Triple Eight Race Engineering is opening a new chapter as a Supercars Ford team next season, joining forces with The Blue Oval in 2026 and beyond. That partnership has more going for it than just on-track results, though – it will help the automaker bring racing-inspired tech and styling to roadgoing vehicles in the Australian market.
According to a report from Speedcafe, Ford Australia boss Andrew Birkic said that Ford wants to take advantage of its Triple Eight partnership for more than just motorsports, taking lessons learned from its Ford Mustang racers to market. At its core, Triple Eight is an engineering firm that just so happens to be an excellent competitor in the Supercars Championship, but its accomplishments extend far beyond the track. It has a hand in the aerospace and medical industries as well, and, more recently, the organization helped develop an aftermarket intake for turbo surge issues afflicting the Toyota Landcruiser.
Ford already has an off-the-track partnership with the Walkinshaw Group, which also fields a handful of Supercars Ford entries. This alliance produced the Walkinshaw Ford Ranger, a limited edition version of the midsize pickup with a host of off-road-ready goodies. However, that relationship will wrap up soon, leaving Ford in a prime position to bring a similar endeavor to market with Triple Eight.
“They are first and foremost an engineering company that is a very good race team, so there’s no reason why not,” Birkic told Speedcafe when asked about a production vehicle collaboration with Triple Eight. “What that looks like we don’t know, but certainly we have an open mind.”
Ford views motorsports as the ultimate testing ground for technology rather than a mere extension of the “win on Sunday, sell on Monday” philosophy, so a Triple Eight collab would make perfect sense. Track-proven tech often ends up in the automaker’s roadgoing vehicles. That’s certainly the case for the forthcoming Ford Mustang RTR, a Mustang EcoBoost performance model that’s the brainchild of renowned race car driver Vaughn Gittin Jr.
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It’s what Jim and Bill are working on 24/7.
Jealousy is not a good look on you. Makes you come across as petty and bitter
I have to quaify my response here a bit…to say that I am, and have always been a huge racing fan. That said, the crucible tht is racing has always yeilded engineering solutions that simply can’t be found in the comfortable offices of the corporate setting. This has been going on since racing automobiles started decades ago when Henry Ford raced another gentleman, and the money he won, helped him start Ford Motor Company. So yes, there is value to racing…most would agree that it’s worth the investment.