HSV GTS 2009 News

Police in Dubai have Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Aston Martins and Porsches -- but the NSW highway patrol has the next best thing. The long arm of the law has a new weapon against high-speed criminals, and it just happens to be the fastest and most powerful car ever made in Australia.NSW Police have just taken delivery of a brand-new HSV GTS. Powered by a supercharged 6.2-litre V8 it can reach the speed limit in just 4.3 seconds. The one-off project funded by the NSW Centre for Road Safety joins the supercharged Ford Falcon GT (funded by the Motor Accidents Authority) that joined the police fleet last year.The HSV GTS won't be used for regular highway patrol duties, instead it will join the arch rival Ford at regional shows and enthusiast events across the state to drive home the road safety message."This car is a conversation starter," says Superintendent Stuart Smith, from the NSW Police Traffic Services headquarters. "Whether you're a young hoon or just curious, this car is an opportunity for offices to engage with the public and educate them about road safety."The $100,000 HSV GTS has about $20,000 worth of performance upgrades, lifting power from the standard 430kW output to close to 500kW, more than a V8 Supercar. "It's designed to showcase our best police technology and also get people talking," said Superintendent Smith.If motorists don't see the police HSV GTS in their mirrors, they still have plenty to fear.  Almost every NSW Police car now has onboard video cameras (front and rear), as well as roof-mounted cameras that can in milliseconds read the licence plates of cars travelling in either direction.The automatic number plate readers can detect stolen or unregistered cars, and wanted criminals. This equipment is in addition to the mobile radar unit, drug and alcohol testing devices, and road spikes in the boot to stop fleeing drivers in their tracks. With all the onboard police computer and radio systems, the modern police car is almost a mobile police station.The HSV GTS will be doing "high visibility" police work in the lead-up to and over the summer holidays. You have been warned.

The fastest and most powerful production car ever made in Australia -- the Holden Special Vehicles GTS -- has come to a grinding halt. Demand is so strong for the supercharged V8 sedan that HSV has run out of wheels. More than 100 GTS sedans are waiting for wheels at HSV's Clayton facility after an order mix-up with the wheel supplier in Taiwan. HSV and the supplier are now in a race against time to deliver the $100,000 Holdens to customers before Christmas. "We've given customers the option of choosing other wheels, but most are waiting for the genuine GTS wheels," said HSV director of sales and marketing Tim Jackson. "We expect to have the backlog cleared within a week so we can get them to dealers. It is our plan for customers to have their cars in plenty of time for the summer holidays." The HSV GTS already has a three-month waiting list, but the wheel woes have pushed back deliveries by about a fortnight. HSV forecast sales of about 500 supercharged GTS sedans in the second half of the year, but has so far sold 600, more than was originally planned. "We've sold every car we've built, we've been overwhelmed with the response," said Mr Jackson. The HSV GTS is powered by a supercharged 6.2-litre V8 (430kW/740Nm) borrowed from a high performance Camaro and Cadillac in North America. The HSV GTS can do the 0 to 100km/h dash in 4.3 seconds, making it easily the fastest-accelerating car made in Australia. Top speed is limited to 250km/h according to General Motors' international guidelines. But the speed limiter was disabled for a demonstration run at this year's Bathurst 1000 in a race against the Holden Racing Team V8 Supercar. Driving the HSV GTS, champion racer Garth Tander saw more than 280km/h on Conrod Straight, just a few kilometres slower than a V8 Supercar.   Read our review of the HSV GTS manual here.   Read our review of the HSV GTS automatic here.   This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling  

The new HSV GTS has become the fastest-selling model in the company’s 25-year history -- before the first one has even arrived at dealerships and before buyers even know the price. HSV dealers across Australia are holding more than 150 paid deposits for the Commodore powered by a supercharged V8 borrowed from a racing version of the US Chevrolet Camaro. The early orders came in based purely on speculation about the new model, but this year’s allocation of GTS sedans is likely to sell out quickly now that official photos -- but not price -- have been released.   The new HSV GTS is expected to start at about $95,000 plus on-road costs, making it the second most-expensive Holden Commodore in the past 10 years (after the limited edition HSV W427 sold for $155,500 in 2008 and 2009). The last time a HSV GTS cost close to $100,000 was the Callaway V8-powered version from 2003, with an RRP of $97,500. “This is the biggest response we’ve had for any HSV launch in our history,” said HSV director of sales and marketing boss Tim Jackson. “We’ve genuinely been overwhelmed by the reaction.” HSV GTS customers will need to be patient, however. Although the Clubsport, Maloo, Senator and Grange are due in showrooms in July, the first HSV GTS sedans are not due until late September. As exclusively revealed by News Limited last month, the new HSV GTS will have 430kW of power and 740Nm of torque, making it the most powerful family sedan on sale in Australia until the new Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG arrives later in the year. But the HSV GTS will outgun its European rivals on price, most of which cost in excess of $200,000. HSV is yet to publish acceleration times for the new GTS, but it is expected to reach 100km/h in less than 4.5 seconds. Top speed is electronically limited to 250km/h, as per General Motors’ global guidelines. The HSV GTS also has the biggest brakes of any Australian-made production car: two-piece 390mm discs with six-piston calipers up front and two-piece 372mm discs with four-piston calipers on the rear (up from 378mm and 350mm respectively). The tech-heads may also like to know the front discs have 72 cooling vains (the same as a V8 Supercar), up from 48 with the old model. The rest of the HSV range has four-piston forged calipers and 367mm discs front and rear. In a major leap for the Clubsport, Maloo, Senator and Grange, they now have bigger rear brakes than the front brakes of the previous model (365mm and 350mm). The HSV GTS will earn notoriety for its epic power but it is also loaded with advancements, including a “torque vectoring” cornering control system inspired by Porsche and McLaren, and suspension technology also used by Ferrari. Top models will come with a heads-up display that reflects vehicle speed and other key data into the windscreen in the driver’s line of sight, similar to that used by BMW. HSV cars also retain Holden’s self parking technology, standard across the new VF Commodore range. Social media reaction to spy photos has centred on the more conservative design of the HSV Gen-F range. HSV says it wanted to create a classier looking range, and make it more aerodynamic. To that end it used the wind tunnel at Monash University to develop the front bumper bars and rear wings. The result: 0.358cD for the Clubsport (which has a more modest rear wing) and 0.365cD for the GTS. These are not numbers likely to win fuel economy challenges but better than they were before. The GTS has a gaping mouth because HSV had to guarantee General Motors’ powertrain bosses in Detroit that it would be able to feed enough air to the LSA supercharged V8 engine to keep it cool on hot days. GM demanded 128,000mm2 of air flow but HSV delivered 130,000mm2 after testing the car extensively in the Australian outback in the peak of summer (The previous HSV E2 had 74,000mm2 of air flow through its front bumper). HSV even made the new GTS grille mesh thinner and removed the foglights to allow the LSA engine to breathe better. To handle the epic grunt, the GTS is equipped with heavy duty automatic and manual transmissions (the latter with a double-plate clutch) and a massive 9.9-inch differential with cooling fins. The whole unit is about the size of an outboard boat motor. To give the HSV GTS enough ground clearance for the differential, it has fitted a slightly taller profile of tyre across the range: 255/35 up front and 275/35 at the rear (compared to 245/35 and 275/30 before). HSV has ended its 25-year relationship with Japanese tyre maker Bridgestone and switched to a high performance European Continental 5P tyre that was originally developed for Mercedes-Benz. While the big news is the supercharged 6.2-litre V8 GTS, the rest of the HSV range retains the Corvette-sourced 6.2-litre V8 from the previous generation (with the same outputs as before of 317kW and 325kW, depending on the model). An option pack with 340kW of power and 570Nm of torque is available at extra cost on the Clubsport R8 and Maloo R8. Pricing, weight and fuel economy figures for each model are due later this month. This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling    

Even at a time when fuel economy is top-of-mind with a growing number of Australian drivers there is plenty of space on the roads for Commodores and Falcons with old-fashioned V8 muscle under the bonnet. They burble menacingly at idle. They are the backbone of V8 Supercar racing.Yet V8s in the 21st century are not what they were in the days when they first conquered Mount Panorama and a GTHO Falcon or a Monaro - or even a Valiant V8 - was a dream machine for a generation of Aussie youngsters.Since 1970 the crude oil price has exploded from $20 a barrel to double that amount during the Iran revolution, over $70 during the first Gulf War, broke through the $100 barrier ahead of the Global Financial Crisis and has now settled at just below $100.In Australia, petrol prices have correspondingly risen from about 8c a litre in 1970 to about 50c in 1984 and almost $1.50 today.Despite all this, and despite one attempt at a death sentence by Ford in the 1980s, the V8 has not been wiped from Australian showrooms. Holden and Ford have continued to produce large cars with a V8 alternative and continue to slog it out at Bathurst.But Australian cars, even the ones that now have American V8s imported for local use, are not the only bent-eight blasters on the road.Germans are prolific builders of V8s and produce some of the most powerful engines in the world thanks to AMG-Mercedes, BMW and Audi. English V8s are built by Aston Martin, Land Rover and Jaguar, while the Americans provide V8s in the Chrysler 300C sold here. Even the Japanese luxury brand Lexus has a V8 in its IS F hero and its luxury saloon LS460, as well as the LandCruiser-cloned LX470.Most V8s are powerful enough breathing ordinary air, but there are many forced-induction models with either turbo or supercharging to liberate even more power. Walkinshaw Performance does the job in Australia for Holden, BMW is going down the turbo V8 road for its latest M cars and Benz had a time with a supercharged AMG V8.But V8s are not just about unrestricted power. The push for greater fuel economy has also reached V8 land and so Chrysler and Holden have V8s with multiple displacement technology which shuts down half the cylinders when the car is just cruising to improve fuel economy. Formula One racing engines now do the same thing when they are idling on a grand prix starting grid.Holden's Active Fuel Management (AFM) was introduced on the V8 Commodore and Caprice in 2008 and the red lion brand is committed to the engine - with future technology updates - despite near-record fuel prices."It is incumbent on us to keep it relevant and continue introducing new technology that delivers on our customers' needs," says Holden's Shayna Welsh.Holden has the biggest stake in V8s with more models than any other company selling in Australia. It has a total of 12 models with V8 engines across four nameplates and four body styles, including Commodore SS, SS V, Calais V, Caprice V and the recently introduced Redline range. V8s account for about one quarter of Commodore sedan sales and almost half of Ute sales."We see it as being more than just the V8 engine - it's about the entire car. It's the whole performance package that appeals to people and we want to continue making cars that people are proud to own," Welsh says."The combination of features and technology, great handling and braking and outstanding value is consistent across our V8 model range."Ford fans are also committed to V8s, according to company spokesperson Sinead McAlary, who says a recent Facebook survey was overwhelmingly positive."We asked whether they worry about petrol prices and they say 'No, it's the sound of the V8 we love and we are prepared to pay the price'," she says.Both Ford and Holden also have performance divisions where the V8 was, and still is, king. Ford's is Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV) and Holden's is Holden Special Vehicles (HSV).HSV marketing manager Tim Jackson says their sales are "on par" with last year."That's despite the fact that last year we had the limited edition GX-P which is an entry level product for us," he says. "We don't have that model in our range at all this year and you would expect numbers to come off, but we've been able to maintain sales volume."All of HSV's range are powered by a naturally aspirated V8 engine (6200cc 317kW-325kW), while the opposition at FPV has gained the kilowatt advantage with forced induction (supercharged 5000cc 315kW-335kW).Jackson says their LS3 V8 has been "validated" by customers."We're not getting guys screaming at us to go turbocharging. The LS3 is an extraordinary unit. It's a light engine with a good power-to-weight figure. There is not a turbo engine that would do it for us at the right development cost. But I wouldn't rule it (turbo) out or rule it in."Jackson says there have been no repercussions from the rise in petrol prices."Our customers don't have other choices in their repertoire," he says. "A small car doesn't suit them and they're not into an SUV. They're of a certain level where the whole cost of running the car is easy for them to absorb."The top-selling HSV is the ClubSport R8, followed by the Maloo R8, then GTS.However, the greatest HSV in history is debatable, Jackson says.HSV engineering boss Joel Stoddart prefers the all-wheel-drive Coupe4 and sales boss Darren Bowler the SV5000."The Coupe4 is special because of its engineering but I like the W427 because it's the fastest," Jackson says.FPV boss Rod Barrett says they are also experiencing strong sales growth. He says they sold about 500 cars in the first quarter, which is up 32 per cent on the previous year. He also says sales of the F6 have slowed since the launch of the supercharged V8 engine variants late last year, as customers "opt for power". Ford no longer offers a V8 with the demise of the XR8 sedan and ute last year."Our middle name is performance so we have all the V8s," Barrett says. "When we were launching this new supercharged car all the V8s came across here."Barrett says their supercharged engine has changed people's minds about "dinosaur V8s"."The turbocharged F6 was a cult hero car in its day and people thought a V8 was a low-tech dinosaur," he says. "But when we produced a high-tech all-alloy five-litre supercharged V8 built in Australia people started to think that V8s aren't all that bad after all. I'm not seeing the demise of the V8 just yet, but for us, the future is hi-tech."The supercharged 5.0Litre V8 335kW FPV GT continues to be FPV's top-selling vehicle followed closely by the supercharged V8 5.0 litre 315kW GS sedan and GS ute.Barrett believes the current GT is the best FPV car yet with its segment-leading power, light weight and improved fuel economy."However, I think our most iconic car was the 2007 BF Mk II 302kW Cobra in white with blue stripes. That car brought back the passion of '78 with the original Cobra. If you have a look at the second-hand prices, they are still holding up very well" he says.

Diehard fans can recall famous Bathurst victories of up to 40 years ago that they watched trackside or on the couch year-by-year. They remember the legendary drivers who used to race roadcars around the mountain at breakneck speed.But the V8 Supercars that tore themselves to pieces around the new Homebush track  have little in common with the road-going V8s on sale today.  Rising fuel prices have scared many away from buying a V8 for the road but there is a passionate core keeping the bent-eight flag flying high. Sales figures this year show the V8 is a constant in a dwindling big-car market.Holden director of sales John Elsworth says 10 to 14 per cent of Commodore sales this year are V8-engined machines and that hasn't changed "for years".  At Holden and Ford's performance arms, Holden Special Vehicles and Ford Performance Vehicles, V8 sales are the core of their existence.One of the biggest V8 fans is Sam Mangiapane who owns two HSVs. Mangiapane bought a new HSV GTS this year and also has a VY Clubsport. He is the vice-president of the HSV Owners Club of NSW.  The GTS has a 6.2-litre LS3 V8 engine putting out 317kW of power and 550Nm of torque.The claimed fuel economy is 14.5 litres per 100km but Mangiapane says rising petrol prices wouldn't stop him and many others buying a V8."I'd keep buying them regardless," he says. "It won't stop people buying an HSV, or an FPV for that matter, because they are so passionate about them."Put it this way: I've yet to hear someone say they'd have to sell their car because it had become too expensive to run it."  Mangiapane says many V8 owners keep their fuel costs down by not driving them every day. Instead they are used for weekend runs, club activities and special outings.   Driving it every day becomes expensive," he says.Mangiapane says opponents of V8s who see them as gas-guzzling dinosaurs don't realise that technology has improved the cars' efficiency and economy."  The V8s of today are not like the V8s of the `80s and `90s. They are a lot better on economy and with greenhouse gases."Automatic-transmission V8 Holdens now feature technology that enables four of the cylinders to be shut down to save fuel when the car is cruising.Mangiapane loves driving V8s because of their performance. "The horsepower is the main thing. It's the power and it's the looks."  According to Mangiapane, club membership is rising by up to 10 per cent a year, ranging across the age groups. Nearly 10 per cent of the members are women.The current VE model is popular among club members, though the cheaper and older VS and VR models are also common club cars.  He says Holden's racing history, and Peter Brock in particular, are fond topics of conversation among HSV owners.HSV is now in its 21st year of business. It was started in 1988 as a joint venture between Holden and Tom Walkinshaw Racing, which then also ran  Holden's race team.  After years of the company passing through different hands and arrangements, today Walkinshaw owns the business again.

The hotrod GTS is a waiting-list proposition despite an $82,990 starting price, with demand creating a delay in production. "If you want a GTS with red leather and big-piston brakes our waiting list is out to April next year. We can't keep pace with demand," says Phil Harding. "We haloed that car and it's doing well as a halo. A lot of customers who are picking the car up are pleased with the differential now with the ClubSport and R8. And GTS is now almost running at 100 per cent with the big-piston brakes.Harding says the reaction to the in-your-face styling of the E2 models has been entirely positive, despite some early attacks on a front-end that borrowed heavily from the American Pontiac G8. "We have had no negative feedback whatever. It's distinctive on the road. We're not having any problems at all with the styling," he says.

The aggressive double-scoop bonnet originally designed to cut through traffic in the USA has been transplanted to the second-generation VE models from HSV, pointing directly to a stonking 325kW V8 engine in the front-line GTS.It is part of a massive $500,000 model change that is almost the reverse of the low-key change for the regular VE Commodore, which has zero body changes but lots of engineering upgrades. HSV has also done a lot of tweaking, but designer Julian Quincey has gone wild with a range of changes and a lot more body jewellery to turn heads.Every E Series 2 manual also comes with full-on, race-style 'launch control' and there are a range of other technical upgrades across the line-up that runs from a competition mode on the stability control to 19-inch E2 alloy wheels on the ClubSport and beyond.But it's the bonnet that cuts through for E2 and HSV chief Phil Harding is happy to defend the donation from the Pontiac program. "We call it our performance bonnet. It's an HSV bonnet now," Harding says. "Actually, we asked for this opportunity over a year ago and at that stage no-one knew the fate of the G8 or Pontiac. We wanted Julian to have it for the facelift."We like the look of it. We think that makes our car look horny, or sporty, or whatever word you want to use."It helps give a tougher look to the E2 line-up but Harding, an engineer, is more focussed on the mechanical changes for the latest HSV line-up. "When we launched E Series we called that our $1 billion baby. This E2 is our half-billion baby. This is the biggest facelift we've ever done," Harding says. "We spent a huge amount on E Series and our sales went up 25 per cent in the first year. That approach worked and we decided to let the engineers loose to entice our customers three years later. "I'm guessing the appearance changes are around 20 per cent of the total bill. The rest is in technology and that stuff is going down pretty well."He targets the 325kW version of the LS3 V8 and the launch control system as the highlights for 2009. "Why do 325? Because we can, and because our customers want it. And they will probably tell us that it still isn't enough. "But, in parallel, we've done the responsible thing and worked on fuel economy. Every E Series II is more efficient than a VY II manual Clubsport, which had 5.7 litres and was 100kg lighter."The extra kiloWatts in the GTS have come from a re-calibration and a new lower-loss exhaust system, which points to a trickle-down to other models in future. Not that Harding is saying anything. "As for launch control, I think this is a kinder way of treating the clutch. It's a repeatable thing and easy to use. And we're putting the 7-litre clutch into the manual models."Apart from the model-by-model tweaking, the E2 models are also available with a new line-up of SV Enhanced options. They vary by model by generally include larger wheels, different exhausts and some cosmetic upgrades.The latest HSV cars hit showrooms this month but Harding is not making any big predictions because of the economic situation. "We'll more than double our daily output with this range. We'll still be down at the end of the year and I'm not sure how it will go. The market needs a kick," Harding says. "We have starved the market. I wanted the cleanest changeover and it's been the most successful since I've been here. At the moment we're trying to make one fewer car than is necessary, unlike the years when we've made one too many."VariantsThe 2009 lineup from Holden Special Vehicles has more visual differentiation than before and a bunch of technical changes. This is the basics, model-by-model:ClubSport R8 - from $65,990:Visual upgrade, 317kW V8, manual launch control, new seat trim, 4- piston brakes, 19" alloysMaloo R8 - from $62,990:Clubsport package, front-side-curtain airbags, 8" subwoofersR8 Tourer - from $66,990:Clubsport packageGTS - from $80,990:325kW engine, extended launch control, 20" alloys, performance leather seatsSenator Signature - from $82,990:Manual launch control, extended cruise controlWM Grange - from $87,990:Extended cruise control, competition mode ESP, new 19" alloys