- Partnership with Walkinshaw TWG Racing to develop engine for their all-new GEN3 Toyota Supra Supercar
- First ever foray in Australian-based Supercars series for Swindon Powertrain via their partnership with Walkinshaw TWG Racing
- Global project – Walkinshaw TWG Racing engines developed and key components produced in UK by Swindon Powertrain, with final assembly and maintenance in Australia
Swindon Powertrain has been appointed official engine partner of Walkinshaw TWG Racing, the homologation team for Toyota’s maiden campaign in the 2026 Repco Supercars Championship. The designer and manufacturer of high-performance road and race engines and components is developing and supplying key components for Walkinshaw TWG Racing’s all‑new GEN3 Toyota Supra. The five‑year programme will see at least five cars join the grid in 2026.
Close collaboration
Since the project was first announced a year ago, Swindon Powertrain has been working in close collaboration with homologation partner Walkinshaw TWG Racing to lead the development, simulation and production of their development engines and key parts such as the crank train. Final assembly and ongoing servicing of the race engines is undertaken by Walkinshaw TWG Racing at its facility in Clayton, Victoria.
Toyota’s all-aluminium, quad-cam 2UR-GSE V8 usually found delivering smooth, effortless performance in cars such as the Lexus LC500, now in 5.2L guise, was a natural basis for the Supercars series that mandates engine capacities between 5.0-5.7L. “The engine’s architecture, such as its square 94×94 (bore and stroke), offers a great base for a competitive and durable power unit to achieve 600bhp,” says Swindon Powertrain’s managing director, Raphaël Caillé.
Balancing durability, cost and performance was essential
Key to the project is balancing durability, performance and cost attributes. “The Supercars calendar, including supporting the Australian F1 Grand Prix in Melbourne, sees over 12,000km of track running – that’s around five times the mileage of the 30-round British Touring Car Championship and harsher when you consider events such as the Bathurst 1000 with its 1.19-mile straight,” adds Caillé. Balancing the need for engines to last the season and keep to stringent cost targets, Swindon Powertrain focussed on evolution of the crank train and valvetrain hardware as well as the combustion and calibration elements. The robustness of Toyota’s road car engines meant cost-effective OE parts such as the cylinder head, block, main caps, timing chain and followers could be used in the Walkinshaw TWG Racing cars. The 2026 unit also runs hydraulic variable valve timing (VVT) and a 3D-printed inlet tract – the latter a manufacturing technology proven on Swindon Powertrain’s BTCC-winning engines.
Relishing the challenge
With Swindon Powertrain’s ISO 9001-certified facilities located in the UK and France, its engineering team – headed by technical director Sylvain Rubio, who will be trackside for the first events – worked closely with the project partners to ensure distance is no object, underlining Swindon Powertrain’s capacity to support programmes around the world. “It’s been a fantastic collaboration: the time zone difference enabled us to work around the clock, in effect,” adds Caillé. “However, we don’t underestimate the challenge. Supercars is a competitive championship with established engine producers with experience of the GEN3 regulations. We respect the job they are doing and now it’s up to us to learn, develop and bring our best efforts to the track. We won’t be satisfied until we start winning!”
“It’s fantastic to be partnering with Swindon Powertrain as we help bring the Toyota Australia Supercars project to life,” says Carl Faux, Walkinshaw TWG Racing team principal.
“There’s been a mountain of work and development undertaken to ensure the 2UR-GSE is Supercars ready, and importantly, meets all the regulations of the category that are so strictly enforced. To be able to have the Swindon Powertrain expertise and production capabilities has been great.
“While the final assembly and servicing of the engines all happen in house here in Clayton, to have a programme that has been able to run day and night due to time zones, has been essential in meeting deadlines and bringing it to life. We are all looking forward to the first official race in just a few weeks’ time.”
Series debut
An engine and component developer for over 50 years, supply winning engines and components in formulae as diverse as F1, F3, WRC, BTCC, sportscars and historic racing, Swindon Powertrain is relishing the significant but exciting Supercars challenge ahead. “This marks Swindon Powertrain’s debut in this incredibly competitive series. I was fortunate to work for 888 with Holden in the early 2000s and fondly remember the pure competition, awesome sounds and enthusiasm it generates. I’m really looking forward to seeing the Supra’s building on our success in touring cars,” adds Caillé.
Walkinshaw TWG Racing will field two vehicles driven by Chaz Mostert and Ryan Wood, with Brad Jones Racing (BJR) fielding a further three cars.