2004 HSV Clubsport Reviews

HSV had plenty to live up to when it was formed back in the late-1980s, following as it did the legacy established by Peter Brock’s HDT Special Vehicles. Brock had weaved his magic on a series of mundane Holdens and created cars deserving of the “special” tag. Brock’s cars are now very collectable and gaining in value.Despite lacking the Brock name HSV has established its own niche in the market and has a strong following among high performance car enthusiasts. Its most prominent and popular model has been the Clubsport, a name first attached to an HSV-modified VN Commodore in 1990.MODEL WATCH The HSV formula was pretty simple, and well tried by many people, like Carroll Shelby and, of course, Brock, in earlier times. It started with a solid car, like a Commodore in HSV’s case, one that had plenty of potential for modification that would yield more performance without making it undrivable on a daily basis.In fact it’s been HSV’s mantra that they build refined performance cars and the VY Clubsport was true to that concept. Words like refinement, sophistication and quality were liberally splashed around on the release for the Y Series in 2002, a clear signal of HSV’s intent.By then HSV was aiming at buyers who were also looking at brands like BMW, Mercedes-Benz and the like, but who perhaps couldn’t quite muster the readies to make that big a step.HSV had its own designer, although his work had to be endorsed by Holden’s design team before it could be released for production. Typically the styling enhancements were built into the easily swapped peripheral parts, like the front panel and airdam, the side skirts, rear panel and airdam and the bootlid spoiler. The addition of the kit of body bits had a dramatic effect on the Commodore’s appearance, taking it from family-friendly four-door to sports stunner.A lower stance, courtesy of the HSV-tuned suspension, made a major contribution to the overall sports look of the Clubsport, which was further enhanced by some sharp 18-inch alloy wheels filling out the wheel arches to the maximum.The sports theme was continued inside where the Clubsport boasted sports seats, a leather-bound steering wheel, sports dials, bright colours and sports highlights to reinforce the concept while maintaining a feeling of relative sophistication.Under the distinctive skin lay sports shocks and springs, which produced a sporting bias and sharper turn-in. It also boasted the HSV Performance Braking package, which included larger ventilated front and rear discs, and larger front calipers.No HSV would be complete without a big banger badge on the back denoting the improvement in power its engineers had been able to squeeze from the big-bore V8 under the bonnet.The standard 5.7-litre LS1 V8 was boosted to 260 kW at 5600 revs and 475 Nm at 4000 revs, which made it capable of propelling the 1600 kg Clubsport from zero to 100 km/h in less than six seconds if so desired.HSV offered the choice of a four-speed auto and a six-speed manual, and drive was through the rear wheels. ABS antiskid stoppers and traction control assisted drivers to keep the Clubsport safely on the black top.For an even sportier ride there was the Clubsport R8 with added enhancements, particularly the improved braking from the Premium Braking package, which included larger front and rear discs, and more powerful calipers.A year after the Y Series was released HSV updated it with a Series 2 version, which brought more power (285 kW) and torque (510 Nm), a heavy-duty four-speed auto trans, and on the R8 the Performance suspension that was previously only on the GTS model. Inside there were new seats with four-way power adjustment and new trim materials.IN THE SHOP The Clubsport is at the end of the day a V8 Commodore with a number of sports enhancements so it’s subject to the same shortcomings as the Commodore. The LS1 V8 suffered some piston related problems early on. They consumed oil and there was often a rattle at cold start-up, which Holden fixed by rebuilding complaint engines with new pistons. Check the records for a rebuild. If it hasn’t had a rebuild, listen carefully for piston rattle. It’s best observed just off idle by blipping the throttle when it should be clearly heard if it exists.Rear tyre wear has always been a problem with the HSV cars, it’s a consequence of the type of independent rear suspension Holden used, and made worse by HSV’s retuned set-up. Look carefully around the body for bumps and scrapes, the lower ride height and bold body bits are a recipe for damage on kerbs etc.IN A CRASH The Clubsport’s chassis is one of its strongest safety weapons, with agile handling, responsive steering and powerful brakes empowering the driver with the capability of avoiding a crash. If that’s not enough there’s front and side airbags for the front seat occupants to provide a final layer of protection.AT THE PUMP It’s a V8, a tuned one at that, so expect to be on first name terms with your local servo proprietor in no time at all. This thing will chew through fuel like there’s no tomorrow, especially if you can’t control your right foot. Driven normally expect 13-15 L/100 km on average around town, 10-12 L/100 km when you hit the highway.OWNERS SAY Dean McBain’s VYII Clubsport R8 manual hasn‘t missed a beat in 72,000 km. He drives it daily to and from work and he says it not only looks the part, but is a joy to drive, comfortable with room for a family of four. The seats are brilliant, it stops exceptionally well, and it goes harder than he’s prepared to push it, and on average he gets 13.5 L/100 km around town and nine on the highway. On the downside he’s had to fix is a leaking front suspension strut and he says the original Pirelli P-Zero tyres were too soft for road use and wore out in 20,000 km.LOOK FOR • Sports styling• Room for a family• High performance• Sports handling• Gas guzzler• High tyre wearTHE BOTTOM LINE Looks good, goes hard, but it’s not for the faint hearted or inexperienced driver.RATING 70/100

Elfin, which produced the two Holden V8-powered club racer models that debuted at the 2004 Melbourne motor show, is set to ramp up production after it was sold to performance-car king Tom Walkinshaw.Plans are under way for the MS8 Streamliner and MS8 Clubman sports cars to be sold through some HSV dealers and for up to 100 cars a year to be built at the company's Melbourne factory. Walkinshaw Performance chief executive Chris Payne says the change of ownership won't rob Elfin of its independence and adds that the 50-year-old company isn't about to be absorbed into HSV.He says there is considerable export potential for the brand once local demand is met."The opportunity for us is to expand the (Walkinshaw) business portfolio beyond what it has been," Payne says. "Elfin cars are not about to become HSVs, though."We recognise it is its own brand with a very long and proud history, which we want to build upon. The vision Tom has for the business is for it to become not just an Australian company, but a worldwide business and for the product portfolio to expand in five years time to quite a different spread of cars. But the essence will be the same."The Elfin brand adds to Walkinshaw's growing portfolio in Australia, which includes management of the Holden Racing Team and HSV-Dealer V8 Supercar teams, in addition to HSV and a new Holden after-market tuning business. The two MS8 cars were developed by previous owners Bill Hemming and Nick Kovatch from a design by Michael Simcoe, the man responsible for the Monaro.They are powered by the same 245kW 5.7-litre GEN III V8 engine as the previous Commodore SS but, at 875kg (Clubman), weigh only half as much. The car's 0-100km/h acceleration of just 4.4sec is comparable to that of a Lamborghini or Ferrari. Production of Elfin's two MS8 models began in March, with 13 cars already finding homes and a further five available for Christmas. But Elfin lacked the resources and clout to become an effective low-volume manufacturer — until now."It was a long, hard road to get it to this stage with the limited resources Bill (Hemming) and I had," says Kovatch, who remains with the company as a technical director."We started talking to Tom (Walkinshaw) and he showed interest. It took about 12 months to get the deal together. It's exactly what Elfin needs, someone with the manufacturing experience and export focus, because it is very important for the brand to export cars."The boost in production has helped reduce costs, with Clubman now priced from less than $100,000 — with the Streamliner under $120,000.That's a healthy $10,000 cut from the original price expectation, says Kovatch. Elfin's next priority is to produce a four-cylinder club car in the tradition of its earlier Type 3 model, that could sell for about $40,000.

It is the key to a top-secret two-year development that has revitalised the HSV range and moved it away from Holden's SS Commodore and the SV8 Monaro.It has been a parallel program to the VZ switch at Holden, but the 6.0-litre V8 has a bigger kick than the Alloytec V6.The $5 million HSV model change includes suspension improvements, new wheels, body alterations and cabin changes, but everyone is talking about the engine.It is not the biggest or most powerful to be fitted to a HSV machine, but the figures look good. It has 297kW and 530Nm and there is potential for more. It means the Z Series HSV Clubsport is good for a 5.1-second sprint to 100km/h.The engine is the LS2 and is the same 366cu in fitted to the Chevrolet Corvette in the US.The LS2 will also be fitted to the SS and the Monaro in coming years and is already in the export-only Pontiac GTO.The Z Series is expected to lead to a big increase in HSV sales, just as HSV cashed in when Holden moved from the locally made 5.0-litre V8 to a 5.7-litre import."This is the biggest change since we moved to the Gen III (LS1) V8 engine in 1997," HSV managing director John Crennan says."The LS2 is fitted to everything except the all-wheel-drive models, the Coupe 4 and the Avalanche. So you get it on Clubsport, Grange, Senator and Maloo."Crennan knows his customers and he knows the LS2-powered Z cars will be a hit."Our customers have an unquenchable desire for performance." he says.The 6.0-litre V8 is an American engine and produces its best figures on premium unleaded, but there has been minimal tweaking.The highlights are an alloy block, a redline at 6500 revs and a new driveline package that includes a Tremec six-speed manual gearbox, a higher stall speed on the automatic, a fatter tailshaft, a new differential ratio and strengthened axles.The Z-cars also come with the latest Bosch anti-skid brakes and all models, including the Maloo ute, roll on 19-inch alloy wheels.The Clubsport and the Maloo look more aggressive than the Senator and Grange, with side skirts, new front facias, a bigger air dam, new-look lamps and five-spoke alloys.The luxury cars get a Euro-style chrome grille and the Senator has had a major makeover with a Nappa leather cabin, luxury suspension, rear parking radar and electric seats. HSV's GTO coupe gets the bonnet scoops already in the Monaro.Price rises have been kept to less than $1000 on the starter cars; the Clubsport R8 is up by $550 and the Senator down $4000.ON THE ROADIT WAS not a long test at Sydney's Oran Park, but it offered a chance to see if the figures translated to the road.And from early observations, it appears HSV has done the job.From the moment the key is turned, the new V8 burble – deeper than the Gen III – hints that the Z Series is special. The new engine is not so raw.On the speed run, the new HSVs show their improved launch ability and the manual gearbox is smooth, despite high revs and quick changes.The automatic aids the high-speed run with its quick and smooth changes, showing why it is quicker than the manual in a straight-line sprint.The meatier and flatter torque curve means that even the tightest corners can be easily negotiated in third with plenty of pulling power.The Clubsports and the Maloos make light work of the track, and the Senator and the Grange also hold their own.Even without the impressive optional AP racing brakes of the R8s they still pull up well.The 19-inch wheels give a better road feel and more grip, a point of difference from previous models.The Z Series steering is also an improvement and, though a little lighter, it points in well and always maintains a solid feel.HSV claims the Z cars' LS2 motor has so much torque, they could take off in fourth gear from idle. It can be done and gives something new to brag about.