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Lowndes impressed with V6 Supercar engine

Craig Lowndes says he’s excited by the potential of the twin turbo V6 engine that is destined to replace Holden’s V8 unit in Supercars.

Triple Eight Sandman test car fitted with a V6 engine

Triple Eight Sandman test car fitted with a V6 engine

Triple Eight Race Engineering

Triple Eight Sandman test car fitted with a V6 engine
Craig Lowndes, Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden
Triple Eight Sandman test car fitted with a V6 engine
Craig Lowndes, Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden
Next-generation Holden Commodore Concept
Next-generation Holden Commodore Concept
New Commodore Supercar concept

The veteran Supercars racer was part of a debut test for the GM-developed engine in Queensland last week, which saw the V6 paired with the Supercars-inspired ‘Sandman’ wagon.

Lowndes and Red Bull Holden driver Jamie Whincup shared the running on the first day at the Norwell circuit, before Lowndes’s endurance driver Steve Richards took over for the entire second day of running.

The engine reportedly completed more than 250 kilometres of running without any major issues.

According to Lowndes, the focus for the test was on reliability rather than performance. However, he added that there is a lot of potential in the package based on the initial findings.

“It’s coming along,” he told Fox Sports’ Inside Supercars show. “There’s obviously a lot of work to be done.

“The work that’s gone on to get the motor into the car, to get all intercoolers and all the stuff that you need to run the engine has been a huge effort.

“It also hasn’t interrupted the day to day work of the current cars, or the current team. Everyone has been working long hours, it’s a lot of work.

“It was great to see and feel the car run. There’s a lot of work to get to a point where we’ll actually race with it, but it’s a credit that it ran pretty much faultlessly.

“The main thing was to get the reliability, and it did all that.

“It was nice to be the first to drive it. It will be a competitive engine. Once we get it into a racecar and see what it’s like on a track, head to head with a V8, I think it’s got great potential.”

The 105-time race winner also moved to allay fears of the engine note not living up to the V8, admitting that he too was sceptical before hearing the unit in action for the first time, but was ultimately impressed with how it sounded.

“It sounded very different inside the car to what does outside the car,” he said.

“I was the first to drive it and sort of de-bug it, and then Jamie drove. And when you get someone else to drive it and hear it from the outside, it is definitely a different noise.

“It has a sound. I was sceptical too; as soon as you put a hairdryer on anything it quietens it down. But it’s got a good noise, it’s going to be exciting.”

The V6 engine could be seen in Supercars as soon as next season matched with the new-generation Commodore, although a full roll-out has already been delayed until the 2019 season.

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