Fresh on the heels of the facelifted Ford Fusion debuting in Detroit, the American marque has unveiled its latest NASCAR entrant inspired by the new car.
Of course, as with all NASCAR models, the new Fusion racer isn’t actually based around the road car. Instead, it is a completely bespoke racer and simply adorned with bodywork mimicking the production model.
For the new NASCAR Fusion, Ford has drawn heavily on the facelifted model’s revised front fascia and therefore installed the same headlights, the same front grille and air intakes, albeit they’re all simply stickers rather than the real deal. Nevertheless, there certainly won’t be any confusing the new Fusion with other competitors on the NASCAR grid this season.
This year, drivers will enjoy an improved interior complete with a digital dashboard which allows teams to switch between as many as 16 different present screens. This new digital gauge cluster will be featured across all cars on the grid.
Beyond that change, the 2016 NASCAR Fusion remains the same as previous model’s therefore utilizing a screaming V8 engine delivering 750 hp at 9,000 rpm.
According to global director of Ford Performance Dave Pericak, “There’s no mistaking we’re here to win races and championships. And we believe the new NASCAR Fusion will be a powerful tool in the hands of our teams and drivers. Aerodynamics are more important than ever in this sport at the speeds these cars are running, so we used some of the best wind tunnel and computational fluid dynamics technology available to help create this new Fusion, and fortunately the Ford design team gave us a great vehicle to work with from the start.”
The new Fusion will make its race debut at the Daytona 500 on February 21.
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