Toyota to enter V8 Supercars
It’s early days yet, but V8 Supercars Australia’s (V8SA) plan to attract more manufacturers to the championship has drawn an unenthusiastic response from Toyota.
Australia’s number one vehicle retailer and the only other local manufacturer apart from Ford and Holden isn't waiting with baited breath to see what actually turns up in the Car of the Future (CoF) regulations currently being devised by Mark Skaife.
Little is known formally about the CoF regs for now, except the cars will be cheaper to build and remain V8 rear-wheel drive. V8SA is also opening up the regulations to allow more brands to participate in the championship.
The drive train is a major impediment for Toyota, which builds the front-wheel drive four-cylinder Camry and V6 Aurion in Australia.
“My personal opinion is that if we were to enter into some form of partnership or marketing which was to promote a product other than that which we can show our customers in the showroom as a standard offering from one of our manufacturing facilities from here or overseas, then I would have to seriously question the relevance of that and the viability of such an investment,” Toyota Australia Senior Executive Director (Sales and Marketing), David Buttner, said.
These are not new thoughts for Toyota, which last considered an entry into V8Supercars about five years ago and decided against it for basically this reason.
Interestingly, Toyota in the USA has ditched such reservations and gone NASCAR racing with a V8 Camry.
Buttner said that if V8SA came to Toyota to discuss CoF, it would get a fair hearing. He would not pre-empt or predict what the outcome of such a meeting might be.
He made it clear that the marketing opportunities presented by the V8 championship were a key consideration, not just the technical regulations or the cost of the cars to build.
“There are always people in the marketplace who want to offer you wonderful opportunities,” Buttner said.
“But at the end of the day you have to analyse those opportunities yourself and make an appropriate decision based on your budget and what you believe will drive the best value to promote your brand in the marketplace.”
