Kiwi driver Shane van Gisbergen will be behind the wheel of a Mercedes Benz next year.
Gisbergen drives for Stone Brothers Racing in the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series and his team will sever ties with Ford at the end of the season to link up with Erebus Motorsport and race three vehicles from 2013.
Team principal Ross Stone says van Gisbergen and his father who looks after him have been kept in the loop through every movement.
"He's happy and ready to go, he starts a new three year contract next year and the new contract will tie in with the new car.''
He says it's a major change and they're resigned to losing fans because of it.