Ford FG01 V8 Supercar

Motoring Channel Staff - 6/June/2008

Melbourne, Australia — The wraps have finally come off Ford's new motorsports weapon, the FG01 V8 Supercar prototype.

Set to make it's public debut at the Sandown 400 in Melbourne, the new race car is based on Ford's new FG Falcon, which has been test driven by the Editor and given the big thumbs up.

Finished with a 'Nitro' blue paint job along with white speed stripes, Ford claims the XR8-based touring car has been in development for around a year and a half and is now ready for its mid-year homologation.

"We are absolutely ecstatic with our new FG01, overall the car looks a much tougher package," says Ford Racing Manager, Ray Price.

"Aside from the obvious lines and aesthetics that we've inherited from the FG Falcon XR8 road car, the adjustments to create a unique and functional V8 Supercar have come together into one extremely well rounded vehicle which we are very pleased with.

"The 'Nitro' blue colour is distinctly 'Ford' and our Blue Oval dedicated livery - which was created especially for the FG01 prototype by a Ford employee in our design studio - is in line with our ongoing commitment to V8 Supercars.

FoMoCo's new Australian race car was put together by a trio of headline V8 Supercar teams: 

Ford Performance Racing (FPR)
Triple 8 (T8)
Stone Brothers Racing (SBR)

The new car had to adhere to a range of Ford's design requirements to ensure it will be competitive when racing other Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore-based rivals, but it has also had to meet the Touring Car Entrants Group (TEGA) 'Blueprint specification'.

"Developing FG01 was an intricate process and the design and build centred around meeting TEGA specifications alongside the goals of Ford and its major V8 Supercar teams, which were mainly related to cost reduction, reparability and safety," says Price.

The TEGA specifications necessitate that all entrants in the V8 Supercar competition meet certain dimensional criteria, to ensure close racing and that driver skill is the deciding factor, rather than how rich a team is. 

Therefore the new Ford FG01 V8 Supercar had to adhere to a range of constraints such as a certain weight, wheelbase, width, height, wheel track, and even things such as the suspension mounting points, front bumper and rear wing positions and other factors have to meet strict guidelines.

While the FG01's overall look has much in common with the new FG Ford Falcon, it's vastly different under the sheet metal. According to Ford Racing, the FG01 build involved a number of complex processes including the floor, cage, internal structural panels and external finish panels.

Ford Racing also wanted to make sure that many of the parts and components from the previous model, the BF Falcon, could be used on the new era racecar, "to assist with cost control and minimise redundant parts".

Ford Racing explains that one of the major safety-related changes involves a stronger roll cage and the moving of the driver's seat "as far inboard as possible, creating a noticeable gap between the seat and driver door". While this will improve driver safety in the result of a heavy collision, it could make driver changes during endurance races, such as the famous Bathurst 1000, more time consuming.

"Ford teams agreed that as a priority this V8 Supercar had to be less expensive to build as a new shell, and less expensive plus quicker to repair in the event of an accident," says Ray Price, the Ford Racing Manager.

"Subsequently Ford's new V8 relies less on welded panels for strength than the BF, allowing for swifter removal and replacement of damaged panels.

"We achieved this through a comprehensive design strategy where the floor and cage were built up as an assembly and the exterior panels fixed to the car rather than welded.

"Additionally, sacrificial structures have been incorporated which can be easily replaced after an accident.

"The overall functionality of our new racecar combined with its aggressive look will ensure the Ford teams are able to continue building competitive, race winning Ford V8 Supercars," says Price.

Ford has confirmed that the new FG01 prototype will spend it's first race meet in the pit lane at the Sandown 400. Craig Lowndes will perform a number of preview laps in the new car along with associate Ford driver and Channel Seven pit reporter Grant Denyer riding as passenger.

"We're looking forward to completing the homologation and getting on with building the number of race cars required for next season. The hard work has just begun, but we have given ourselves plenty of time to build the Ford V8 Supercars we need using our new design / build strategy," added Mr Price.

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