V8SC: SBR And Erebus Mounting 2013 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Attack

The Mercedes-Benz star will be the fourth badge in next year's V8 Supercar championship, joining Ford, Holden and Nissan for the 2013 season.

Privately-owned Erebus Motorsport will field a three-car team, following a merger with V8 Supercar team Stone Brothers Racing (SBR).

Currently aligned with Ford, SBR also carries two of the necessary Racing Entitlements Contracts (RECs) to enter the championship, while a third REC is leased.

This new V8 Supercar will carry the appearance of the E-Class large sedan, but will use the new V8 Supercars Car of The Future (COTF) control chassis, with a production-based 5.0 litre AMG V8 engine.

“There has been much speculation over what Erebus Motorsport, AMG and Mercedes-Benz were doing in relation to the Car of the Future - and we haven’t been in a position to say anything about this until right now,” Erebus CEO Ryan Maddison said today.

The team plans to have the three cars ready for the 2013 season-opening Clipsal 500 round in March, with development of the new engine already well underway.

SBR has been charged with the construction of the cars’ COTF chassis, and the first example is due for track testing wearing Ford bodywork in the coming weeks.