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New Mustang likely to join Supercars in 2023

Ford's new S650 Mustang is likely to join the Supercars field for the 2023 season.

Supercars Ford Mustang grill and logo

Supercars Ford Mustang grill and logo

Mark Horsburgh, Edge Photographics

The latest iteration of the famous muscle car is set to go into series production next year to be released for the 2023 model year.

Motorsport.com understands that, given Ford is an official manufacturer in Supercars, the preference will be to have the new model racing as soon as possible once the road-going version hits the market.

There is a small hiccup with the timing given that, as it stands, Supercars will introduce its new Gen3 regulations next year.

That means we could effectively see new Mustangs come into Supercars two years in a row – the Gen3 version of the existing S550 next season followed by a Gen3 S650 in 2023.

The first new build will be by far the most significant for teams with the Gen3 cars built on a whole new chassis compared to the existing Car of the Future/Gen2 cars.

The second would then be a facelift on the same chassis, similar to the move from the Falcon FG to the FG-X in 2015 or the FG-X to the current Mustang in 2019.

Any change to the shape would still require a VCAT process to homologate the aero, with the total cost and effort required for the changeover heavily dependant on how different the new Mustang is.

The double up may also still be avoided entirely if speculation that the Gen3 rules will be delayed to 2023 rings true.

There has been unrest over the new rules for some time, with teams concerned that the project is behind schedule. There are also uncertainties regarding key elements of the new cars including engine specification and supply.

Supercars is set to meet with all 11 teams on Tuesday in an attempt to clear the air regarding Gen3, the outcome of which could feasibly still be delaying the rules to 2023.

That is likely to be a last resort, though, with the series having been adamant the rules will be implemented as planned.

There has also been chat that the start of the 2022 season could be delayed to help alleviate the pressure on teams over the off-season, although that has also been denied by Supercars.

Ford is currently the only fully-engaged manufacturer in Supercars, having returned after a hiatus in its support in 2019.

That was as part of the Mustang programme that saw the two-door hero car draped over the existing Supercars platform.

The Gen3 control chassis will be better suited to two-door cars, with the Mustang set to go up against the Chevrolet Camaro.

As it stands Chevrolet has green lit its IP to allow the Camaro to race but won't be a fully-fledged Supercars manufacturer.

However Triple Eight, which is the GM homologation team, does have a relationship with GM Special Vehicles arm that has effectively replaced Holden in Australia.

There's been Chevrolet and Corvette branding on the T8 Commodores at recent rounds.

 

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