Big banger?

[superyob]

Can anyone enlighten me as to why the 1984 VK Commodores as raced in the ATCC at the time are referred to as the last of the big bangers?

[wozman]

Originally Posted by superyob

Can anyone enlighten me as to why the 1984 VK Commodores as raced in the ATCC at the time are referred to as the last of the big bangers?

Big wings and flares I think

[Pedro]

It was the last year of Group C and referred to big engines.
In 1985, Group A was introduced and was more restrictive in the engine area.

[CAMS290]

Adding to Pedro's post

The 1984 James Hardie 1000 was the 25th running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. It was held on 30 September 1984 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia and was Round 4 of the 1984 Australian Endurance Championship. This race was celebrated as 'The Last of the Big Bangers', in reference to the Group C touring cars, which were competing at Bathurst for the last time.

Group C

This was the last Bathurst to be held for Group C touring cars, which had first contested the Bathurst 1000 in 1973. While a production based category, continual parity adjustments to keep the leading vehicles roughly at the same pace had seen the cars become wildly over-specified. The led to a decision by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) in mid-1983 that Australian touring car racing would abandon its locally developed Group C rules and would be run under the FIA's international Group A rules from 1 January 1985.

The major contenders in Group C were the V8 Ford Falcon's and Holden Commodore's, the lone V12 Jaguar XJS and 6 cyl BMW 635 CSi, the rotary Mazda RX-7's, and the Nissan Bluebird turbos. Also running in Group C for a final fling was the now outdated Chevrolet Camaro Z28.

It would be the final Bathurst appearance for the Bluebird turbo which would be replaced in Group A in 1986 by the Nissan Skyline DR30 RS. After the car made its debut in the inaugural 500 mile race at Phillip Island in 1960, it would be the final Bathurst 1000 for the Ford Falcon until 1992. The Commodore (in various models), Jaguar, BMW and Mazda all saw action during the Group A years in Australia (1985-1992).

[superyob]

Thanks for that...