Hmm, Dodge Charger anyone?
Only if it can comply with COTF regulations. Manufacturers will only get involved in the series if the cars resemble their own line-ups. The problem with the Charger is that it is not sold in Australia (as far as I know - I've never seen one), so it would be a costly exercise to prepare Chargers for racing. Manufacturers do not actually run the V8 teams themselves; they bid to third parties to run their cars.
That said, the race format for the planned American round has not been revealed. I would not be surprised if VESA make wildcard entries available to American teams, and then try to get ALMS or NASCAR teams to build or buy a COTF chassis just for the race (making the cars left-hand drive for local drivers would make them much more competitive). The problem with this is that it would be good for one race per season, and therefore expensive. However, I think VESA are trying to export the series; we have V8 Supercars Australia, but I think they're angling for a V8 Supercars Asia and V8 Supercars America - particularly since they're pushing out into international rounds, have appointing people to hold international administration positions, and the teams are looking to find buyers for the 2011 and 2012 cars since they'll be ineligible to run from 2013. That's what I think this big push into America is: an attempt to establish a spin-off series as V8 Supercars America since the United States has a whole lot of road courses, but no real road course series; as we all know, NASCAR runs almost exclusively on ovals. Just imagine if you have your own V8 Supercar series with a calendar like this (in no particular order):
- Infineon Raceway
- Laguna Seca
- Circuit of the Americas
- Barber Motorsport Park
- Indianapolis Road Course
- Homestead-Miami Road Course
- Watkins Glen
- Mid-Ohio
- Miller Motorsport Park
- Portland
- Road Atlanta
- Sebring
- Elkhart Lake
- Long Beach
- Port Imperial
Fifteen rounds, just like the Australian calendar (though Long Beach and Port Imperial would probably have to be support acts for other races). And entries in V8 Supercars America would be elegible to run in the Australian endurance races. I think that's the intention of VESA: to get an international series up and running, either in America or Asia.
They certainly look the same, but it's what's inside that counts.
Ironically enough, you've got it almost completely backwards. The internal workings of both cars are very similar - it's the bodywork that is the biggest point of difference between the two makes. The whole idea behind the Car of the Future program is to keep costs down by making the internal workings of both cars largely similar and very interchangeable. It's born out of the current system, where only a handful of teams actually prepare their own race cars. I think Triple Eight, Dick Johnson, Stone Brothers, Ford Performance Racing and HRT are the only teams that build cars. Everyone else buys cars from those teams. The problem is that they can usually only afford a second-hand chassis, which is naturally less-competitive (as is the case with Kelly Racing - two of their cars are current-generation, and the other two are second-hand). The Car of the Future is designed to make competitive cars more affordable.
Looking forward to them coming to the states.
Well, the Circuit of the Americas needs to be built first. If they lose the Grand Prix contract, the circuit won't get finished. However, I would expect that the V8s would just go elsewhere in America.
