Some news which might be of interest for Oz V8 Supercar racing fans. Ford Performance Racing will be showcasing its “Car of the Future” Falcon at the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney later this month.
The showcar looks similar to the current crop of V8 Supercars externally, but under the skin lies a host of safety and technical improvements to the body, driver safety as well as a lighter, stronger chassis, things that are set to be implemented for the 2013 racing season.
Next year’s vehicles will continue to feature V8 engines, rear-wheel drive and four doors. However, a “control chassis” will be introduced to allow all V8 Supercar contenders equal footing, in the process lower both build cost of the chassis as well as repair costs.
The COTF also showcases a new level of safety for drivers – the fuel tank will be moved forward from the boot to sit inside the main chassis, and new items include a collapsible steering column, a new fire extinguisher system and improved side crash protection.
Other measures include moving the engines 100 mm further back to the firewall for added safety, windscreens will be made of high-impact polycarbonate and 18-inch tyres will be introduced. Elsewhere, independent rear suspension and a transaxle gearbox are also technical innovations for the COTF. Two COTF Falcon prototypes are set to be tested on a variety of circuits ahead of the 2013 rollout.
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Im glad Ford focused more on safety than exterior features because they can see how the safety features work on this car so they can implement them into their commercial vehicles.
Seems like the Aussie V8 Supercars are becoming like NASCAR Sprint Cup cars, where they looks resembles stock road going cars but very much different underneath, and all cars are basically the same even though the skin looks like different cars from different manufacturers.
On the first look I thought it’s a Persona… ;)
Look at the CAI..