Shane van Gisbergen burst onto the NASCAR scene last year with a win in his debut Cup Series race in the streets of Chicago. The victory sparked widespread conversation about his superior ability on road courses. However, the buzz didn’t stop there. It also ignited comparisons between NASCAR’s Next Gen cars and V8 Supercars, which he drove back in Australia.
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The latest generation of NASCAR cars draws inspiration from the V8 Supercars in areas like speed, acceleration, and engine performance. But their average speeds show a certain degree of variance. While the Next Gen can hit speeds nearing 200 miles per hour during drafts, the V8 Supercar typically maxes out at around 186 miles per hour.
However, a direct comparison doesn’t yield the most accurate result since the cars race on different track types. It should also be noted that the Next Gen hits a top speed of around 184 miles per hour when not drafting. The advantage of the NASCAR vehicle stems from its design, which prioritizes aerodynamics and downforce.
As for the engines, the V8 configuration, common in both series, features eight cylinders arranged in two banks of four. They share a common crankshaft. V8 Supercars generate between 620 to 650 horsepower (460-485 kW), whereas the Next Gen cars produce up to 670 horsepower (500 kW) on most tracks and 510 horsepower (380 kW) on superspeedways.
NASCAR engines can rev up to 10,000 RPM and surpass the 7,500 RPM limit typical in Supercars. A 2013 analysis by James Pavey also states that the sixth-generation NASCAR car accelerates faster in a straight line and that the V8 Supercars exhibit superior agility through corners. This makes the overall competition between the two quite balanced.
Supercars driver Cam Waters compares NASCAR Next Gen cars with V8 Supercars
In his debut in the NASCAR Cup Series, in June 2024, Waters took the wheel of the No. 60 Chevy for RFK Racing at Sonoma Raceway. Starting in 31st position, he maneuvered up to the top 15 before a wreck curtailed his race at Lap 66 and relegated him to a P35 finish.
Having had the opportunity to drive both types of vehicles, Waters remarked on the Next Gen cars, “The cars feel fairly similar in some ways to the Supercars back home. I think if I could compare it to anything, it’d be like how we went from Gen2 to Gen3. If you could just go in the other direction and call it ‘Gen1′, that’s probably what the cars would be like.”
He added, “Fairly heavy, the gearboxes are similar, the brakes are similar, a bit more power. A lot of fun to drive, you’ve gotta be up on the wheel, you know, wheelin’ it to get a lap time out of it.” It would be equally fascinating to hear Shane van Gisbergen’s take on this as well. The champion is currently prepping for his first full-time season in the Cup Series.
