Holden's New Beast: Big, Pricey And Thirsty
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday June 21, 2008
AS THE cost of petrol races towards $2 a litre, Holden has confirmed the price of the fastest, thirstiest and most expensive car it has built.
The $150,000 limited edition Holden Special Vehicles sedan, due in showrooms in August, is more than twice the price of today's dearest Commodore.It is powered by a 7.0-litre V8 engine originally designed for the Chevrolet Corvette and Holden is trying to "get the economy down to 16 litres per 100 kilometres" - twice as much as a medium-sized family sedan. Despite fuel prices, Holden says there is strong demand for the car, called W427 - a reference to its engine capacity in cubic inches. When Ford announced it would axe the V8 Falcon in 1982, it built enough V8s to last two years - but sold out in six months. "We believe there is an element of people getting in before petrol runs out, or it becomes so insanely expensive they'll never be able to afford it," Scott Grant, of Holden Special Vehicles, said.When HSV owner and former race driver Tom Walkinshaw announced the price of the car to dealers yesterday, they were told they would initially be limited to one each. "We've had 1500 expressions of interest but we think there is a good chance the first batch will be sold out by the end of next week," Mr Walkinshaw said.A maximum of 427 cars will be made over the next three years, starting with 90 this year and 180 next year. The cars are hand finished and only six can be built each week. The super-sedan was built to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Holden's special vehicles division.
© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald