Supercar Camaro
Brakes slammed on
If we were sceptical about the claims by Holden Special Vehicles a Chevrolet Camaro Supercar would look a bit odd, we doubt no more. And the reason is the Ford Mustang Supercar.
Taller and narrower than the road car, the racing version of the iconic blue oval coupe has caused all sorts of ructions among Supercar fans since it broke cover in November.
It’s the raised roo ine and larger glasshouse that has triggered much of the ire and it backs up HSV’s argument the exciting low-slung body of the production Camaro it has just started selling in Australia won’t adapt well to the Gen2 control chassis at all well.
“In order to make it [Camaro] t the rollcage it looks more like an Aussie Racing Car,” HSV managing director Tim Jackson said. “I am certainly not interested in it if it looks like that. It’s skinny and tall… it would look a bit weird.” Sound familiar? But HSV being proved right isn’t the outcome you want if you hope for the Camaro to be on the grid in 2020. It simply can’t happen without a roll-cage modi cation and that isn’t going to be authorised any time soon.
Camaro for Supercars in 2021 then… at the earliest. And we’re only talking a maybe.
The modi cation needed so HSV and its related race team, Walkinshaw Andretti United, can progress the project is straightening the kinked roll hoop over the driver’s head. It had to be introduced back when the Car for the Future chassis was being developed in 2012 to allow tall drivers to t in the cockpit.
Modifying it would require the approval of the Supercars Commission. And that would mean a bunch of people who often can’t agree on a coffee order unifying to offer a rival a potential advantage.
While making it explicitly clear that he was speaking in his role as Tickford Racing team principal and not a as commissioner, Tim Edwards con rmed there was little support for the Camaro concession along pitlane. The fundamental concern for teams running rival cars is that lowering the height of the Camaro’s roll-cage would deliver it a centre of gravity advantage.
“Whether it’s a perceived or real advantage everyone will then be forced to build new cars to lower the cage to lower the centre of gravity,” Edwards said. “We shouldn’t be forcing 26 cars to reshell to run lower cages.”
Supercars CEO Sean Seamer certainly backed that view up.
“I think it’s very unlikely that the Commission would agree to make a concession for one vehicle when the concession hasn’t been made for the one that’s entering (Mustang),” Seamer told Auto Action magazine. The Supercars grid at next year’s Adelaide season opener will look a little different as the Falcons make way for the new Mustang - but don’t expect the Camaro to join it any time soon.
If that’s not enough to cool HSV and WAU’s jets, there’s Holden’s lack of enthusiasm for the prospect of Camaro arriving on the grid to take on the Commodore ZB in a General Motors in- ght.
“I don’t mean to be a kill-joy, but it (Camaro) is a little bit of a distraction from what we are here and in the market to do,” marketing boss Kristian Aquilina told AA. “I can understand why fans are excited (about the Camaro), but it’s our job to get as many people as possible excited about the Holdens that we’re selling rather than Chevys.”
Not that HSV is taking no for an answer just yet. A production Camaro turned up at Bathurst in racing colours… just to whet our appetite no doubt!