Controversial look for Supercars Mustang

DJR Team Penske unveiled its two-door Ford Mustang at Queensland Raceway on Wednesday ahead of a test regime at the hands of drivers Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard.

All Ford teams, including rival outfit Tickford Racing, will adopt DJR Team Penske’s machine once the car is signed off.

The car broke cover in camouflaged colours as opposed to the team’s usual Shell V-Power warpaint.

If the Mustang's silhouette looks a little odd, that’s because the team had to stretch the coupe’s fastback roofline to accommodate a mandatory roll cage design used by all Supercars.

Initial reactions to the machine have been mixed, with fans on the Supercars Facebook page suggesting it is “out of proportion” or “doesn’t look right” compared to the road car's sleek styling.

Ford went through a difficult process to make the Mustang compatible with Supercars control elements originally designed to fit boxy Falcon and Commodore bodywork.

Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance Motorsports, spoke with Drive at the SEMA modified car show in Las Vegas. 

He says a rumoured Chevrolet Camaro entry led by Walkinshaw Andretti United, formerly known as the Holden Racing Team, would have to go through a similarly painful process.

“We’d be happy to see the Camaro race there, assuming it follows all the same rules as we did in making the body fit over the roll cage structure,” Rushbrook says.

“We made our coupe fit over the roll cage structure.

“As we’ve been developing the new Mustang in NASCAR and NHRA we’ve been developing it using our tools for Australia.”

Rushbrook attended the opening round of last season’s Supercars campaign in Adelaide, where the car will make its debut in 2019.

“I was impressed not just with the cars and the racing series, but the fans and the passion - just the number of people that were there, quite honestly. It’s a huge event,” he said. 

“We felt that was appropriate to have a racing presence there with the Mustang as well. 

“We’ve still got a presence [in Australia], we sell a lot of cars there. It’s important to us.”

Ford racer tests ahead of 2019 debut. 

Ford’s top Supercars team has revealed its successor to Falcon race machines. 

DJR Team Penske unveiled its two-door Ford Mustang at Queensland Raceway on Wednesday ahead of a test regime at the hands of drivers Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard.

All Ford teams, including rival outfit Tickford Racing, will adopt DJR Team Penske’s machine once the car is signed off.

The car broke cover in camouflaged colours as opposed to the team’s usual Shell V-Power warpaint.

If the Mustang's silhouette looks a little odd, that’s because the team had to stretch the coupe’s fastback roofline to fit over a mandatory roll cage design used by all Supercars.

Initial reactions to the machine have been mixed, with fans on the Supercars Facebook page suggesting it is “out of proportion” or “doesn’t look right”.

Ford went through a difficult process to make the Mustang compatible with Supercars control elements originally designed to fit boxy Falcon and Commodore bodywork.

Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance Motorsports, spoke with Drive at the SEMA modified car show in Las Vegas. 

He says a rumoured Chevrolet Camaro entry led by Walkinshaw Andretti United, formerly known as the Holden Racing Team, would have to go through a similarly painful process.

“We’d be happy to see the Camaro race there, assuming it falls all the same rules as we did in making the body fit over the roll cage structure,” Rushbrook says.

“We made our coupe fit over the roll cage structure.

“As we’ve been developing the new Mustang in NASCAR and NHRA we’ve been developing it using our tools for Australia.”

Rushbrook attended the opening round of last season’s Supercars campaign in Adelaide, where the car will make its debut in 2019.

“I was impressed not just with the cars and the racing series, but the fans and the passion - just the number of people that were there, quite honestly. It’s a huge event,” he said. 

“We felt that was appropriate to have a racing presence there with the Mustang as well. 

“We’ve still got a presence [in Australia], we sell a lot of cars there. It’s important to us.”