TRIPLE Eight’s ‘Sandman’ Supercar is a car that has always captured the attention and interest of V8 Sleuth readers and we regularly get asked about both its history and current location.
Built using an ex-Jamie Whincup Red Bull VF Commodore ‘Car of the Future’ Supercars chassis that the Supercars Hall of Famer raced in the first half of 2013, the Sandman was a full-blown ‘panel van’ evoking memories of the 1970s icon.
The brainchild of Roland Dane, the Supercar Sandman served as the team’s ride car and was later utilised for testing of the 3.6-litre GM V6 turbo engine that was ultimately abandoned in 2018.
The full history of the car, both its race history on-track and its ‘afterlife’ as the Sandman are covered in great depth and detail in V8 Sleuth’s new, upcoming book documenting the history of all of Triple Eight’s Supercars.
It’s available to pre-order here now from the V8 Sleuth SuperStore and scheduled for delivery in September to celebrate the team’s 20th anniversary in Supercars in Australia.
The Sandman made its first public appearance at the 2014 Gold Coast 600.
“The initial idea of an ultimate Sandman on the 40th anniversary of the original vehicle came from me as a way of trying to embody something special from the Holden stable and give our customers and our fans and sponsors a different ride experience,” explained Dane.
“When I first took the idea to Holden, they probably thought I was a bit crazy!”
The Sandman has had a range of pilots over the years on top of its regular Red Bull/Triple Eight full-timers and endurance drivers.
Daniel Riccardo drove it at Sandown in 2016 (still with V8 power) and Greg Murphy took the wheel at Bathurst in 2017 (with the turbo V6 under the bonnet).
So where is it now?
The father-and-son Groves, Stephen and Brenton, purchased the car in 2020 and have retained it, restored to its original livery, though still with the rear wing (that was added to the car a few years after its debut) in place.
“Originally, we were going to do some sponsor rides in it, but I think RD made it so Mickey Mouse that we’re too scared to drive it!” Brenton told V8 Sleuth back in 2020.
“Not many people outside the Triple Eight/Red Bull family have driven it. We’ll keep it in our workshop and take it to sponsor rides and show clients, but beyond that it’s now a collector’s item.”
However, while it has origins as a Supercar, it does not live at their Grove Racing Supercars workshop in Braeside in Melbourne, rather among the team’s Porsche race cars at a separate location closer to the Grove Group’s Melbourne base.