Red Bull Racing Australia has unveiled a Tribute Edition Sandman, which will be on-track at the weekend's Castrol EDGE Gold Coast 600.

Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup were on hand to unveil what Red Bull called a "top secret project" this morning, kicking off their preparation for the weekend's event in Surfers Paradise.

Fit with two surfboards mounted on the roof, the silver 'livery' V8 Supercar spec VF Commodore puts out over 650HP and pays tribute to the Sandman, a part of the 'surfie' culture in Australia 40 years ago. Surfboards are awarded to podium finishers at the Castrol EDGE Gold Coast 600, and are coveted amongst V8 Supercars drivers.

The 650 horsepower beast will be on track over the weekend, with the team's Championship drivers cutting hot laps with lucky passengers at the concrete-lined circuit.

"The Holden Sandman was launched 40 years ago, the same year that I was born!" Lowndes said.



"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."



The project came to life with the design and build starting in April of 2014 in conjunction with the GM Holden Design Department and will serve as a Red Bull Racing Australia ride car, so guests will have the opportunity to tear around the track in the 705BHP piece of engineering art.

The Triple Eight Project Sandman features state-of-the-art technology yet to be seen in V8 Supercars, including a six speed electro-hydraulic paddle shift gearbox and F1-inspired fly by wire throttle control.



"We're here after six months of development to reveal our secret project and what an honour to be a part of a Tribute Edition Sandman and have it race around the track this weekend," Whincup said.



"The heart and soul of the car is a V8 Supercar and it's an absolute rocket!"





The #ProjectSandman has been kept tightly under wraps by the Red Bull marketing and V8 Supercar teams,but will be on display this weekend with track time across all three days, and rides on Saturday and Sunday.

Jamie Whincup is currently leading the 2014 V8 Supercars Championship on 2547 points with teammate Craig Lowndes pushing from third with 2208 points.

"We're not overly confident coming in to this weekend after not quite getting the result we were after at Bathurst," Whincup said.

"Last year's season of endurance got away from us a little so we'll be looking to make amends for that this year and if we get a Red Bull car on the podium it will be a good result."

After clinching a Saturday race win and the PIRTEK Enduro Cup title at last year's Gold Coast 600, Lowndes will be looking for a repeat performance with this year's co-driver Steve Richards.

"It's been a big turn-around from Bathurst but we've regrouped as a team because the Gold Coast street circuit is a completely different offering so we'll be getting our heads around the narrow circuit, rubbing up against walls and having a car that absorb the curbs," Lowndes said.

"We will be doing our best this weekend to get back to second in the championship."

Tickets are still available for the Gold Coast event, beginning tomorrow. Click here for more information.