A NEED for more speed is driving a $6 million arms race in V8 Supercars.

Eleven all-new cars are being readied for the 2016 season and, at an average cost of $450,000 without an engine, it’s the biggest spend since the touring car category switched to its Car of the Future chassis.

The top team in pitlane, Triple Eight Race Engineering, is pushing hardest with four new cars while DJR Team Penske and Brad Jones Racing each has two underway, with single cars expected from Kelly Racing, Prodrive and the Holden Racing Team.

The Team Red car, earmarked for James Courtney to race at the Clipsal 500 which opens the season from March 3-6, will also be the 50th COTF chassis.

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The new-car rush is partly so teams can refresh their stock, but also because second-hand COTF chassis are now eligible to compete in the second-tier Development Series.

“Our plan at the moment is to build a total of four new cars this year. We will have two ready for Clipsal,” the head of Triple Eight, Roland Dane, tells News Corp Australia.

“It’s a good way to ensure you’ve got good new cars and they’re on the weight limit.”

One is being readied for Shane van Gisbergen, who joins Red Bull Racing this year from Tekno, while Craig Lowndes will get the other for his Caltex program.

Car 97 showing us what she's made of... literally! #redbullracingau #portia A photo posted by Red Bull Racing Australia (@redbullracingau) on Jan 28, 2016 at 4:13pm PST

The first of the new Falcons at DJR Team Penske will also be rolled out in Adelaide, with Rick Kelly expected to get a new Nissan Altima.

“Fabian Coulthard will start the year at Adelaide in a new car, with Scott Pye jumping aboard a new chariot before midyear,” says DJR Team Penske boss, Ryan Story.

Coulthard (R) and crew with his new V8 Supercar. Source: Supplied

“It’s a considerable investment for the team, but there are economies with building two at the same time. Once complete, that will leave us with four total race cars, effectively two primary cars and two very good spare cars, all of the same specification.”

While new cars are less likely to have mechanical problems, Story also highlights the danger of running cars which have been pranged.

“We have seen over the past two seasons, notably with Pye at Bathurst last year, that a big enough hit in one of these things renders them unraceable, sometimes beyond repair. And bent chassis are often soft chassis, even after major surgery.”

Brad Jones knows the problem after completely rebuilding the BOC Commodore that was rolled by Jason Bright in Adelaide but is now sliding him and Tim Slade into all-new cars.

“It’s time to have some new cars. Normally we build one new car a year, so this year we’re doing one extra,” Jones says.

No-one is talking about the exact cost of the updating work, since a complete car without an engine estimated at between $425,000 and $450,000 and the total bill beyond $500,000, but Dane and Jones are both happy with the changeover cost.

Triple Eight has already sold pre-raced cars run in Red Bull colours into the Development Series, as well as customer cars that will be raced by Lee Holdsworth and Will Davison, and can see extra opportunities.

“The nett cost is not very much, because I can sell the used ones to Development Series teams or people in the main game,” says Dane.

“A lot of the teams that can afford it, and have Development Series programs, are building them. It makes sense.

“Without an engine, at the moment, it’s going to cost $450,000. But in world terms they are some of the cheapest touring cars there are.”

The Brad Jones Racing shop is busy building two new cars for 2016. Source: Supplied

Jones also has a Development Series link, but for him it’s running the cars — including one for his son McCauley and another for his nephew Andrew.

“We’re running three cars in the Dunlop Series so we didn’t have enough cars without the new ones,” Jones says.

“The fact you can run them in the Dunlop championship also means you can sell your older car and upgrade.”

Prodrive is also dipping into the second-tier championship in 2016 with pre-raced cars from the main game, while running its frontline Falcons for Mark Winterbottom, Chas Mostert, Chris Pither and Cam Waters.

For Story, moving cars out of the DJR Team Penske workshop is also a possibility.

“We are in a fortunate position where we can have two very good spares in the workshop and at some stage in the future they will likely find their way to the Development Series, but not before we are finished with them,” he says.