For sure, the sports has much to offer. A unique V8 Supercars racing keeps you gripping your seats as you watch the whizzing cars closely vying to be first on the finish line. Split seconds difference between the first-prize and the runners-up is what many sports fans and spectators craving for more V8-unique excitement. This is why millions of dollars were spent on a new TV commercial of the sports car with the American hit maker, Pink, as the new face and ambassador for 2010 to 2012.

The primary objective was to establish the V8 Supercars as a world-class sport and living up to its label as “The Greatest Show on Wheels.” Pink clearly embodies the fun and excitement that V8 Supercars offer. She is feisty and fearless, especially in experimenting with her music and looks. “Get the Party Started,” Pink’s hit single is a fitting background to the TV commercial of V8s. Sports enthusiasts and the media first seen this ad during the annual Season Launch at Stag 3, Fox Studios. It was shot in Sydney while Pink was in town for her 2009 Funhouse Tour.

In the TV commercial are the popular V8 Supercar drivers such as Will Davison, Jamie Whincup, Mark Winterbottom, Rick Kelly, James Courtney and Fabian Coulthard. This is not just your regular TV commercial for it has the potential to set the benchmark for a unique sports campaign. The world-acclaimed video director from Hollywood, Dave Meyers, traveled from LA to Sydney just for the ad. Meyers has been directing videos for over ten years, working with such big names like Jennifer Lopez, Aerosmith, Janet Jackson, Britney Spears and Jay-Z.

Clearly, the V8 Supercars is one sport that may offer a different kind of thrill and excitement that many sports fans crave for. The sports has the potential to make it big in the international circuit. This new campaign will very well open many doors for V8 Supercars.

Since 1993, this V8 Supercars Racing Championships have attracted a multitude of fans and TV spectators. Australia hosts 12 of the 14 rounds, clearly indicating the Australians’ passion for this particular motorsport. New Zealand hosts the Hamilton 400 and Bahrain the Gulf Air Desert 400.

The V8 Supercars is actually labeled as a touring car racing. Unlike the other more popular races like the Formula One, the V8 racing showcases customized street cars similar to the Holden Commodore or the Ford Falcon legally racing in a host of specifically-design tracks and street circuits. It has clearly established itself in the culture of the Australians but the New Zealanders can also equal this love for the motorsport.

The particular attribute of the V8 racing is that you will see the first 20 fastest drivers completing the race with just milliseconds difference with the next qualifier. This may be attributed to the similarity in weight and speed of the V8 Supercars. This allows the fans a thrilling experience in watching these speedy cars closely racing towards the finish line. Watching this race keeps you at the edge of your seat and hollering for your favorite car until your throat gets dry. It is like in the movies, action-packed and enormously exciting.

For every race, a single format is applied. The drivers need to complete a practice race and qualifying round and three more races. To qualify, the competing drivers need to complete either a single endurance race with required pit stops or a sprint race. The Phillip Island 500 and Bathurst 1000 are the two official tracks for endurance races.

The following phase in the race is the Gulf air Desert 400, an exciting part of the competition having been voted as the V8 Supercars “Event of the Year” in 2007. This particular race offered another thrilling experience for both competitors and spectators. For each year, it is attracting more and more spectators with more than 30,000 in attendance. The race track is in the middle of the desert spanning 5.4 km with a total of 15 turns. For Bahrain, the V8 racing is their most important sports events with a good number of competitors in participation. The grand final soon follows and everyone will eagerly anticipate this amazing V8 Supercars vying to be crowned victorious.

V8 Supercar driver Garth Tander believes that the sport can really benefit in terms of gaining worldwide attention. He also added that V8 might have the potential to be promoted outside Australia and gain a foothold in foreign market. However, this could easily happen when someone bags the $2.5 million prize money enduring up to the last event of the year. Tander claims that it is not the prize that highly motivates him. He added that it is not really good for drivers to think of the prize probably because it may be counter-productive, adding pressure and distraction when they should be just focused on the road. However, having someone win the prize at the last race of the grand slam may be very thrilling not only to V8 enthusiasts but also to the general public.

The details of the Gold Coast are still being finalized. For sure the `Carnivale’ will showcase 300 km races, having drivers team up in pairs similar to the practice at Bathhurst and Philip Island. This event is said to be well-timed as the final leg to an “enduro” race, as Tander puts it. It is an enduro race because it is just after the Philip Island and Bathhurst races. It being an endurance race will also fulfill the purpose of the Queensland government to hold an international event at Gold Coast. There will be international drivers who will be participating as co-drivers. Some of the well-known drivers are David Brabham (winner of Le Mans in Australia), Scott Pruett (winner of Gold Coast Indy race), Mark Blundell of England and Christian Fittipaldi of Brazil.

For sure, the Gold Coast event will be Queensland’s pride and an exciting occasion that many Australians will look forward to seeing. It will showcase the V8 Supercars as worthy of international recognition.

There are claims that the longest enduring V8 engine is owned by the British companies, makers of the Bentleys and Rolls-Royce. The Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud, with a 6.2 litre with OHV and a V angle at 90 degrees, was first made public in 1959. The British car was based on an American design. In due time, it was expanded to its present size of 6.75 litres and are still being produced in Bentleys as of this writing. This is by far the oldest and most durable engine we have today.

It was Duesenberg, however, in the 1920’s that first manufactured the 8 cylinder car engine. The company eventually mass-produced the engine complete with complex overhead cams and numerous valves. However, the company was not able to thrive in the car-making business unlike its competitors.

Technological advancement developed the engine into its present state, the 8 cylinder engine in a V format, thus V8, which was fittingly named. This V8 pattern is now widely used in the automotive industry along with other innovations to transform our ideas of transport and cars radically. Given the necessary resources and perhaps funding, assuredly our imagination can think of many ways to improve the automotive industry.

Cars are not just for necessary transport but also as a recreational tool. They are valuable and necessary elements to our lives. Innovations like turbocharging, direct injection, multi-variable valve technology as well as massaging of the engine ancillaries are a few of the modern ways we manage our cars. The amazing Ferrari uses this technology so do the humble Falcon or Commodore. These advancements will make better and safer cars that we can use for whatever purposes. A V8 engine well provides its drivers with better brakes and safer maneuvering or handling.

If you would like to know more about the history of V8, you may check the January 2010 issue of Wheels.

Muscle cars come in many models and they are designed with different features far more unique than the ordinary car model types. The common car has a normal engine and a car design which is suited for your daily activity. But for others, the built of the muscle car must be more in terms of power, speed, accuracy and with other more intense driving features. That just simply means that kind of car you need is one that is faster and capable of handling more powerful and hard line kind of driving maneuvers.

If you are the more adventurous type of driver who really believes that you got the skills for it, then you are most likely going to get a muscle car that would match your thrill for speed and power. There are many cars of this kind in the American market and you just have to know and learn more about the features and compare them before you finally decide to buy one.

What sets the difference of the muscle car from other cars? Well, the muscle car is described as a high- performance kind of vehicle that is medium in its size and is well fitted with a strong and great engine, in most cases a V8.

The muscle car has the usual two doors, some others may have the four doors type. Also included are special trims in the car to help it have the utmost or the greatest extent of rotary force and torque while speeding on the road. For most drag racers that are active in car racing contests, the muscle car is the unanimous choice to be used in such races.

To distinguish the muscle cars from the popular sports cars, the muscle cars are larger in size compared to the sports cars and the latter may have two seats or more.

Some classic models of the muscle cars in the American market are the Ford Thunderbird 427, Pontiac GTO, Buick Skylark Gran Sport, and Chevrolet Malibu SS. These were the first cars of the 60’s and 70’s that defined the type of automobile as muscle cars.

The more current models of muscle cars include the Impala SS, Ford Mustang, and Mercury Grand Marquis. There is also the GT Super Snake and King of the Road by Ford and Shelby. To be aware about more models of the muscle cars, you must visit many automobile display shows and check out car companies who advertise and host auto activities and events. There are also websites which you can check online and find out more about the latest features and innovations of the muscle cars.

As always, you have to be careful in choosing the muscle car that would be good for you. Try to compare prices and costs, find good reviews about the cars you like and be sure to get actual and reliable information about these cars from websites.

If you have the resources to do so, you can build and customize your own muscle car according to your specific needs and preference like a great engine, tires, color and interior designs. You can search for a reputable automobile designer or car company that would be able to build and design the muscle car of your dreams.

The V8 drivers felt they had an obligation to impart their knowledge about proper and safe driving. As professional car racers, they are the best in their fields. They are the ones who are the best qualified people who can discuss the importance of safety gears and safety procedures.

So they launched a young driver training program activity for schools. This was called the V8 SuperSafe. This helped in teaching the importance of safe-driving procedures, proper risk-taking methods and making positive choices while on the road. The program involved the year 10, 11 and 12 students. The program also focused about road awareness and driving skill levels. The activity also involved tactics to teach students about good decision-making, good communication and realizing the outcome of their actions. The different sessions lasted 45 minutes, some for about an hour and one and a half hours for some other sessions.

The best thing about all this was that everything was done free of charge. The programs and activities were all sponsored by V8 Supercars Australia as a public assistance community service program.

You don’t have to worry if you think you’re not a good driver. The driving center offers many options for you to choose depending on your driving ability. You may opt for a driving experience with a professional driver who would drive for you all around the race track. Brace yourself that this is surely going to be a very fast paced driving experienced. If you think that you have good driving skills and you would really want to drive the V8 super car yourself, you can avail of that option as well. You would be given important pointers by a professional driver on how to properly maneuver the car brakes, the steering wheel and making corners around the race track. You would be given a complete rundown of the features of the car and also about keeping yourself safe while driving it. After this thorough procedure of instructions and information, you would be made to wear your safety gears like the helmet, gloves and of course, your racing outfit.

Then it’s time to get into the V8 super car. You would get ready to be fastened up securely into your driver’s seat and then you would try to get acquainted with the car. Your instructor would help you get ready to get to the race track. There you would be able to handle the first two laps with driving speed that you would be surprised you had. Then this would really start you up to want some more of the driving experience. The experience of handling the V8 super car with all its speed and motor power would surely make it one of your best life experiences in your entire lifetime.

One of the first actions to be implemented as soon as possible by the company is the doing away with “go fast” non engine data, telemetry system and the control valve train that is expected to raise the engine life of the Supercar to 8000 km. This could be a marked improvement from the present engine life of about 2000 km in case of some of the engines reported at present.

There were a few other points aimed at cost reduction raised by Cochrane during the meeting, but these did not get approved because of a lukewarm response from some of the team owners. There were three such points that were dropped but quite easily forgotten in the euphoria of the unanimous approval of other 14 points of the action plan.

Other significant highlights of the action plan emerging out of the meeting were decision taken on capping the number of pads and brake disks in one season or event. There was a unanimous view that a common radiator core would be an ideal system to adopt. However, if that was not feasible, the teams may have to homologate a cooling package for one season.

As regards control suspension, it was agreed that the complete front hub assembly of each team must be homologated for a period of two years. For the suspension components, such as track rods, wishbones, push rods, etc., it was suggested that they should all be homologated for a complete season every year.

There are also plans for increasing the number of all composite parts, such as the front and rear quarters, fibre glass bonnets, etc. Regarding final drive ratio, there was an agreement on reducing the number of options to 3.15 and 3.5. There are also plans for defining the centre of gravity of the next generation cars. The company also decided to investigate group manufacturing and purchasing for all consumables and parts.

Other points that were discussed and approved in the meeting pertained to control wheels, control dampers, control engine airbox, and control fuel system. It is expected that the technical department may undergo some major restructuring to implement the action plan approved in the meeting.

The best thing about V8 super cars is that it is easily accessible to all, and you can quite easily become the lucky V8 driver to enjoy its amazing ride. There are a number of local super car driving locations, where you can contact to make your dream come true. You can sit on this amazing car and enjoy its fast and smooth ride in a controlled environment in the company of professional instructors and drivers who can help you with the some of the things you need to know for driving V8 Supercars.

There must be some V8 driving schools in your area that you may explore. There is a short car driving course that teaches you about the basics of handling the V8 super car and the safety measures one should follow. As these cars run very fast, it becomes essential to learn a few techniques from experts on how to control the car when it is at top speed.

Once a driver is through the safety and driving briefing, it is advisable that you spend some time watching some of the V8 super car racing events so as to familiarize yourself with the sounds and sights you might expect when you hit the racing track yourself. Once get on the track, you may also like to spend some time sitting on the seat adjacent to the driver’s seat to get a feel of the super car driving from an even closer distance.

Irrespective of whether you are sitting in the driver seat or the passenger seat, it will be an amazing experience that will never fade away from memory in your entire life span. If you are sitting on the driver seat, you may take the car around the racing track for a few laps to get a feel of the track, but you will be on the racing track driving at full throttle in no time. In fact, soon after your first race is over, you will realize that you are itching to hit the track again and find yourself lining up registering for the next adventure on the racing track.

Supercars have all the qualities that you expect from a good racing or sports car.  Most of them have excellent road grip, power, engine, brakes and gearboxes. They run very fast but even at very high speeds, the grip with the road is not disturbed. Its running is so smooth that you may literally feel that you are flying on the road. The best parts of these cars are that they accelerate to a good speed the moment you start them and their turning radius is also minimum. Although, a few of them lack some basic essential features, such as aerodynamics, braking and steering quality of the racing cars, yet they have huge engine and enormous power. In fact, most companies leave out on some features or the other out of the whole package required to make a supercar. 

Most supercars can run at the speed of about 150 to 170 mph, although many companies sometimes put an upper limit of 155 mph. That is why the top speed limit is not very much relevant for categorizing a car as a supercar. The most important feature of the supercar is its starting acceleration and a car is considered a supercar based on the acceleration time required from 0 to 60 mph.

Lamborghini Gallardo and Ferrari F430 are good supercars that are manufactured in limited numbers. They can run at the maximum speed of 190 mph and can get to 60 mph in just about 4 seconds. There are also many smaller supercars that can run amazingly fast with just 425 bhp on tap, such as Noble M400 that achieves a 0-60 mph acceleration in about 3.5 seconds.

The beauty of the supercars is not in the top speed at which you can drive them, for instance whether you can drive them at 190 mph or not. Its real beauty is the overall experience of driving fast, even if the top speed is about 150 mph. Many cars having less than 300 bhp and top speed limit of 150 mph can also be called supercars because of their excellent performance on sporty roads.