Red Bull Racing Australia and GM Holden’s Design Department have joined forces for a one-off creation that is part V8 Supercar and all Aussie icon: the Holden Sandman Tribute Edition.

The modern-day Sandman project is the result of six months of design and build work by Holden and Triple Eight Race Engineering.

Set to debut at this weekend’s round of the V8 Supercar Championship on the Gold Coast, the silver Sandman special edition celebrates the 40

It’s based on the V8 Supercar that Red Bull Racing star Jamie Whincup drove to take out the 2013 championship, and features a 525kW race-spec V8 under its bonnet.

The Sandman is also equipped with a number of bespoke features not seen in V8 Supercars, including a six-speed electro-hydraulic paddleshift gearbox and F1-inspired fly-by-wire throttle control… not to mention the VF Commodore wagon-style tailgate and twin carbonfibre surfboards on the roof.

Whincup’s teammate Craig Lowndes - who earlier this month had the Commodore SS V Craig Lowndes special edition released in his honour - said the Gold Coast was the perfect place to launch the Sandman Tribute Edition.

“It sounds like a race car, it’s faster than our race cars in a straight line with the big banger engine, and the cool thing is if you come to the race this weekend, you’ll see it running around the track,” he said.