Holden gets green light from Detroit to built $165,000 Commodore with supercharged Corvette power
Holden gets green light from Detroit to build $165,000 Commodore with supercharged Corvette power
MAY 27, 201611:44AM
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The HSV GTS will form the basis of a new Holden supercar with Corvette power. Picture: Supplied.
Joshua Dowling
News Corp Australia Network
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TALK about going out with a bang!
Holden will build a Commodore with more power than a Lamborghini as a high octane farewell present before the Adelaide production line falls silent next year.
The fastest and most powerful Commodore ever made will also be the most expensive, expected to cost in excess of $165,000 almost twice the price of the dearest model on sale today.
It will be the last V8 sedan made locally, and the most powerful vehicle produced in more than 100 years of Australian car manufacturing.
Holden declined to comment on future model plans, however News Corp Australia can exclusively reveal General Motors in Detroit has finally given the green light to build a Commodore powered by the supercharged LS9 V8 from the Corvette ZR1.
The supercharged V8 from the Corvette ZR1 is heading for the Commodore. Picture: Supplied.
The supercharged V8 from the Corvette ZR1 is heading for the Commodore. Picture: Supplied.Source:News Limited
The swan song supercar will eclipse the power of the current Commodore flagship the Holden Special Vehicles GTS with performance that will outpace the latest Porsches and Ferraris.
It will only be available with a manual gearbox because the engine has too much power for an automatic.
With in excess of 600 horsepower (or 475kW in modern terms) the limited edition will have more grunt than a V8 Supercar racing machine.
Fewer than 250 are expected to be built, as there are only a limited number of these particular supercharged V8 engines available out of the US.
The heart of the matter: the LS9 supercharged V8 has more than 600 horsepower.
Holden dealers have been inundated with inquiries following speculation on internet forums but the project is so secret they too are in the dark.
Fan gossip says the car will be called GTS-R, a reference to a limited edition from 1996. But News Corp understands the new super sedan will have a unique name to reflect its exclusivity.
The supercar will be made by Holden Special Vehicles, a separate Melbourne-based firm that has been building Holdens performance models for 29 years after the breakup with racing legend Peter Brock.
HSV GTS will get a more powerful stablemate, but the name is still a mystery. Picture: Supplied.
Part of the reason the Holden supercar is so expensive is because it will be built in a partially complete form on the Adelaide production line with the supercharged engine and gearbox from the HSV GTS which will then be replaced by the LS9 V8 at HSV in Melbourne.
It is not the first time HSV has performed a heart transplant.
In 2008 the company replaced the donor Holden engine with a massive 7.0-litre V8 from a racing version of the Corvette; in the end 137 HSV W427 cars were built at a cost of $155,500 each. Production ended prematurely in 2009 as the Global Financial Crisis took hold.
With buyers holding out for the last locally made Commodores, Holden is confident the supercar will be an instant sellout especially as the imported Commodore due in 2018 will only have four-cylinder and V6 power.
Holden gets green light from Detroit to build $165,000 Commodore with supercharged Corvette power
MAY 27, 201611:44AM
50
The HSV GTS will form the basis of a new Holden supercar with Corvette power. Picture: Supplied.
Joshua Dowling
News Corp Australia Network
SHARE
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on Google+
Share on Reddit
Email a friend
TALK about going out with a bang!
Holden will build a Commodore with more power than a Lamborghini as a high octane farewell present before the Adelaide production line falls silent next year.
The fastest and most powerful Commodore ever made will also be the most expensive, expected to cost in excess of $165,000 almost twice the price of the dearest model on sale today.
It will be the last V8 sedan made locally, and the most powerful vehicle produced in more than 100 years of Australian car manufacturing.
Holden declined to comment on future model plans, however News Corp Australia can exclusively reveal General Motors in Detroit has finally given the green light to build a Commodore powered by the supercharged LS9 V8 from the Corvette ZR1.
The supercharged V8 from the Corvette ZR1 is heading for the Commodore. Picture: Supplied.
The supercharged V8 from the Corvette ZR1 is heading for the Commodore. Picture: Supplied.Source:News Limited
The swan song supercar will eclipse the power of the current Commodore flagship the Holden Special Vehicles GTS with performance that will outpace the latest Porsches and Ferraris.
It will only be available with a manual gearbox because the engine has too much power for an automatic.
With in excess of 600 horsepower (or 475kW in modern terms) the limited edition will have more grunt than a V8 Supercar racing machine.
Fewer than 250 are expected to be built, as there are only a limited number of these particular supercharged V8 engines available out of the US.
The heart of the matter: the LS9 supercharged V8 has more than 600 horsepower.
Holden dealers have been inundated with inquiries following speculation on internet forums but the project is so secret they too are in the dark.
Fan gossip says the car will be called GTS-R, a reference to a limited edition from 1996. But News Corp understands the new super sedan will have a unique name to reflect its exclusivity.
The supercar will be made by Holden Special Vehicles, a separate Melbourne-based firm that has been building Holdens performance models for 29 years after the breakup with racing legend Peter Brock.
HSV GTS will get a more powerful stablemate, but the name is still a mystery. Picture: Supplied.
Part of the reason the Holden supercar is so expensive is because it will be built in a partially complete form on the Adelaide production line with the supercharged engine and gearbox from the HSV GTS which will then be replaced by the LS9 V8 at HSV in Melbourne.
It is not the first time HSV has performed a heart transplant.
In 2008 the company replaced the donor Holden engine with a massive 7.0-litre V8 from a racing version of the Corvette; in the end 137 HSV W427 cars were built at a cost of $155,500 each. Production ended prematurely in 2009 as the Global Financial Crisis took hold.
With buyers holding out for the last locally made Commodores, Holden is confident the supercar will be an instant sellout especially as the imported Commodore due in 2018 will only have four-cylinder and V6 power.