity between these ‘off-the-shelf’ V8s is the challenge. Following initial local development by KRE (LS3) and Mostech (Coyote), examples will be sent to famed F1 and IndyCar engine designer Ilmor, based near Detroit, for validation.

Although it seems to be a ‘coals to Newcastle’ approach, insiders maintain Ilmor has only been commissioned to independently ensure performance parity between the disparate V8s.

An informed source told AA that the exercise was costing Supercars “less than $100,000”.

Teams remain sceptical that the performance of the engines can be equalised, while also wondering why they can’t stick with detuned, long-life versions of the existing motors.

As well as saving the cost of the changeover, dialling back the current engines will retain the distinctive roar that is a big part of Supercars’ appeal.

Quite simply, the crate engines, as evidenced by the flat drone of S5000’s Ford ‘Aluminator’ V8, don’t sound as good.

The real problem is that the highly developed five-litre Supercars V8s won’t fit under Gen3’s new low-line bonnet profile.

AUTO ACTION understands that the Gen3 dimensions mean the tall crossover intake stacks make the engines too tall.

Insiders say the cost of redeveloping the intake system to fit the new bonnet profile would be prohibitive.

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