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This is the car HSV always wanted to build – the W427 -- and now we just have to wait and see whether they’ll get to build 427 of them.

Nothing as flat-out menacing as the W427 from Holden Special Vehicles has ever been seen before in Australian motoring and 90 punters with $155,500 for their new pet have signed for deliveries before the end of July.You have to get the W427 on a track to understand how good, and how bad, it truly is. It feels as fast as a recently-superseded V8 Supercar in a straight line, with a thunderous exhaust note like a warbird at take-off power.Just as good as the engine, the W-car has the first serious braking package on any HSV car and there is no sign of fade in repeated hot-lap stops. And the new six-speed manual gearbox is lighter and smoother than the usual truckie-style shift in a high-performance V8.The E-Series flagship is not as racey as the first 7-litre HSV car, the two-cars-only Monaro 427 which never cleared the bar for full-scale production, but this time around all the work has been done to create a car which is more than just a racer for the road.The W427 gets the LS7 engine from the Chevrolet Corvette, with 375 kiloWatts - that is 505 horsepower - and 640 Newton-metres. They are shipped from the USA and installed on a special mini production line at HSV in Clayton which makes the 165 individual changes from a 'standard' HSV GTS. Work includes a big-bore active exhaust, a special limited-slip differential, giant brakes and the latest TR6060 gearbox with local tweaks to the clutch.Every owner will be invited to travel to Clayton to watch their car being built.But no-one is sure exactly how many W427s will be built, with HSV chief Scott Grant now talking up to 427 - "but no more than 427" - after an initial build program for 200 cars.What is certain is numbers which will make the car the quickest quarter-mile and 0-100km/h sprinter in serious production, even if a potential top speed in the 290 range has been held back to 250km/h by a self-inflicted speed limiter.Grant is simple and direct as he sums up the reason for the W427, which takes its name from company boss Tom Walkinshaw - who is having car one shipped to his home in England - and its 427-cubic inch capacity."This is the car that HSV always wanted to build," Grant says.

But at $150,000 plus, HSV's W427 “super car” goes where no Holden has gone before.

'Chooka' is one of the first to order Holden’s most expensive production car – and was offered his choice of build numbers 1 or 427.

Exclusivity doesn't come any better than the most expensive sedan ever built by Holden Special Vehicles, the W427.It is destined to become an instant classic despite its $150,000 price.Originally expected to cost $170,000, Tom Walkinshaw, the Scottish owner of HSV, has confirmed the car wearing his name will be $20,000 cheaper, subject to any changes in the luxury car tax.“With the LCT it will be $156,000,” Walkinshaw says.Despite the price, HSV has been inundated with inquiries since the wraps came off the car at the Melbourne Motor Show.The company has 1500 “expressions of interest”, 70 per cent of which have come from owners of high-end European brands, including BMW and Mercedes-Benz, according to Walkinshaw. The rest already drive HSV cars.He says the car is a credit to HSV engineers.“It's one of the best four-door performance cars I've ever driven.”HSV used high-end European cars as benchmarks for performance and handling.“Everything from Audi, Mercedes and BMW . . . it can hold its own against any of those,” he says.Only 427 examples will be built, a number that refers to the 7.0-litre V8's old-fashioned cubic-inch capacity.Only 90 W427s will be delivered this year and 110 next year.Low-volume production has started at HSV's factory in Clayton. Each customer will be flown to Melbourne to visit the factory to see the production line. They can also go online to follow the progress of the cars.HSV managing director Scott Grant says the company is also looking at performance driving courses for W427 customers.Walkinshaw is modest about the first HSV to officially have his name on it.“A lot of people liked the original Group A car (Commodore VL) which was never called the Walkinshaw in the beginning but everyone called it that,” he says.“So for the 20th anniversary of the company, Denny Mooney said why don't you make something special.”He says that without the help and guidance of Mooney, the previous GM-Holden chief, the car may not have been built.“He said, `Well, I think I can get the 7.0-litre engine from America',” Walkinshaw says. “Mooney was the driving force.“The work in making the car fast and reliable has been enormous. Almost everything from the engine to the wheels is new.“The entire drivetrain has been updated and redesigned to take the power and torque.”The W427 shares its V8 engine with GM's Chevrolet Corvette sportscar. The V8 engine is hand-made on a separate production line at GM in Detroit. It is then shipped to Melbourne to be slotted into the VE Commodore body.In the W427 it develops 375kW at 6500 revs and 640Nm at 5000 revs.HSV undertook extensive modifications to put the Corvette V8 into the VE and make sure it could cope with the power and torque. The car's cooling, suspension, gearbox, differential and wheel bearings were all upgraded.The previous most expensive HSV was the $100,000 VT GTS Series II in 1999. It had a 300kW Callaway V8, the first 300kW production car in Australia at the time. INSIDE VIEWHSV W427PRICE $150,000AVAILABILITY NowEXPRESSION OF INTEREST 1500 potential buyersNUMBERS Built to order up to 427POWERTRAIN 7.0-litre LS7 V8 with HSV calibrationPOWER 375kW at 65000 revsTORQUE 640Nm at 5000 revsSUSPENSION New springs, 30 per cent stiffer than GTS, 20mm lower ride height than GTS, stiffer rear bushings, new magnetic ride-control calibrationBRAKES New six-piston front brakes with 50 per cent greater pad area, two-piece floating front rotors (380mm x 35mm) compared with 365mm x 32mm one-piece on GTS Related storiesOrders race in for HSV's hot W427HSV Series: size countsHSV now a roaring successHSV powers up with LS3 

The super-hot CTS-V is the king of the Cadillac hill — and claimed to be the world's fastest four-door sedan. Still, the key is the engine: a supercharged 6.2-litre V8 with either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic directing power to the rear wheels. The bottom line is 410kW and 745Nm. Unfortunately, all that engineering has left little room for a right-hand drive conversion that would bring it to Australia.  “When we put the 6.2-litre V8 engine in and the supercharger plumbing on it, we ran out of real estate,” General Motors product boss Bob Lutz says. Its mechanical package includes magnetic ride control for the suspension, Brembo six-piston disc brakes and Michelin Pilot Sport 2 tyres. But Lutz, always the optimist, believes there is potential for Holden Special Vehicles to tweak a go-faster CTS for Australia. “Talk to HSV. I'm sure they will whomp up something,” he says. Pick up the phone, HSV.

There is much interest about the car dubbed Australia's fastest production vehicle. HSV managing director Scott Grant has 1500 expressions of interest and yet has production plans of only 200 of the hand-built special sedans. Prices are now being crunched but Grant sees it falling in the $150,000 to $170,000 slot, a bit higher than the $125,000-plus hint dropped by HSV at the model's Melbourne Motor Show debut. But the price could be even higher. What won't change is the 200 production run though Grant won't rule out a second-tier model line using the same drivetrain. Only six W427 — for Walkinshaw and the imperial-measure cubic-inch capacity of the engine — cars will be made each week. “We can only manage six a week,” Grant said. “We're saying 200 today. But when we fix the price, we'll also confirm production numbers. “We'll stick at 200. But we could produce variations on that theme.” The W427 celebrates the 20 years of HSV that started in 1988 using the VL Commodore donor. Only 421 sales were made in 1988 compared with 5222 in 2007. Grant is aiming at 80 builds of the GTS-based W427 this calendar year and the remaining 120 in 2009. The 427cublic inch (7-litre engine) produces 370kW at 6500rpm and 640Nm at 5000rpm to be the most powerful HSV road-going model. The engine is based on the US-made LS7 though fine-tuned by HSV with cold-air induction, ceramic-coated 4-into-1 extractors and active twin-mode rear mufflers. Inserting the 7-litre V8 has proved to be a shoehorning exercise made awkward because of the engine's dry-sump design that requires a separate oil canister under the bonnet. The battery has been relocated to the boot to make some room. The W427 gets a new face to distinguish it from other HSV sedans, a carbon-fibre rear lip spoiler, 20-inch “cookie cutter” wheels, uprated springs that are 30 per cent stiffer than HSV's GTS and new adjustable MRC suspension settings. It sits 20mm lower than the GTS. It also uses six-piston brake calipers.

HSV says you can forget those old ideas about wagons.The first serious station wagon in Holden Special Vehicles' history has just joined the muscle-car family.There have been HSV wagons in the past, from slow sellers in the '90s to the unloved Avalanche all-wheel drive, but nothing like the newcomer called Tourer.It is a direct result of the change of direction on Commodore wagons, with the Sportwagon soon to arrive at GM Holden showrooms.The short-wheelbase wagon, aimed more at lifestyle buyers than traditional families, was quickly targeted for a HSV makeover.It will join the V-Series sedan line-up, and will be among the first to benefit from the tickled-up LS3 V8 engine producing 317kW.HSV chief Scott Grant reacts angrily to any suggestion that the newcomer is just a high-powered people-mover.“We're not doing a station wagon, we're doing a Tourer. It's a sexy car, it's not a station wagon,” Grant says.“We've done some evaluation with our powertrain in that body and the driving experience is virtually identical to the sedan.“There is nothing else like it on the market. It has sex appeal, as well as versatility.”Details of the HSV Tourer were revealed this week in Perth at a press preview of the company's latest LS3 sedan models.HSV will bring the wagon to market quickly — quick enough to possibly beat Holden's own Sportwagon launch — because it shares the body kit with the new LS3 sedan.The Tourer is based on the Clubsport R8, but — aside from the HSV nose and an as-yet-unfinished tail treatment — the wagon is a refleshed Sportwagon with the LS3 mechanical package. It should be in showrooms by October.Grant says the Tourer will have the same price hike above a sedan as the Sportwagon has over a regular four-door Commodore, which means $1000.That price increment will appeal to buyers who want a high-performance five-seater.“For us, it's a totally different proposition. We'll tease the market and see how it goes. It really has some potential.“The total package will allow us to carve a niche in the market. There is nothing like it out there. There is an opportunity,” Grant says.And there is no pressure of sales targets.“It is part of the LS3 freshen, and that is very much an enhancement and a running change. Other than the powertrain, the car is identical to an LS2,” Grant says.“We're hoping to build 100-plus. But … because the specification is virtually identical to the R8, we don't have any exposure,” he says. 

Distance runner Craig Mottram has been on the pace this year as he prepares for the Beijing Olympics.  Mottram claimed Haile Gebrselassie's US allcomers 3000m record at the Boston Indoor Games in February and bettered his Australian best, winning in 7min 34.50sec.And a hiccup at the world cross-country championships in March where he finished a disappointing 31st hasn't derailed his training or his focus on China.Mottram's coach, Nic Bideau, says the cross-country course didn't suit his young star, but it all helps in the countdown to Beijing.  When he's not running on the roads, Mottram can stretch his legs in a HSV Clubsport.What was your first car?I bought a Subaru 1982 sports wagon. It cost $3000 to buy and probably about the same to fix in the four years I had it.What do you drive now?I have been driving a HSV Clubsport R8 for a few months now, since I returned to Australia late last year. For several months of the year I train at Falls Creek in preparation for the coming season and this year has a really tough schedule. It's been great fun to cruise up the Hume Freeway, then tackle the mountain. Being manual, it's a great car to drive through the hairpins.How far would you drive in an average year?It's a 720km round trip to Falls, so depending on my schedule and taking into account coming down to Melbourne for Christmas and New Year, I've already clocked more than 5000km since picking up the car in early December.What's your favourite motoring memory?I've always enjoyed watching the V8 Supercars when I'm in town and I enjoyed watching the final race at Phillip Island last year. Obviously with the closeness of the championship, it all came down to the last race. That's proper competition and pressure and I think all the boys handled themselves fantastically well.What would you buy if money was no object?An Aston Martin DBS.How much is too much for a car?You need to look at your priorities and what you want the car to do. The price must be realistic and reflect the car's performance and features.What should be done to make driving safer?I have competed in track and field events all around the world and I would have to say that Australian drivers and driving conditions are among the safest in the world. We have great roads, well built, safe cars, and some of the toughest penalties around for speeding. In terms of the car itself, a good brake package, electronic stability control and airbags are really important if something goes wrong on the road.Are you sponsored by a car company?I have been involved with Holden Special Vehicles since last year. I've been out to their office in Clayton and through the museum and along the production line.