Current cars are the Ford Mustang GT, Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, and Toyota GR Supra — all front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, V8-powered machines built around a control chassis under technical parity regulations.
The concept of a V8-engined formula centred on Fords and Holdens for the Australian Touring Car Championship was established by mid-1991. The Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) announced the new rules in November 1991, and in June 1992 confirmed a three-class structure: Class A for Australian-produced 5.0-litre V8-engined Fords and Holdens, Class B for 2.0-litre FIA Class II Touring Car compliant cars, and Class C for normally aspirated two-wheel drive cars eligible in 1993 only. Both the Ford Falcon EB and Holden Commodore VP used American-based engines restricted to 7,500 rpm with a 10:1 compression ratio.
The V8s were first eligible for the endurance races of 1992, with aerodynamics designed partly to help them compete against the Nissan Skyline GT-Rs. Cars such as the Nissan Skyline GT-R and Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth were ineligible from 1993. From 1995, the 2.0-litre super touring cars, contesting their own series, became ineligible for the ATCC.
The Australian Vee Eight Super Car Company (AVESCO) — a joint venture between the Touring Car Entrants Group of Australia (TEGA), IMG, and the Australian Motor Sports Commission — was formed in November 1996 to run the series, which adopted the name V8 Supercars at that time. In February 1997, Tony Cochrane and James Erskine left IMG and formed Sports and Entertainment Limited (SEL), which took a 25% stake in AVESCO, while TEGA held 75%.
The series expanded from 1998, with the first Northern Territory round at Hidden Valley Raceway, a new Adelaide street race on a shortened version of the Adelaide Grand Prix Circuit in 1999, a Canberra round in 2000, and the first New Zealand round at Pukekohe Park Raceway in 2001. International rounds were later held at the Shanghai International Circuit (2005), Bahrain International Circuit (2006), and Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi (2010).
Major format changes in 1999 incorporated the endurance races into the championship and introduced Bridgestone control tyres; the series was renamed the Shell Championship Series. Control tyres changed to Dunlop in 2002, and the name became the V8 Supercar Championship Series. In November 2010, the FIA granted the series international status for the 2011 season, and the name changed to the International V8 Supercars Championship.
In 2011, Archer Capital purchased a 65% shareholding with the teams owning the other 35%. In December 2021, both Archer Capital and the teams sold their shareholdings to Race Australia Consolidated Enterprises.
After Holden dominated in 2001 and 2002, new regulations called Project Blueprint were introduced for 2003 to close the performance gap between the Commodore and the Falcon. Developed by Paul Taylor and Wayne Cattach over two years, the package standardised chassis pick-up points, wheelbase, track, and driving position across both manufacturers. Holdens adopted double-wishbone front suspension and a Watts link at the rear. Ford won the championship in 2003, 2004, and 2005; Holden in 2006.
In mid-2008, a project led by Mark Skaife investigated future directions, aiming to cut car costs from around $450,000 to $250,000 through control parts and to open a pathway for new manufacturers. The resulting "Car of the Future" formula was introduced in 2013. Nissan entered with four Nissan Altima L33s, followed briefly by Erebus Motorsport with Mercedes-Benz E63 AMGs and Garry Rogers Motorsport with Volvo S60s. In November 2013 the moniker changed to "New Generation V8 Supercar". Nissan departed after 2018; Ford replaced the Falcon with the Mustang for 2019.
In April 2016 the series agreed with Virgin Australia to rename itself the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship from 1 July. For 2021 it became the Repco Supercars Championship on a five-year deal, extended to eight years at the end of 2022.
Gen2 regulations introduced in 2017 allowed two-door coupé body styles and turbocharged four- or six-cylinder engines, though no teams elected to build cars with alternate engines. The Holden ZB Commodore debuted in 2018 and the Ford Mustang S550 in 2019. Holden announced its final year of competition in 2022.
Gen 3 regulations were introduced for the 2023 championship. Major aims were closer racing, reduced costs, and greater road-relevance. Sweeping aerodynamic changes cut downforce; the Gen 3 cars were originally reported to produce about 140 kg of downforce at 200 km/h. The Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 replaced the Holden Commodore from 2023. Starting in 2026, Toyota debuted with the GR Supra.
Under Gen 3, all engines for a given car model are built by a single engine builder — Herrod Performance Engines for the Mustang and KRE Race Engines for the Camaro — tested on a dynamometer, sealed on delivery, and allocated randomly. Teams are permitted only two new engines per car per year.
All Gen 3 cars are front-engine, rear-wheel-drive V8s. The Ford engine is a 5.4-litre DOHC V8 with four valves per cylinder; the GM engine is a 5.7-litre pushrod V8 with two valves per cylinder; the Toyota engine, introduced in 2026, is a 5.2-litre DOHC V8. Power is transmitted through a six-speed sequential transaxle with an integrated spool differential. Minimum car weight is 1,335 kilograms including the driver. Cars run on E75 fuel with a tank capacity of about 130 litres. The highest speed ever recorded in a Supercar is 300.5 km/h on the Conrod Straight of Mount Panorama Circuit by Shane van Gisbergen in qualifying for the 2023 Bathurst 1000.
To compete, each car requires a Teams Racing Charter (TRC), formerly called a Racing Entitlements Contract (REC). There are currently 28 TRCs. The defending champion is entitled to use the number 1, though Shane van Gisbergen and Scott McLaughlin each elected to retain their existing numbers in 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022, and 2023. The Teams Championship dictates the pit lane order for the following season. Co-drivers are required for each car in the two endurance races; since 2010 each full-time driver must remain in his own car and be joined by a co-driver not competing full-time.
A second-tier series, the Dunlop Super2 Series, runs as a support category at certain events, now serving dual purposes: developing young drivers and giving endurance co-drivers more experience before the endurance races.
The Bathurst 1000, known as the "Great Race" and held in some form since 1960, is run over 161 laps of the Mount Panorama Circuit — 1,000 kilometres, taking between six and seven hours. The Peter Brock Trophy, named after nine-time Bathurst 1000 winner Peter Brock and introduced in 2006 following his death in a crash at the Targa West rally, is awarded to the winners. The event has historically attracted crowds of nearly 200,000.
The Adelaide 500, run on a reduced version of the Adelaide Street Circuit since 1999, is the largest V8 Supercars race by crowd numbers. With over 285,000 in attendance annually, it is the most attended Supercars race in Australia. The Sandown 500 was first held as a six-hour race in 1964; it has served as the traditional "Bathurst warm-up" race, also run over 161 laps but on the shorter Sandown Raceway, covering 500 kilometres.
The series is currently broadcast on Fox Sports and the Seven Network. Fox Sports shows all practice, qualifying, and race sessions live; Seven shows seven events live. The coverage is produced by Supercars Media, with former champion and Bathurst winner Mark Skaife as lead commentator and Neil Crompton as expert commentator. Foxtel broadcast the 2018 Bathurst 1000 in 4K, the first such broadcast in Australian sport. The series also offers its own live streaming pay-per-view service, Superview, launched in 2013. The Bathurst 1000 television broadcast has won a Logie Award for Most Outstanding Sports Coverage seven times.
The series has featured in video games including Codemasters' V8 Supercars series and Turn 10 Studios' Forza series. An official iRacing online championship ran from 2011 to 2014. Supercars launched an eSports competition using Forza Motorsport 6 and 7 in 2017, moving to iRacing in 2019.
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