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There's no prizes for guessing what Skaife's next company car is going to be... Photo Gallery
The cabin has an all too familiar feel about it.
But at $150,000 plus, HSV's W427 “super car” goes where no Holden has gone before.
In fact, it's so far off the beaten track that you'll need a tour guide and one very understanding bank manager just to get there.
To say the Corvette-powered 7.0-litre Commodore hot road explores unchartered territory is an understatement.
To say however that it lives up to all expectations is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
This is the one that Holden fans have been hanging out for, a car that has been in the pipeline so long they should have called a plumber - the still born HRT 427 from 2002 given new life, new name and new chassis that's finally up to the job.
The dry sump 7.0-litre LS7 V8, a lift from the current Chevrolet Corvette Z06, delivers a staggering 375kW of power and 640Nm of torque - enough to catapult the car from 0-100km/h in less than 5.0 seconds (4.6 or 4.7 seconds is the estimate).
Turn off traction control and it will deliver a cloud of burnt rubber that'd do justice to any top fueller.
The VE Commodore-based W427 takes it name from the very first Holden Special Vehicle, the Group A SS VL or Walkinshaw Commodore from 20 years ago as it was known - named after HSV's then owner, motor racing icon Tom Walkinshaw.
The 427 part of the name refers of course to the cubic capacity of the engine measured in inches.
Rather than pick a number out of the air, HSV has opted to build only 427 of the strictly limited edition cars and all the 90 of this year's production run have already been sold.
Naturally, the first of the individually numbered cars is destined for the UK and the garage of Tom Walkinshaw himself, painted a one-off Panorama silver, the same colour as the original Walkinshaw and the car that made its debut at this year's Melbourne motor show.
HSV is holding on to production numbers one to five, as well as the final 427th car - but is not saying what it plans to do with them.
We're tipping at least one of the cars will be auctioned for charity.
It was a cold, rainy, windy Monday morning as we gathered at Melbourne's Calder Park race track to catch our first glimpse of the biggest, baddest Holden ever this week.
If anything the styling is restrained, not that much different from the current lineup and surprisingly it comes in a variety of colours - not just the once colour we would have expected from a collector like this.
All of them however are trimmed inside in “hot red” leather.
The W427 sits 20mm lower and has 30 per cent stiffer springs than a GTS, with a deeper V8 Supercar-inspired front air dam and almost apologetic carbon fibre rear lip spoiler.
The stylish 20 inch wheels are different, but they're the same size as the GTS, with 275/35 tyres back and 245/35 front.
The engine is crated from GM's Performance Build Centre in the United States and the cars are hand-assembled at HSV's Clayton workshop, with mucho input from the HSV guys to bring the project together.
The six-speed Tremec TR6060 manual transmission is also a lift from the Corvette.
The ESP electronic stability control system has been specially tuned for the car and bigger, beefier six-piston 380x35mm stoppers have been fitted to the front, with 50 per cent more pad area.
The clutch, gearbox, differential and exhaust system are all new.
Weight-wise, at 1874kg, the W427 is 440kg heavier than a Corvette and therefore significantly slower off the mark.
Fuel economy for anyone vaguely interested is 17.2 litres/100km and it will run on standard unleaded if needed.
Although the weather limited our track time in the W427, we were more importantly able to drive the car on the road and back to back with a 317kW Clubsport.
The two are like chalk and cheese.
Drop back a gear and punch the accelerator in the W427 and the response is instant, strong and urgent.
Roll on acceleration is impressive, overtaking a rapid experience and the noise from the quad exhaust system is thunderous.
Special baffles open and closer to deliver full noise at the appropriate moment, but intelligently based on throttle position, as well as engine and vehicle speed.
We managed to get a couple of tentative laps in on the slippery circuit as well as some hot laps with Holden's Mark Skaife.
The V8 supercar hero reckons the W427 is the real deal, with a chassis and brakes to match the prodigious output of the engine.
There's no prizes for guessing what Skaife's next company car is going to be?
“It's a fantastic car, the complete package,” he said.
At $155,500 it's a big ask but then the W427 is a lot of car.
There's some talk that orders could swap hands for a price in much the same way as those for Ferraris do and although HSV cannot prevent this from happening, it is officially discouraged.
Buyers receive a number of benefits including a personalised letter from Tom Walkinshaw and the car is protected by the latest nano-based data dot system.
If you love V8s, you're going to be blown away by this one.
The 375kW W427 is a rip snorter of a car, as close to a V8 Supercar as you're ever likely to get and one that will leave GTS owners wondering whether they have left the handbrake on.
Related aricle: HSV W427: first drive
I'd rather have a 1 of 427 cars than mass produced 1 of 10,000.
Still no substitute for cubic inches, if you're woman says size doesn't matter, she's lying.
