BTCC vs WTCC vs DTM vs V8 Supercars

[TheFamousEccles]

Polestar undaunted by V8 development challenge - Speedcafe

More news about the motor for the new Flying Swedish Valiants (Australian members will know what I'm on about ).

[zako85]

It's nice that Volvo is working on its own V8 engine. Using a generic engine would have been a bit farcial considering how many mechanical components are already standardized in V8 supercars (I believe transmissions, brakes, and some other parts are shared). It looks like they will resurrect the short lived Yamaha V8 engine that was briefly used in XC90 and S80.

[AndySpeed]

Crazy move. Volvo should be in DTM if anything, not V8SC.

[Iain]

Crazy move. Volvo should be in DTM if anything, not V8SC.

I get the feeling it's more of an importer-led programme than being controlled direct from Sweden. Good to see them enter, the Nissan is looking a lot more on the pace, which should encourage any newcomers.

[wedge]

I get the feeling it's more of an importer-led programme than being controlled direct from Sweden. Good to see them enter, the Nissan is looking a lot more on the pace, which should encourage any newcomers.

GRM getting backing from Volvo Australia, engines from Polestar.

Similar deal with Erebus Motorsports - their engines come from Germany via HWA.

[big_sw2000]

Crazy move. Volvo should be in DTM if anything, not V8SC.

I get the feeling it's more of an importer-led programme than being controlled direct from Sweden. Good to see them enter, the Nissan is looking a lot more on the pace, which should encourage any newcomers.

Well working for Volvo, there is a fair bit of excitement. I think its to do with the fact, the series runs in, obviously Australia, but the USA get a race as well. 2 places Volvo are trying to target selling more cars.

[big_sw2000]

GRM getting backing from Volvo Australia, engines from Polestar.

Similar deal with Erebus Motorsports - their engines come from Germany via HWA.

Plus Polestar, is set up from the company that was TWR. They did a fair bit in Australia

[wedge]

I didn't know that about Polestar. I know TWR are still involved with running Holdens.

[zako85]

Finally, Yamaha's jokes of transversely mounted V8 engines are going to be put to a good use. The versions installed in real world cars were failures. The original Yamaha V8 engine was the 3.4L engine installed in North American Ford Taurus SHO 1996-99. The expensive engine had a bad reputation of grenading itself by spinning cams just after the warranty expired and for being not much powerful than the 3.0L V6 Duratec installed in the base models of Taurus.

Having not learned anything from this experience, Ford contracted once again Yamaha to design and build a V8 engine to be used in Volvo and Lincoln cars early in the last decade (underscoring how hapless Ford had become in the early 2000s, being unable to design on its own a compact DOHC V8 engine for car use). The new 4.4L Yamaha V8 provided you with the screaming 311 horses, which was decidedly embarrassing if you compared this even with the top 6-cylinder engines of that time (e.g. 3.5L V6 in Infiniti G35). The engine was discontinued once Volvo came up with its own better designs for cars like S80 or XC90. Of course, the race spec Volvo engine will have to do very little with the now discontinued production block. So the V8 engine still has a small chance to a glorious redemption, now in motorsport.

I heard the V8SC Volvo is a local distributor's project, and this is why they're entering in V8SC and not in say DTM, although the step from V8SC to DTM is not as difficult since the specifications were designed to bring these two championships closer.

[Brown, Jon Brow]

I think the NGTC cars would be more impressive to watch if they cornered faster. They just look really heavy in the corners so it hardly looks like the drivers are pushing.