The new Dual cab SuperUte series that will replace the existing V8 Utes category from July next year is to be open to all manufacturers with turbocharged diesel engines.
Supercars took over the running of the V8 Utes early this year and quickly moved to update the category in line with the market's shift to imported utility vehicles during the past decade.
SuperUtes is aimed at attracting new makes including Toyota, Mazda, Nissan, Mitsubishi, VW and Isuzu with souped-up versions of their top-selling dual cab pick-ups, which have taken over from the Commodore and Falcon as combined workhorse/leisure vehicles.
Prime candidates are the Toyota HiLux, Mazda BT50 and Ford Ranger, which are among the most popular new passenger vehicles by annual sales, along with the Nissan Navara, Holden Colorado and Mitsubishi Triton.
The V8 Utes series has run regular support races at Supercars events since 2001. SuperUtes will be a different kind of spectacle because the turbo diesel motors will be much quieter than the V8s and the tray-back racers will retain the high-riding stance of the road-going vehicles.
They will run as a key support race category at the Townsville, Ipswich, Bathurst, Gold Coast and Newcastle Supercars events before further expansion in 2018.
The move to dual-cab ute racers from any eligible manufacturer is being overseen by Supercars managing director Matt Braid, the former Volvo Australia boss who took the Swedish maker into V8 racing in 2013.
"V8 Utes has been a popular and entertaining category, but with the changing automotive market it's important that the Utes series becomes more market relevant," Braid said.
"SuperUtes will open the category to a variety of new manufacturers while still maintaining the spectacular and entertaining elements that make the category such a favourite with the fans."
Along with the soaring popularity of imported four-to-five-passenger utility vehicles, the SuperUtes change has been hastened by the demise of the Falcon ute and the impending end of the Commodore ute, which will cease production by late in 2017.
The two-to-three-seater ute was invented by Ford in Australia in 1934 when it introduced a "coupe utility" combining the front of a sedan with an integral open rear load area.
As well as mainstream brands, SuperUtes has the potential to interest prestige maker Mercedes-Benz, which is developing an X-Class range of pick-ups for introduction in 2018.
Although Supercars has yet to talk to any manufacturers about interest in entering SuperUtes, the series will be open to factory-backed teams as well as independent squads.
"No one's approached us, but obviously we're in the process of trying to open the door and start some conversations," Braid told Fairfax Media at Supercars' Auckland SuperSprint at Pukekohe Park Raceway, near Auckland.
"We gave the manufacturers are already involved in our Supercars series a heads-up beforehand, so they're currently looking at it. Now we're developing more technical information so we can make solid approaches to all the ute brands and just to communicate with them about what it is.
"There's opportunity everywhere. This category allows multiple levels of involvement. The idea is for it to be that flexible. It's not about having minimum requirements of manufacturer involvement or being too arrogant about the category.
"We just want to start some conversations and see what transpires."
SuperUtes could also interest Supercars teams like the factory-backed Nissan squad and Prodrive Racing, whose parent company is developing performance versions of the Ford Ranger under the Tickford brand.
The SuperUtes will be production-based racers with minimal mechanical modifications or cosmetic changes to retain a close link with the road-going models and also to keep costs down.
"The intent of the series is to keep it as close to production as possible," said Braid, who is number two to Supercars chief executive officer James Warburton. "Manufacturers generally favour series where they can put as much of their technology or DNA into.
"We're not going to drop them on the deck and make them sports utes. We want them to look as close to a racing version of what you can buy and run on the street, but certainly equipped with the hardware that allows them to compete performance-wise on the track.
"Keeping the SuperUtes as close as possible to the production versions is the key, while also making sure its affordable and viable for competitors.
"They're not going to be bespoke ute racers. They'll be improved production vehicles."
The cost target for a SuperUtes racer is around $100,000, including the purchase price of the donor road vehicle.