Shouty V8s And Retro Looks Make This Is Our New Favourite Motorsport Series

Often, motorsport championships want their cars to look futuristic and technologically advanced. But Formula Thunder 5000 is giving us a throwback to Formula 1 cars of the 70s with this retro-looking single-seater.

The prototype car for the new Australian series hit the test track for the first time on Monday and it’s certainly caught the attention of motorsport fans, largely because of its quirky looks and insane sound.

Powered by a 5.0-litre, 570bhp Ford V8 engine, the car will make its public debut at the Muscle Car Masters meeting at Sydney Motorsport Park at the end of this month. But we’ve been given a sneak-peek at what to expect thanks to some pictures being released.

We’ve also got a little sample of what the beast of a car will sound like, thanks to a few video clips from the test. The footage looks to have been filmed on a potato, but unfortunately they seem to be the only clips around right now.

If the series name sounds familiar, you’re not going mad - Formula 5000 was actually quite a popular series in the 60s and 70s, giving older single-seaters a chance to return to the race track and be used for what they were built to do – be driven quickly!

It was a pretty active motorsport scene in Australia and New Zealand, Europe and North America too but it soon fizzled out. Formula Thunder 5000 is looking to bring the name back to racing.

Following the test, completed by multiple Australian Formula 3 Champion Tim Macrow, the car will make its public debut at the Muscle Car Masters meeting and will then continue testing over the next few months.

The plan is for the series to begin with a season over the final months of 2017 and early months of 2018. How cool would it be too see and hear a full grid powering off the line? It’d certainly make quite a noise.