At first it seemed like business as usual in 2014 when traditional powerhouse Red Bull Racing's Holden team claimed pole position for the V8 Supercars opening round's first two races in Adelaide on Friday.
However, it appears they won't have it all their own way this season after Scott McLaughlin ensured a triumphant return for Volvo.
Jamie Whincup made an ideal start to his crack at an unprecedented sixth touring car title this year when he claimed pole for Saturday's opening 125km event, clocking one minute, 20.58 seconds ahead of teammate Craig Lowndes (1:20.73) and Ford's Mark Winterbottom (1:20.82).
However, McLaughlin, 20, all but stole Red Bull's thunder when he completed a remarkable qualifying double by splitting Whincup and Lowndes and clocking the second fastest time for Saturday's race two.
McLaughlin had also qualified fifth fastest for race one.
It was an unprecedented result for Volvo which had not contested Australian touring cars in 28 years.
Lowndes (1:20.41) grabbed pole for race two ahead of McLaughlin (1:20.52) and Whincup (1:20.56).
But the talking point was McLaughlin after his remarkable Volvo debut.
The Swedish manufacturers had been tipped to hit the ground running in 2014 but nothing prepared punters for their stunning return.
Volvo already look set to outperform last year's seven debutants, given the best of the four Nissan Altimas and three Mercedes AMG E63s - Rick Kelly - finished 14th overall for 2013.
Volvo's arrival brings to five the number of manufacturers on a reduced 25-car grid - something not seen since 1992 when Ford, Nissan, BMW, Holden and a Toyota were part of the field.
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