Turbo Diesel Power For V8 Utes From 2016  

Yokohama Tyre Australia is the official tyre supplier of the Australian V8 Ute national series.

As the Commodore and Falcon utes pack their bags, turbo-diesel replacements could soon fill the void left on the racetrack by the home-grown V8 tradie favourites.



As part of its new ‘Ute of the Future’ plans, V8 Utes has said that diesel power plants will be allowed to compete in the category from 2016 onwards.

The new EvolUTEion platform that was announced at the start of last year allows for new manufacturers to join the traditional Holden vs Ford championship, and moves the category away from a production-based series to a common chassis.



Category manager Craig Denyer said that the move was made to accommodate new possible manufacturers in the series.

“We are open to diesel engines as an option as well as petrol for 2016 if any specific manufacturer wants to run a diesel power plant,” he confirmed to AA.

Both turbo and naturally aspirated diesel engines will be permitted, and would run alongside the petrol and V8 counterparts.



The new EvolUTEion platform is designed for Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV) instead of the traditional Australian Ute on which the category was founded.

Vehicles targeted by the series such as the Ford Ranger, Holden Colorado, Nissan Navara, Toyota HiLux, and Mazda BT-50 all come with diesel or turbo-diesel engines from the factory.

With 10 new EvolUTEion chassis expected on the grid for Clipsal 2016, the V8 Utes will run a special Holden vs Ford format at this year’s season opener in Adelaide as a final hurrah to the iconic rivalry.

Similar to the format used by V8 Supercars at Albert Park in 2008, Holdens will line up on one side of the grid, Fords on the other, for the first qualifying race of the weekend. The subsequent races will be run traditionally. What do you think of the new platform?

LINKS:
www.yokohama.com.au
www.autoaction.com.au




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