Slade's first impression of 'aggressive' Gen3 Mustang

Tim Slade says driving his current generation Supercar would feel “like a limo” compared to the Gen3 Ford Mustang GT prototype.

Slade was one of four Supercars drivers present at the latest round of Gen3 prototype testing at Queensland Raceway on Tuesday.

The Blanchard Racing Team driver joined James Courtney in the Mustang, with Triple Eight duo Shane van Gisbergen and Broc Feeney in the Camaro.

Slade completed his first laps aboard the new Ford in 37-degree temperatures at the Ipswich venue.

He also turned laps on Dunlop's revamped Super Soft tyre.

Having finally secured his first seat time in the new car, Slade was wide-eyed about the differences versus his current Supercar.

"I guess there are a lot [of differences],” Slade told Supercars.com.

"It's not chalk and cheese, but the throttle is different, and the power delivery is a lot different.

"How the engine makes it power, and the torque is a lot different, also in its current form, but I know there’s more work to do, the steering feels quite a bit different.

"The big thing is that it lacks is a massive amount of rear grip.

"On a hot day at Queensland Raceway, it kind of gets worse and worse.

"So, you end up with a big lack of rear grip at the end of the run as to what you had at the start.

Slade sampled the Gen3 Mustang at Queensland Raceway on Tuesday

"Probably just down to the lack of the downforce on the rear, but the throttle is definitely more aggressive, and the engine is more aggressive.

"If I had my current Supercar here right now and I jumped back in it [after driving the Gen3 car], it would feel like I’m driving a limo."

Both Courtney and Slade completed longer stints in the Mustang, with the former running for the majority of the morning.

Slade took the wheel in the afternoon as track temperatures climbed towards 60 degrees at the Ipswich circuit.

Having raced a wide range of cars throughout his career, 17-time podium finisher Slade was impressed by the new generation Mustang.

"I've driven a lot of different cars and I always like driving different cars,” Slade told Supercars.com.

"In the last week, I've driven very different kinds of cars at Phillip Island and Sydney Motorsport Park.

"I like doing it because I like the challenge of how to get the most out of the car to achieve the fastest lap time, so in that sense, driving the Gen3 is no different.

"I’ve kind of gone from one end of the spectrum to the other I’ve driven an Audi GT to a Brabham car and at the six-hour production race, we had an M3 and M4.

"I think the Gen3 car is kind of somewhere in between."

The Gen3 Mustang and Camaro have already received the tick of approval from drivers.

Notably, Courtney believes the lower-downforce Gen3 cars will favour the veteran drivers when the new cars debut in 2023.

'I like the challenge of how to get the most out of the car'

"It’s a very different car to what we’ve been used to," Courtney told Supercars.com.

"The grip levels feel very similar to what we had in 2008, which is good for guys like myself, [Mark] Winterbottom, [Will] Davison, Shane.

"The new guys don’t know what the lack of downforce is all about.

"It’s a good thing. It’s great to get some more running today."

Slade, who made his debut in 2009, believes his over experience will also assist his transition to Gen3.

"I guess if I think about myself, now, with that experience under my belt and driving different cars and learning different things over all those years, I'd much rather take me now to drive this than me at the start of my career," Slade said.

"I don't think it's going to be any different [in regard to who wins], I think the good teams are still going to be good. They're good for a reason.

"You give them a car in any category, they will still do a good job and be somewhere near the front.

"But I think this will be an exciting this for our sport."

The 13-event 2022 Repco Supercars Championship will commence in Sydney in March. CLICK HERE to purchase your tickets.