Home-grown Hero Car

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday March 1, 2008

Joshua Dowling

Holden's performance division yesterday unveiled the fastest and most powerful Australian-made sedan. Motoring Editor Joshua Dowling has the inside story.

NEVER before has a Holden Commodore caused this much hysteria. This car - or something like it dreamed up in the world of computer simulation - has been on the covers of Australia's top-selling motoring magazines numerous times over the past year, long before anyone confirmed such a vehicle existed.

Suffice to say no one - not even the experts - were expecting such a machine to be unveiled at yesterday morning's media preview to the Melbourne motor show.

It's called the W427 and it is the fastest and most powerful Australian-made road car ever built. The name may not roll off the tongue easily but that doesn't matter because it's likely the production version will be called GTS-R or GTS-R 427 when it arrives in showrooms in July priced between $140,000 and $170,000.

That price range is not a misprint. In addition to being the fastest Commodore ever built it will also be the most expensive by a considerable margin.

It's powered by the same massive 7.0-litre V8 engine that's fitted to the super-fast Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and its acceleration will rival the fastest sedans in the world, sprinting to 100kmh in just 4.7 seconds. With estimated outputs of 370kW and 640Nm, it has 20 per cent more power and 16 per cent more torque than the highly regarded 6.0-litre V8 in the current HSV range.

The name of the show car - W427 - comes from the surname of the owner of HSV, former race driver Tom Walkinshaw, and the massive capacity of the V8 in cubic inches.

As a neat touch to celebrate the 20th anniversary of HSV, the show car has been painted in the same blue-silver metallic finish as the first Commodore to wear the HSV badge: the 1988 VL Group A, also known simply as "the Walkinshaw" in Holden shorthand. The production versions of the W427 are likely to be available in red, white, black and silver.

The W427 was also unveiled within days of the 20th anniversary of the company unveiling its first fast Commodore. HSV has come a long way in the past two decades, building more than 55,000 vehicles and refining the process over that time.

Needless to say the W427 is a proud moment in the company's history. HSV hasn't always got it right, which is why it has been so coy about this top-secret project.

The last time HSV tried to build a road-going supercar it had to be aborted at the 11th hour because the numbers didn't add up: the car was more expensive to build than the quoted retail price.

It was called the HRT427 (after the Holden Racing Team and the engine capacity), was based on the Holden Monaro and was the star of the 2002 Sydney motor show. Within days of its unveiling, HSV dealers took deposits and the cars were quickly snapped up. Once the final budget came in and HSV realised the project would have been prohibitively expensive, prospective buyers had their deposits refunded in full.

It left a bad taste with HSV's most loyal customers - and at the time senior HSV executives privately vowed the company would one day build a supercar. You could say five years of simmering tension and determination has created the W427.

Understandably, HSV has been a lot more careful this time around. It has a new boss, former Lexus and Toyota senior executive Scott Grant, who joined HSV a year ago - in the middle of decision-time for HSV's super sedan, which by then had already been under development for about a year.

"I wouldn't say it was teetering but it was not an approved program when I arrived," Grant told Drive. "We had built some test cars to try a few things out and there were some strong opinions around the table about whether or not we should build it."

However, that didn't stop some dealers taking deposits for a car that didn't exist. "We weren't happy about that. Some dealers were, literally, taking deposits based on speculation in the magazines. And that's what it was: pure speculation."

Last year HSV took the unusual step of sending a bulletin to its dealers advising them not to take deposits for the car. "The memo said, in effect, 'You may have seen reports about a high-power super sedan but no such program has been approved and we strongly advise you to not take deposits in relation to this car,"' Grant says.

In a bizarre twist, some motoring magazines used the evidence of customer deposits to substantiate their stories, when in fact the dealers were simply taking deposits based on what appeared in the magazines. It was a case of the blind leading the blind. HSV says selected dealers and potential buyers were advised at the same time.

"It's difficult to keep something like this under wraps but we specifically didn't tell dealers in case [the W427 project] didn't happen," Grant says. "We didn't want a repeat of what happened with the HRT427. So all the speculation you saw was just that."

In the coming months HSV will have a better idea how much the showroom version of the W427 will cost. The company is still doing its final sums, which explains the vague price range.

"The car is confirmed, it will be built, we are just finalising the price," Grant says.

The top-secret meeting in which the W427 finally got the tick of approval was held at HSV's Melbourne headquarters just days before last October's Sydney motor show. But HSV couldn't announce it at the time because the show car wasn't ready.

"We've been bursting at the seams trying not to say anything for the past few months but the extra time enabled us to go over the numbers again and again, and also unveil the car at the Melbourne motor show, the same event the first HSV road car was unveiled 20 years ago," Grant says.

He explains the HSV engineers had to overcome technical challenges as well as contain costs before the project got the green light. "It sounds simple enough to whack a whopping big V8 in it, but it is quite simply the biggest technical challenge we've ever undertaken as a company," he says.

The core components of HSV cars (such as the engine and drivetrain) are usually assembled on the Holden production line in Adelaide. The cars are then sent incomplete to HSV in Clayton, in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, where the finishing touches are added, such as wheels, brakes, suspension and specialist bodywork.

With the W427, HSV will perform engine transplants for the first time. Each car will be finished and finessed by hand. To handle the extra grunt, heavy-duty driveline components need to be fitted and a special oil-supply system installed. The W427 is capable of generating so much G-force in corners that the engine requires a system that force-feeds oil into the internals. It also gets a stronger six-speed manual gearbox and a stronger final drive gearset. And these are just some of the modifications to ensure the car is durable and reliable - and can be covered by a three-year, 100,000km warranty.

HSV expects the lengthy building process means only between four and six W427s can be built each week. "The important thing is that we got it over the line by overcoming each challenge [one at a time]," says Joel Stoddart, HSV's chief engineer who oversaw the project. "This is everything we've learned from V8 Supercar racing and building special vehicles and putting it in one car. This is our V8 Supercar heritage in a road-car package."

Mindful that not everyone will see the relevance of such a powerful car in the current climate, HSV has taken significant steps in improving the already highly regarded dynamics and safety of the car. Curtain airbags are standard (as is the case on all HSV sedans) and the W427 has the largest brakes ever fitted to a Holden. HSV had to design special wheels to accommodate the bigger calipers.

HSV will soon airfreight a test car to the automotive ice rinks of Sweden where the W427's sophisticated stability control system will be fine-tuned, the idea being there's nothing more slippery than ice, so if it can handle that it should have phenomenal grip on tarmac. As with many of its German peers, the top speed of the car is electronically limited to 250kmh, but the W427 is not about top speed in any case. It's about how fast it gets to the speed limit.

In expert hands, HSV claims it can sprint from rest to 100kmh in 4.7 seconds - on par with the world's fastest sedans.

In the hands of the company's boss Tom Walkinshaw during a recent test day, it comfortably clocked under five seconds. Translation: quick.

Some observers believe the W427 is understated given its performance - only the front bumper has been changed and there is a discreet rear wing. But HSV says that's because, in this price range, the W427 is competing with European thoroughbreds, known for their understated style.

HSV hasn't said how many it will build but it may limit the number to 427, a deft touch. Regardless of how many are made (they'll be built to order), the W427 - or whatever it's called - seems certain to be a future classic.

HSV W427 (2008)

Price Estimated between $140,000 and $170,000.

Engine 7.0-litre V8.

Power 370kW (preliminary).

Torque 640Nm (preliminary).

0 to 100kmh 4.7 seconds.

Production car likely called GTS-R or GTS-R 427. Four to six cars built a week. It has the biggest brakes ever fitted to a Holden. Due in showrooms in July.

HSV VL SS Group A (1988)

Price $45,000 when new.

Engine 4.9-litre V8

Power 180kW, 380Nm

0 to 100kmh 7 seconds.

This was the first product of the Walkinshaw-Holden marriage; 500 were built so the Commodore could compete under international Group A motorsport rules.To recoup the investment cost, Holden built another 250.

Corvette Z06: the heart of the matter

Price $US73,000.

Engine 7.0-litre V8.

Power 376kW.

0 to 100kmh 4 seconds.

The Z06 (above) is a high-performance version of the Corvette and it is this model's 7.0-litre V8 engine that will power the HSV W427. The Z06 is built only in left-hand-drive, so it's not sold in Australia other than through private importers who convert the car to right-hand-drive locally. The Z06 went on sale in the US in late 2005 and is almost twice the price of a regular Corvette. A newer, faster and more powerful Corvette, the ZR1, was unveiled at the Detroit motor show in January and is due on sale in the US by the end of this year. It is powered by a supercharged 6.2-litre V8. This engine was not considered for the HSV super sedan because it doesn't easily fit in the engine bay and it was deemed too expensive.

HRT 427: the one that got away

HSV unveiled a very special version of the Holden Monaro at the 2002 Sydney Motor Show called the HRT 427, taking its name from the Holden Racing Team and the capacity of the engine in cubic inches. It is fitted with a 7.0-litre V8, a roll cage and lightweight race-ready suspension components.

It was expected to sell for $215,000, more than twice the price of the most expensive Holden at the time, the $96,500 HSV GTS Coupe, despite lacking such luxuries as air-conditioning and a radio. The response was so overwhelming that in February 2003, five months after it was unveiled, HSV confirmed the HRT 427 would be built. Only 50 were to be made, even though there were 86 orders and another 100 or so serious expressions of interest.

Four months after confirming it would go into production, HSV left those in the queue disappointed when it realised that the investment costs would not be recovered by 50 sales. Dealers refunded the deposits - including interest - and HSV took its most loyal customers on a harbour cruise and a VIP trip to the Bathurst 1000.

The show car is on display at Holden's head office but the HRT 427 prototype HSV built for testing was sold two years ago to a persistent buyer in Sydney. That car has since come up for sale at a Sydney prestige car dealership with an asking price of close to $1 million.

THE COMPETITION

Mercedes-Benz E63

Price $227,600.

Engine 6.2-litre V8.

Power 378kW.

0 to 100kmh 4.5 seconds.

AMG is to Mercedes-Benz what HSV is to Holden and it makes a range of fast cars. The closest in size and philosophy to the HSV W427 is the Mercedes E-Class performance sedan. A supercharged 5.4-litre V8 version, the E55, was released locally in November 2002 but in October 2006 Mercedes replaced it with the E63, which is powered by a 6.2-litre V8 with a new seven-speed automatic transmission. It delivers Porsche performance in a comfortable five-seat sedan and is quicker in a straight line than the BMW M5.

BMW M5

Price $231,500.

Engine 5.0-litre V10.

Power 373kW.

0 to 100kmh 4.7 seconds.

The first M5, powered by a 5.0-litre V8, went on sale in Australia in March 1999. But the latest model arrived in June 2005, powered by a 5.0-litre V10 that borrowed heavily from the company's involvement in formula one. The first M5 came with a six-speed manual transmission; the latest model has a robotised seven-speed manual which is better suited to racetracks than stop-start driving. The new M5 has two horsepower settings - fast and very fast - but the car can be temperamental. Some testers both here and overseas have experienced overheated clutches after repeated fast starts and in some cases the M5 had to be towed away.

Audi RS6

Price $250,000 (estimated).

Engine 5.0-litre twin turbo V10.

Power 427kW.

0 to 100kmh 4.6 seconds.

The first-generation Audi RS6 went on sale in Australia in October 2003 and was available as a sedan or wagon priced between $220,000 and $225,000. It was powered by a twin- turbocharged 4.2-litre V8 and came with a five-speed automatic transmission with sports shift. It was discontinued in Australia in January 2005. A new model, powered by a thumping twin-turbo V10, promises to challenge the German competition. It's due on sale in Europe in April and should be in Australian showrooms in August.

© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald

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