Mercedes' entry into the 2013 V8 Supercars Championship has been confirmed in an official launch at Melbourne's Crown Casino.
The announced deal will see existing Ford squad Stone Brothers Racing merge with Australian GT outfit Erebus Motorsport in order to run three Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG bodied cars in next year's championship.
The technical package is being put together with the assistance of the German car maker's AMG Customer Sports department in Germany.
The AMG's M159 engine seen in the SLS GT3 cars will be used to power the V8 Supercar contenders, albeit in a reduced 5.0 litre capacity form.
The motors will be built and maintained by AMG Customer Sports in Germany.
Those on hand at the announcement included Stone Brothers Racing team co-owner Ross Stone, Erebus owner Betty Klimenko and CEO Ryan Maddison, V8 Supercars chiefs Tony Cochrane and Mark Skaife, and Mercedes-Benz Australia communications manager David McCarthy.
MBA confirmed that it approves of the program but that it has no direct involvement.
Ross Stone says he expects the first Mercedes V8 Supercar to hit the track in mid-January.