Nissan enters V8 Supercars to end Ford-Holden duopoly

By Jez Spinks | February 09th, 2012

FIND DEALS

Nissan has returned to Australian touring car racing to end the long-running Ford versus Holden V8 Supercars duopoly.

Updates from live press conference:

It will not be a purpose built motorsport V8 – but an engine out of Nissan’s road cars (5.0-litre from Infiniti?)
Research has shown that fans wanted to see Nissan return as the third brand.
Unlikely to go above five manufacturers
Nissan GT-R to be the course/safety car
2013 season could see four manufacturers (so another one to join after Nissan?)

The Japanese brand today confirmed it would enter the V8 Supercars championship in 2013, returning to the sport from which it was effectively banned in 1993 after its all-wheel-drive GT-R coupe dominated the series in 1991 and 1992 to earn the nickname ‘Godzilla’.

Mark Skaife was one of the drivers at the wheel during the GT-R’s successful campaign, and ironically its the multi-title-winning champion’s Car of the Future blueprint that has paved the way for the return of Nissan, as well as potentially more rivals such as Chrysler.

Kelly Racing has signed on with Nissan to become the company’s main factory team and will run four cars next year from their Melbourne workshop.

“We plan to use our presence in the series to strengthen our passenger car credentials in Australia,” said CEO and Managing Director of Nissan Australia Dan Thompson.

“Nissan believes that, alongside Ford and Holden, we possess the most convincing motorsport DNA and track history in Australia, making a V8SC debut in 2013 an obvious initiative.

“We are targeting No.1 importer status in Australia and already making progress towards that as one of the country’s fastest growing brands. V8 Supercars will boost that momentum.”

Mr Thompson said today’s announcement is the result of over 12 months worth of work on how the company can re-enter motorsports in Australia. He also said the car to enter will be an all-new Sedan, which makes us believe it will be the new Nissan Altima.

Mr Thompson said Nissan would not have entered the V8 Supercar series if it couldn’t put a Nissan engine in the cars. Which means we’re likely to see one of the two V8 engines we mentioned yesterday.

The news has got the championship organisers rather excited, with V8 Supercars Commission Chairman Mark Skaife, Kelly Racing Chairman John Crennan and Kelly Racing co-owner/drivers Rick and Todd Kelly all present at today’s announcement.

Despite a picture of the drivers with a Nissan GT-R, the actual car to be used in the series is yet to be announced with Nissan expected to make that decision at a later date.

Mark Skaife said Nissan is a company that is truly committed to motorsport and is the first new manufacturer to join the car of the future series, suggesting that other manufacturers may likely follow suit.

The Nissan GTR will be the official Course Car and Safety car for the 2012 season.

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shane

the thought of Nissan racing again in australia must give Holden and Ford fans nightmares
- http://www.facebook.com/tom.reynolds Tom Reynolds
  
  I think the opposite is true. This will take the pressure off Holden and Ford to prop up the series financially and encourage other manufacturers to enter- and a strong series is important to fans as well.
  
  As they will run COTF there won’t be any Godzilla like dominance possible. I don’t know what the tech specs are (engine) but I know the Kellys are the first to build COTF outside of the prototypes. I think if they have to use their own engine (And not take the simple path of a rebadged GM or Ford engine) then they will take a while to come good. The Kellys are a great outfit and a great demographic fit for Nissan, but I doubt they’ll dominate. Podiums yes, wins maybe, but no championship nor team/manufacturer championship for a while.And the fans will need to accept that if Nissan are there, then they won’t be there to make up the numbers.
- Roadtard
  
  Shane, what, nightmares about our little home-grown heroes Commodore and Falcon being beaten by cars built at considerably greater cost by manufacturers possessing considerably greater resources? I think it’s time the haters got some perspective. The local pair punch way above their weight.
  - Philthy
    
    Yep, General Motors and Ford are the first things that spring to mind when I think of small, under-resourced car companies….
    - Roadtard
      
      Philthy, I’m talking about Holden and Ford Australia, building cars primarily for the domestic market at low cost by world standards. Neither is going to build a Falcodore ZR1 to battle Godzilla any time soon.
- Dave S
  
  But how will Nissan cope, now they have to play on a level playing field?
- Joker
  
  Nissan already have a RWD V8 GTR that competed in Lemans. I’m guessing they will shoe horn the same V8 from that into it.
- Phil
  
  Shane, suggest you do some research on the rules for 2013.
  You’ll find no cheating all wheel drive and hair dryers.
  
  More manufactures will be good for the sport in times of small engined cars and high fuel prices.
  Unfortunately they will be all the same, much like NASCAR.
  - Eric Knutsen
    
    So they fitted AWD and a turbo against the rules and tried to hide the fact??
    - Phil
      
      They didn’t hide anything,all part of the rules in Group A which was over in the early 90′s around the world.
      The cheating comment comes for my rally days where it was and still is used in a jokingly way when a car has all wheel drive.
  - Philthy
    
    So, competing with newer technology is cheating… Remind me why no-one buys commodores or falcons anymore?
    - Phil
      
      No one buys them…. no one.
      1988-2010 Australia’s number one selling car… Holden Commodore.
      Top the sales sheet again last July.
      Yes Getting harder for the Falcon & Commodore in recent months with a shift into more cheap small cars on the market.
      Remember there all the same underneath from 2013, just a different engine and skin.
      - Philthy
        
        2010? That was 2 years ago .
        
        People buy Mazda3s and Cruze’s instead now.
      - Rubis
        
        Philthy.. your a Philthy muppet . do some research before you start talking sh!t
  - Kaas
    
    your wording is wrong..
    
    no one cheated or cheating…. try again.
- Phunken
  
  The Falcadore crowd should kiss the feet of Nissan to resume V8 racing even if its technically a prepackaged deal which won’t really reflect the car that Nissan sell. All those years that Holden and Ford trying to barred others (early naughty Mitsu was interested) from joining now they have to beg for survival. I stop watching V8 racing years back disinterested in 2 horses race.
Soda

Back to the futire is this 1992? Why ruin the sport leave it the way it is! Well done Skaife, and Kellys you killed V8 Supercars! Doushbags!
- Rick
  
  Leave it the way it is ??? V8 supercars was dying a slow prolonged “death by irrelevance”. If COTF can bring in 1 or 2 more manufacturers then I suggest its future is looking considerably brighter.
- Ramjet
  
  Ford and Holden need some real competition to broaden the appeal as interest in this series was going down just as fast as Falcon and Commodore sales. Bring on more competitors I say.
  - Des
    
    Interest going down? V8SC is the second biggest spectator sport in Australia (behind AFL).
    - Igomi Watabi
      
      So, basically another sport, like Rugby League, Cricket, Soccer, etc, doing smoe soul-searching as to why AFL has so many devotees and their sport virtually none, then?
- Igomi Watabi
  
  V8 Supercars is possibly the least interesting motorsport currently going around, they need to do something. My interest in Australian tin tops died when Groiup A died.
  
  But I guess there are some, those who can’t spell ‘douche’ to whom it still appeals.
Anonymous

As much as I am a diehard fan of Craig Lowndes and Team Vodafone, I’ll probably starting supporting a Nissan team just for the hell of it.
V8Fan

BRING BACK CHRYSLER!!!
- Des
  
  Not up with the news then …….?
- Peanut
  
  Hell Yeah !!!!!! , The Charger has some unfinished business to attend to.
- Wajeth Thompson
  
  Chrysler has announced that it will join next year.
- Wajeth Thompson
  
  Chrysler has announced that it will join next year.
- Daveozz67
  
  i hear ya mate….miss the old days
Tim

Awesome news.
Labrys

This might actually get me watching the V8 racing. And I’m pretty sure I won’t be the only one. And the more companies that get involved the bigger the audience will become.
- Ima Hogg
  
  Yeah might get me watching it too.
- http://pulse.yahoo.com/_YQLKLFNYP3UFBFAGOV2LNDSREA Robert Ryan
  
  That is the whole idea.V8Supercars has a good profile amongst NASCAR and Non-NASCAR Motorsport fans in the US. More manufactuers can only strengthen the series , in times like these
http://twitter.com/holotropik Holotropik

“We plan to use our presence in the series to strengthen our passenger car credentials in Australia,” said CEO and Managing Director of Nissan Australia Dan Thompson.
Yeah? Really? In what way exactly? What does a COTF have to do with a Maxima?

This whole thing is a big joke! Isn’t it?
- K-poop
  
  ….and in exactly what way does a COTF have to do with a regular road going Commodore of Falcon?
  - Anonymous
    
    Totally! Like, let’s go down to the local Holden dealer and say, “I’ll have a Commodore with a 68mm shorter wheelbase, please”.
    - Philthy
      
      Can I have mine with a rear-mounted transaxle?
      - Anonymous
        
        Coming right up, sir!!!!
  - Anonymous
    
    A v8 and shell. And thats all that matters its marketing . Average joes will see a v8 and want a v8. The shell will give the identification of what make to get
- Testaros
  
  They are talking about expanding the presence of the whole nissan brand not just one particular car.
m1n1s1n

“Nismo, the motorsport arm of Nissan, entered the Nissan GT-R in the Super GT race series in the GT500 class for the 2008 season, replacing the Nissan 350Z.[77]
The GT500 version of the car has a completely different drivetrain compared to the production car. The race car is upgraded to a VK45DE 4.5-litre naturally aspirated[78] V8 instead of the twinturbo V6 VR38DETT. It uses a 6 speed sequential manual gearbox and a RWD layout from its predecessor, the 350Z race car.[79]”

If this is the direction there going how will it relate in sales to the GTR here? Unless they bring out one with a V8 in it?

Its not the same as the Santa Claus & Easter Bunny ideals of the Falcon & Commodore V8 Supercar that shares little in common with the factory car that still makes every bogan and his dog continue the on road rivalry of Ford & Holden

Elsewise I cannot see one vehicle in Nissan Australia’s Line up to do so
- Anonymous
  
  They’ve been doing all sorts of crazy stuff in GT500 for years. There was teams running GTR’s with Sr20s Supra’s with 3sgte’s.
- http://pulse.yahoo.com/_YQLKLFNYP3UFBFAGOV2LNDSREA Robert Ryan
  
  There is NO production V8 Toyota Camry either that races in NASCAR. It still does not stop the fans from relating to the cars.
- GTK
  
  Let’s ban all forms of Motorsport especially F1 because, let’s face it if you can’t get one from a dealer your world basically collapses.
  - Andrew
    
    If F1 was all control parts then yes it should be banned too. Imagine if all of the parts on an F1 car came from the same supplier, how bad would that be. That’s where the V8′s will be next year. Redbull would have all the same bits as Ferrari as would Mclaren. Control chassis, drivetrain, suspension, brakes, aerodynamics. Takes away from my technical interest in motorsport.
    
    As for the V8′s, I’d only ever go so I can watch the GT Championship.
    - Daveozz67
      
      are you serious.i think all cars should be the same under the skin.sure,have different body panneling so you keep all the camps interested but drivetrains,suspension etc…all the same.that will show the skill of the driver
Snap

Yeah good..

Now it might be somewhat interesting to watch..
Thrillhouse

I’d love to see the GT-R in there, just so Ford and Holden could both have their rear-ends handed to them all over again. A man can dream…
Simon

This news will not rekindle my interest in V8 supertaxi racing.
Roadtard

We’ll never see a return to Group-A. Critics of the current (successful) formula need to understand that. There just isn’t the money to build limited-run homologation specials when success on the track depends on seriously massive research and development efforts – the kind of massive R&D spend that gave us the R32 GT-R. Holden could only dream of investing that kind of money into their VN racer – the one Commodore to never win at Bathurst, if I’m not mistaken.
Horse

so they will get a nissan made block with the exact same top end as the ford and holden . mounted to the exact same drivetrain and tuned to produce the identical power output.
wow so exciting.
Horse

so they will get a nissan made block with the exact same top end as the ford and holden . mounted to the exact same drivetrain and tuned to produce the identical power output.
wow so exciting.
Guest2

But which car body will Nissan use? The last RWD Nissan sold in high quantity in Aust is the 200B/Bluebird. May be they’ll use that body?
- Mad Max
  
  So the R31 Skyline and Pintara range was not RWD? You need a leson in history!
  - Pat
    
    I’m fairly sure that the r31 was a rwd. I had one, when doing a skid I know it was the rears turning.
- Philthy
  
  I would like to see them race under the Datsun brand.
JJ

Sounds great. I might actually watch these now since it will no longer be dominated by bogan cars.
- Horse
  
  yea . lets hope it gets dominated by drug dealers and fully sick homeboys
Will

Let em use the Skyline!!!
Anonymous

I would place bets on either the new Altima (marketing), The infiniti M or Infiniti G. Or the wild card Juke =p
Andrew

The COFT have no relevance to road going production cars so I can’t see what Nissan are trying to gain from it. It will just strengthen the popular belief that the road cars are nothing like the V8 Supercars so doesn’t help sales, just look at Falcon and Commodore private sales figures. The GT Championship is interesting to watch, different cars with different strangths and weaknesses.
- Dave S
  
  Dont forget a big chunk of Commodores and Falcons are the sports models. SS, SSV, Redline, GS and GT are all popular models with private buyers.
  
  I am sure a lot of V8 fans are riding around in SV6 and XR6 models too.
  - Sydlocal
    
    Yes Dave S, the “sports” models make up “a big chunk” of private sales of the Commodore. But when total private sales of the Commodore only equal around 25-30% of all Commodore sold, that “big chunk” turns into a little nibble…
- http://pulse.yahoo.com/_YQLKLFNYP3UFBFAGOV2LNDSREA Robert Ryan
  
  DTM, NASCAR, The Japanese GT series , bear no relationship to roadgoing vehicles either. That does not stop the series being very popular.
  - Andrew
    
    We shouldn’t be comparing Nascar because it has its following because of the ‘bowl’. The DTM and Japanese GT are no where as popular as the V8s here used to be but I fear we will go the same way because of the lack of relationship to the road cars.
- Anonymous
  
  Well im sure a big chunk of v8supercar fans cannot afford a showroom v8 if u gave every attending fan 80k to spend on a car, i have a feeling theyll end up getting a v8 falcadore.
James Cortez

more competition = better!! DOHC vesrus p-u-s-h-r-o-d-s. You know which one packs more technology
Anonymous

So where does this leave Holden’s V8? Ford and Nissan both have access to modern multivalve DOHC V8′s while Holden only has its pushrod dinosaur. Maybe Hyundai is the other player with its Tau 5.0 V8?
- Andrew
  
  None of the teams take a whole crate motor and plonk it in the car so Holden will be ok. They will just build the race motors as DOHC in the work shop, just as they currently build their own pistons, cams, valves etc at the moment. Will take some extra engineering but doesn’t matter.
  - Anonymous
    
    Quite a bit of engineering involved there as all of the timing covers, timing cog on the crank etc will have to be added – not to mention the heads and valvetrain. Not impossible but so much easier with an existing setup. Surely GM have to move to an OHC V8 soon – they’ve been trying to polish the turd for so long now that rolling it in glitter doesnt cut it anymore.
  - Anonymous
    
    Quite a bit of engineering involved there as all of the timing covers, timing cog on the crank etc will have to be added – not to mention the heads and valvetrain. Not impossible but so much easier with an existing setup. Surely GM have to move to an OHC V8 soon – they’ve been trying to polish the turd for so long now that rolling it in glitter doesnt cut it anymore.
    - Andrew
      
      They build all the top end and cranks themselves. They may well be making the blocks themselves now too. -By ‘They’ I mean the V8 Supercar teams too.
http://twitter.com/Browny_r31 Adam Brown

have to laugh at anyone suggesting this has anything to do with the GTR. As much as the GTR would be a front runner no doubt, this move by Nissan is to boost sales of their 4 door family cars (similar to what Holden and Ford have been doing for years). If it works for them is yet to be seen but its good to see another company enter the races as the last few years have been quite bland. It can only be good for the sport.
http://twitter.com/Browny_r31 Adam Brown

have to laugh at anyone suggesting this has anything to do with the GTR. As much as the GTR would be a front runner no doubt, this move by Nissan is to boost sales of their 4 door family cars (similar to what Holden and Ford have been doing for years). If it works for them is yet to be seen but its good to see another company enter the races as the last few years have been quite bland. It can only be good for the sport.
Jesse

This is great news, v8 fan boi’s its time to move on before the sport is completely dead.
440 R/T Charger

Nissan did join-in! If the program works hope to see Aurion play a part too.
Groovy48

LOL hope nissan wins and the bogans rage hard
- somebody who knows nothing
  
  Wow, the “Bogans” will be so upset… Especially the ones running around in Grey import Sylvia’s and Skyline’s hey? Or do you segregate bogans inot only those driving Australian made product??
Nobogan

Trevor, Gavin and Wayne will not sleep well this year. I hope Nissan wipes the floor with them.
- Andrew M
  
  The funny thing is if Nissan do win I bet the comments about the cars not being related to the road cars will disappear
The Salesman

I might actually bother to watch it now.
symo

Finally, start clearing out some of red neck bogans that ruin the sport. The more that hate the change the less there will be at the races.

COTF will ensure no brand wins, just the drivers.

Good job, can’t wait.
save it for the track

Haven’t watched v8stuporcars for ages. Might be worth a look with more than two manufacturers in it. Funny that the safety car will likely be the quickest thing on the track though…..
dilligaf

Lets hope the safety car comes out often, only thing worth watching. Would the safety car be the quickest car on the circuit?
GTR FAN

BRING BACK THE GTR TWIN TURBOS AND ALL
GTR FAN

With a few mods the safety car would be the quickest car on the track
Andrew M

People also forget Ford also “effectivly” had their own Godzilla banned (the Sierra) so its not like there was ever brand descrimination.

On another note, Ive heard a long time rumour that the 4th to join in 2013 will be Lexus and it will be with GRM.
- somebody who knows nothing
  
  BJR are supposedly in talks with Chrysler… just saying. Lexus won’t but don’t be surprised to see Roland Dane and Whingecup playing with Toyotas in the very near future
Gaga

I hope AMG joins as well.
Rick

370z with a 4 liter V8 = 400z … Maybe?
Jober As A Sudge

I hope this paves the way for Gentleman Jim Richards re-entry into Supercars!
Kane Alto

Trust the Kelly girls to jump ship asap.
- r35 gt
  
  they will only get a 2 year deal nissan will get chucked out as soon as they start winning again ford and holden will cry
  - Des
    
    Nissan have NEVER been ‘chucked out’ before, why would they do it in the future.
    Same old ignorant rant from people with no idea.
nobogan

Imagine the glorious moment reprised in 2013. Bathurst podium. Jim Richards, Nissan driver. “You’re a pack of AR**HOLES!!!”

Can’t wait!!!!
Richo

A lot of people who have absolutely no idea what they are talking about are posting here…
Blitzkrieg

definately more interesting now with more manufactures
James Cortez

You should watch the DTM. Holden and Ford should put the latest engine tech under the hood. For Ford the Coyote V8, likewise Holden / GM. After all DOHC, direct injection, variable valve timing are never associated with pushrod configuration.
MJ

They may aswell not bother with different brands if they want them all to be exactly the same, have a standard car for all the teams and then it all comes down to the driver. The joy I use to get from the V8′s is gone, the point of having different brands involved is that they use their latest technology to make their car better than the others, then if one manufacture dominates its up to the others to up their game to compete. Bring back the V8′s of the 70′s and 80′s, by one off the shop floor, put a roll cage in it, drive it to the track, race it, drive it home.
Bob

About time they put some life into what is becoming a stale touring car championship!!! Should just leave the GT-R stock, it would still whoop the so called “competition”
- Ford Fairlane
  
  A v8 supercar would whip the shit out of a stock GTR,anywere,anytime,everytime.
Ford Fairlane

A v8 supercar would,whip the s_it out of a stock GTR around any track,anywere,anytime,everytime.
- Phil
  
  What are you basing that on?
  
  The slower Porsche 997 Turbo (non S version) is within 5 seconds of a current V8 super car around Phillip Island and the GTR is a slightly faster track car than the 997 Turbo. The GTR is hardly going to get the “s_it” whipped out of it even when it would also be lugging around Satnav, four leather seats, electric windows etc.
  - Ford Fairlane
    
    Well Fil one is a fully developed racecar the other is a overweight sports road car
    
    I bet there would not be one V8 supercar driver that thinks he could beat his racecar in a GTR.
    
    V8 supercar 460kw vs 400
    V8 supercar 1355kg vs 1750
    Not to mention downforce
    
    and you forgot to mention cup holders
    - Phil
      
      0-400 metre times (by Fairfax media)
      
      Holden V8 Supercar   11.8 secs      (driven by “Coulthard”)
      Nissan GTR              11.64 secs     (2010 spec with 390KW)
      Porsche 911 Turbo     11.2 secs      (2010 997 non S version)
      Porsche 911 Turbo S 10.9 secs      (2011 997 S by Motor Magazine)
Amlohac

Wont happen, Nissan dont have a pushrod V8 to use that is required. Its not viable for them to essentially go BACKWARDS in engine technology just to enter a car in the series.

Its a case of, ill believe it when i see the car on the start grid.
- Andrew
  
  The V8′s are going DOHC for 2013. Also there’s a control engine if they don’t feel like designing and building their own.
Samsquash

Slightly off topic, but Red Bull were never seen as a potential dominant outfit above McLaren & Ferrari. Sure those in the know saw Newey as a big key to success, they never thought Red Bull would win 2 in a row. This (Nissan’s entrance) is exciting for our Australian sport
Nissan fan

Any addition to V8 supercars can only be good for the sport and competition. Would love to a C300 race around as well, perhaps in the future. For all those who doubt this will be good, dont hate, just wait. It will happen, move with it, support your team.
Beamer fan

Bring on the BMW M series
- WBD
  
  Maybe a few years ago with the S60 engine, but with the new M3/M4 likely to be a tri-turbo inline-6 and the current M5 donk a twin-turbo V8, it’s not going to happen.
  
  Highly unlikely to see the Euro manufacturers bringing out another high performance V8 given their strict emissions reg’s.
Robert_KRSTEVSKI

This well be the first competition where the safety car will actually be faster than the competing cars. Good one Australia.
diesel

yawn, all this talk about pushrods vs DOHC…. BMW, Mercedes are only 50 years ahead in ALL aspects of automotive engineering. I cannot believe people still find 50 year old technology relevant in 2012!! Hopfully Nissan and several others will finally get rid of the aussie bogan mentality.The Ford/ GMH dualopoly is akin to woolworths/ Coles stiffling the small aussie marketplace. its only a matter of WHEN, not IF, they both become extinct…..
Jaylen

i think the rivalry between ford and holden will change to a lighter tone but in return nissian will get some tough competition.