HSV News

Holden Special Vehicles reports a 'business as usual' result through the first five months of the year, with 240 deliveries in May alone. HSV alone is now selling around one-fifth the total Ford Falcon volume, according to company boss Phil Harding. "Big cars are not dead. Ours aren't, that's for sure," Harding confirms to Carsguide. "I'm talking it up, but I'm talking facts. Based on VFacts (sales results), we're around 20 per cent of Falcon sales. Which is not bad, is it?" Harding has been pushing the upside of the HSV story for more than a year, refuting claims that his cars have been dragged down by the Falcon slide which has now also spread - to some degree - across to Holden and the Commodore. "It does wind me up. Journalists tend to roll everyone into the large-car class. "But the large car segment is made up from a basic Falcon through to us. I don't like being included in that group. We've carved out our own niche," he says. Harding admits that HSV is down from its peak, but says the long-term business case is built around the current sales volume. "We all went on a high with the launch of VE. We have settled back, but in terms of our long term retail sales we're happy with where we are against our history." He refuses to answer any questions about HSV's plans for the VF Commodore, which will be ready for the road late in the second quarter of 2013, or anything that would stretch the brand beyond Commodore. There has been development work on a hot HSV version of the Cruze, but nothing that's remotely ready yet for production or sales. But Harding will, reluctantly, talk about the latest numbers. "We did 240 cars in May. But I won't comment again until the end of the year," he says bluntly. "Clubsport is our best seller. Equal second are Maloo and GTS." And he wants to put the picture into clearer focus. "If you look at the sedan market, it's between 70,000 and 100,000 cars a year. We have around 19 per cent retail share. That probably makes us a great revenue source for the the government." Most importantly, Harding says HSV is trading solidly in the black and generating the money necessary for its future programs including its work on the VF. "I wouldn't be in it if it wasn't profitable," he says. "If you look at going though from VX to VZ, the cost of doing a facelift of a new car was the price a few years ago for doing a new car. The R&D spend now is quite different. "But we did our GFC savings about two-and-a-half years ago. We're stronger than we've ever been as a business for investing in our future."  

Claiming to be the world's fastest police car - unveiled at the Essen Motor Show - the already stove-hot Audi R8 GT-R has been fettled by German tuner ABT Sportsline, which upped the power of the standard 5.2-litre V10 from 400 to 450kW.  One hundred kilograms was shaved from the R8's weight by replacing the bonnet, front and rear aprons, adjustable rear wing, tailgate, exterior mirrors and door panelling with carbon fibre.  The project's major sponsor, Hankook Tire, provided Ventus S1 evo tyres, speed rated for the police car's maximum velocity of 325km/h.  To match the ultra-high performance tyres, ABT Sportsline replaced the Audi's standard suspension with a new all-aluminium coil-over set-up.  The R8 GT-R police car was built as part of Tune it! Safe! a public awareness campaign by the German Federal Department of Transport and the German Automobile Tuning Association (VDAT).  The campaign encourages German car enthusiasts who modify their cars with aftermarket tuning products to do so within safe and legal limits.

Married with a daughter (who is also a Ford fan), Mr Watson currently has an FPV GT 335 sedan, the latest in a long line of Ford products."We have had around 20 Fords - various models, not just Falcons - after some Holdens. We have had many Fords, one has followed the other ever since and we have no plans to change camps," he says.Mr Watson looks at the red versus blue rivalry as something that is now generational. "When it started it was Moffat versus Brock and has grown since then to have people either red or blue, now we're talking second and third generation fans as children follow their parents," he says.The family has had an FPV GT since April - the supercharged 335kW version - and now wouldn't have anything else. "I absolutely love it, the supercharged V8 has plenty of power - we use it for normal road work, not track days, we don't push it that hard, but it has plenty of poke for overtaking," he says."We're also restoring an old XB Falcon - a full bare-metal restoration - with 393 stroker V8, that will sit proudly next to the new GT," he says.A big shed and a tolerant wife are two key ingredients to Daryl Leaker's impressive stable of Holden product. The 1998 HSV Senator Signature 220i shares garage space with a number of Holden, HSV and HDT machines."I've got a very big shed for them all, I've always liked Holdens because my father was a Holden salesman so it is in the blood I guess," he says.Mr Leaker hasn't always just owned Holdens - a Mitsubishi Pajero replaced a Ford Territory recently, but there balance of power has always been to the General, harking back to his formative years with a Holden salesman for a father."It was great when Dad was selling Holdens, I got to drive GTR XU-1s and 327 Monaros when they were brand new," he says. "When I turned 21 I bought myself an HQ GTS coupe and got some discount through my father, I wish I still had that car as well."The HSV shares shed space with a VN SS Group A and an HSV Statesman, as well as a HDT VK Brock Commodore SS in silver and an HJ Monaro four-door."I'll always be a Holden fan - I think I'd die of shock if the missus came home in an FPV GT," he says.

Everyone watched the AFL and NRL grand finals last weekend and now it's our grand final this weekend, come rain or shine. Grand finals are played in all sorts of weather and both sides have to play in the same conditions, so it really doesn't worry me if it's cold and wet at Mt Panorama as predicted. We all race the same track. In fact, one advantage is that while I was away at the Australasian Safari last week in Western Australia, my co-driver, Mark Skaife, had a full day of testing at Queensland Raceway with some wet conditions. That not only gave him seat time on wet tyres, but also gave the team the opportunity to tweak the car settings for those conditions. Of course, that's Queensland Raceway which is a different animal to Mt Panorama. This track is daunting in the dry but to drive around here in the wet is extremely - let's say - exciting. It's a dangerous track in the dry with speeds on Conrod Straight around 300km/h and when it rains drivers don't tend to back off too much so it definitely catches your attention. The main thing is to drive smoothly and make all the usual adjustments in the car for wet conditions, such as brake bias and suspension. You are mainly looking for grip on the track surface, constantly searching the road for that area that will give you a bit of extra traction. I'm actually quite looking forward to a bit of precipitation. The other day I saw some old footage of the 2008 race where we had some great battles in the closing stages of the race on a wet pitch. Thinking back on that, it was quite exciting. If it rains again, we'll just take it in our stride, look after the car and try to keep out of other people's crashes. Perhaps the biggest threat in the rain would be young Shane van Gisbergen. He's been knocking on the back door a lot lately and if it rains, he'll no doubt be knocking louder and harder because he's a talented wet track driver. Admittedly he's only one half of a team, but his co-driver is fellow Kiwi John McIntyre so he should be ok as well. They all seem to have webbed feet over there. Another good thing about the wet weather for me is that my lap record which I set in the last practice session on Friday might stand a little longer. I hope so, anyway. I would love it to stand for a bit longer than just 12 months, but if the weather and track conditions are right, the cars are very quick this year and the record could be in danger. Following up on our one-two team win last year is going to be difficult, but not unattainable since we did it at Phillip Island last month. I haven't spoken to team principal Roland Dane about it, but if we get to that situation at the end of the race there are no team orders. We'll definitely be racing. Every race we go in RD wants us to race to the chequered flag and have the best man win. If we can finish one-two it would be unbelievable to do it two years in a row. Skaifey and I are favourites at $2.75 on Sportsbet and our teammates Jamie Whincup and Andrew Thompson are second at $4.75 with Garth Tander and Nick Percat third on $8. But I won't be placing any bets. It's a long race and there are a lot of teams with good chances this year. The biggest team threats are FPR, HRT, SBR and Garry Rogers, while the dark horse drivers are Russell Ingall, Greg Murphy and Jason Bright who are all veterans and as we know at Bathurst, experience counts. The Safari last week is almost a distant memory. It was a shame we crashed and got a 10-hour penalty for not finishing two stages as we were the fastest in every stage we completed. It certainly hasn't dimmed my view of the event. In fact, I'd jump at the chance to compete again next year and after talking to three-time Dakar Rally winner Cyril Despres at the Safari last week I'd love to do a Dakar.

... more night races and a Chase points system. There was talk earlier this year about making the Ipswich round a night race and I think it's a shame they didn't go ahead with it. Lights don't have to be a permanent fixture. You can hire temporary flood lights. With Coates Hire a significant sponsor of our sport they could easily have done the job. I'm a big fan of night racing. We started the season at Abu Dhabi under lights and in the past we've had twilight races at Eastern Creek in Sydney and night races at Calder Park in Melbourne. Both have been huge successes. We don't do them any more because of the lack of infrastructure at the tracks where we now race. I'd like to see us return to Eastern Creek with a twilight meeting. Perhaps we could also do Darwin at night with hired lights and maybe Sandown where they already have lights for the horse track, although noise restrictions might be a problem. Night events have worked well for football, so why not V8 Supercars? The other Nascar innovation we should consider is the Chase points system where the top 15 or so qualify for the title and start their points from scratch again. I think it would mix it up and add some excitement to our sport, especially in seasons where we have a runaway winner and the result is almost a foregone conclusion. The current system can sometimes reward drivers who are consistent and don't necessarily win a lot or any races throughout the year. We've seen that happen a couple of times in the past decade. It's boring for the fans while the rest of the drivers and teams tend to use the end of the year for testing for next year rather than racing for this year's title. A Chase scenario with say the top 10 vying for the title from after the enduro rounds would reward drivers that go from conservative mode to attack mode. That's what the fans want to see. They want chasing battles, crashes and grand-final-style excitement. This week we had our final test day before the enduros start at Phillip Island and my co-driver, Mark Skaife, got more time in the seat than me, which is great for his confidence. His feedback and feel for the car is outstanding and to give him that time to get used to my race engineer, Jeromy Moore, and the set-up changes he wanted to try was invaluable. They now have total confidence in each other for a great working relationship. The morning session was soaking wet, then it dried out so we had experience in all conditions and had no issues all day. Skaifey and I are now 100 per cent comfortable in the car and have perfected our driver changes. We simulated routine and emergency pit stops, driver changes, wheel changes and even front spoiler changes; everything and anything you can imagine, we trialled. Everything ran smoothly but we have to remember that it is still just a test day and you don't have the added pressures of other competitive cars sharing the lane and breathing down your neck on the track, plus millions of eyes watching you on TV.

Based on the HSV E Series 3 range launched in September, the SV Black Edition will be available in ClubSport R8, Maloo R8 and ClubSport R8 Tourer guise. The cars feature matte black paintouts on the front and sides combining with the Vector hood scoops and side vents to immediately communicate a sinister edge. All SV Black Edition vehicles receive an all new, 20 inch forged and staggered SV Performance alloy wheel finished in gloss black. These are complemented by HSVs performance suspension on the ClubSport R8, as well as HSV's Bi-Modal exhaust and 317kW, 6.2 litre, LS3, Generation 4 V8 to deliver exceptional road holding and powerful street appeal. The interior features a unique finish on the console, instrument panel and steering wheel while special edition sill plates, Onyx leather trim, matte black badging and a subtle lip spoiler on the ClubSport R8 complete the package. A unique build plate is also fitted to every vehicle to identify membership to this very exclusive range. Available in Alto Grey, Nitrate, Sting, Heron and, of course, Phantom Black, only a limited number of vehicles will be produced. The SV Black Edition is limited to just 100 ClubSport R8s, 100 Maloo R8s and 25 ClubSport R8 Tourers. Priced from $71,900 the SV Black Edition is officially on-sale in September.

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.

Overseas support for the Ford-against-Holden championship is running ahead of export demand for Australian-built cars, with America joining the Middle East and New Zealand on the upcoming calendar. Plans eventually call for six overseas races in the championship, although this is likely to be at the expense of Tasmania - likely to be dropped after this year - and perhaps Winton in rural Victoria in 2013. Singapore is also expected to join the touring car tussle from 2013 with Qatar targeted to take over the vacant date for a race in Bahrain, which ran for two years and created a double-header flyaway with Abu Dhabi. The V8 series is continuing to copy the expansion of Formula One and will even race on the same American track, at the all-new facility called the Cirucit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. F1 is set for Austin in 2012 with V8s to follow a year later with the first full championship race for any Australian category. The showdown in the Lone Star State could also include a cameo appearance by Marcos Ambrose, the two-time V8 champion now competing in Nascar races in the US. He had hoped to guest at the V8 finale in Sydney in 2009 and a special rule was passed as a result to allow high-profile guest drivers in the series. "This is a huge deal for V8 Supercars and one that all Australians should be proud of," says the head honcho of V8 Supercar racing, Tony Cochrane. "Our sport is delighted to have entered this partnership with Austin and the incredible Circuit of the Americas. This is a truly amazing place." Construction of the track at Austin - a sister city to Adelaide - is already underway and it will eventually run 5.5 kilometres with elevation changes of more than 30 metres. Apart from V8 Supercars and F1 it will host a round of the MotoGP world title in 2013.

This will be our third year in North Queensland which was a previously an untapped market for V8 Supercars. It's a great street circuit designed by Mark Skaife with plenty in it for the drivers and the fans. You might say a street circuit is only as good as the streets available, but Skaifey has put them to good use with a combination of tight hairpins, fast flowing corners and a kink in the main straight. They've also chosen a good area a few blocks away from the CBD to minimise disruption and there are some high earth mounds to give the fans plenty of viewing over the wire barriers, plus like all street circuits there is a host of external activities and concerts to keep everyone entertained. This year I'm going to Townsville on a bit of a roll. We have great consistency and momentum and I'm looking forward to turning my Townsville record around. We are currently the second-best qualifier behind my teammate Jamie Whincup and if we can maintain a good starting position we have a good shot at a podium. The race format is two 200km races with one set of soft tyres in each race with two pit stops per race. The track will be colder than Darwin so the soft tyres should last a little longer, but there is a series of long right handers which will kill the left rear tyre. There are two clear strategies: start on soft tyres or finish on soft tyres. However, on street circuits there are usually a lot of safety cars which can undo the advantage you may get from starting on soft tyres, so I think the majority will try to finish on them. It's a lottery, really. It's also a great chance for some teams to snatch a win out of nowhere with a bit of luck. I have always been a bit critical of V8 Supercars expanding overseas into time zones that make it difficult for Aussie fans to tune in to the TV coverage. But now that V8 Supercars has done a deal to race at the new circuit in Austin, Texas, there is no point whining about it. We simply have to make it work. We will race on the Saturday and Sunday which means Australian TV coverage on Sunday morning, which is ok, and Monday morning, which is a bit of a problem. It may have been better to race Friday and Saturday, but we also have to appease the massive US TV coverage. As a driver, I think it's great to go to new countries and drive on new circuits. It's also a great opportunity to expand V8 recognition globally. America is a tough market to crack and getting a five-year deal is unbelievable. There will be a fair amount of pressure on both sides to make this work and I will put all my energies into helping, rather than hindering that process. Speaking of racing overseas, I still haven't heard whether I have qualified to race in any of the world endurance events. However, I'm grateful to have the full support of Audi Australia boss Uwe Hagen who wants us to return to the Bathurst 12-hour race next year. My ultimate goal is to race at Le Mans, Daytona and Nurburgring.

HSV is using the Australian International Motor Show to launch its SV Black Edition models. They’ll join vehicles from Porsche, BMW and Mercedes in earning a black label.