GM committed to Supercars, welcomes new competition from Toyota
10/10/2024 10:14 PM
Toyota Supras will not replace Chevrolet Camaros on the Supercars grid, as GMSV confirms commitment to the sport.
General Motors Speciality Vehicles (GMSV) says it is committed to racing in Supercars, indicating Toyota's entry with its Supra will not replace the Camaro – at least in the short term.
Toyota Australia made headlines earlier last month announcing it will field its Supra, powered by a Lexus-sourced petrol V8 engine, to race against the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro from the 2026 season.
However, after the announcement, speculation emerged that GMSV would pull the Camaro from racing given the production model was only sold in Australia from 2018 to 2020 under the Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) joint venture between Holden and Walkinshaw Group – with the latter converting the muscle car from left- to right-hand-drive for local roads.
Since the Camaro's Australian axing, Holden called it quits in early 2020 and GMSV emerged as a leaner outfit, still working with Walkinshaw Group for conversions of the Chevrolet Silverado pick-up.
At the time, the door was left open to re-introduce the Camaro under the GMSV banner, but that has since been closed – as GM ended production of the model earlier this year.
Speaking to Drive, GMSV boss Jess Bala stated that Camaros will still compete in Australia in famed races such as this weekend's Bathurst 1000.
"We're definitely re-signing," she said definitively.
"We go out a matter of years, and actually [we're] due to re-sign as we speak, we're actually already talking through that."
As for facing more competition in the field, which has recently been dominated by teams racing Ford Mustangs, Ms Bala said interest in the sport will only serve to boost the profile of all involved.
"I think it's great for the competition," she said.
"It's obviously been Chevy and Ford, and prior to that Holden and Ford, for a very, very, very long time.
"So bringing in another manufacturer, I think it's going to do really great things for the sport.
"It might bring some new fans into the sport as well, put us on more of a global stage because now we have the same manufacturers that are in the NASCAR competition.
"I think it's a really good thing."
Toyota has partnered with Walkinshaw Andretti United, which formerly raced with the Ford Mustang after transitioning out of being the factory-backed Holden Racing Team, for its 2026 season bid.
The post GM committed to Supercars, welcomes new competition from Toyota appeared first on Drive.
