Holden Special Vehicles W427 launched

[Darren]

Holden Special Vehicles have officially unveiled Australia's true world-beater, the HSV W427.

The W427, which had the covers taken off earlier this year at the Melbourne Motorshow in 'showcar’ format, is now in production. Sales of the seven litre 375kW 'Supercar’ have begun in Australia.

HSV’s Managing Director Scott Grant said the car demonstrated engineering and design ingenuity was alive and well in the Australian car industry.

“The story around the development of this car is quite remarkable,” Scott Grant said.

“We are proud to have produced a vehicle of these proportions and are confident the public response to the W427 proves there is a strong future for luxury and performance vehicles in this country.”

The W427 nameplate is a tribute to the first Holden Special Vehicle – the Group A SS VL Commodore, produced just over 20 years ago. This car became known as the 'Walkinshaw’ in deference to the owner of the HSV business, Tom Walkinshaw, while '427’ is the cubic inch capacity of the engine.

Hand built by the General Motors Performance Build Centre in North America, the Chevrolet seven litre engine graces only two production vehicles anywhere in the world – the Corvette Z06 and now Australia’s own HSV W427.

The W427 produces 375kW of power (500 horsepower on the old scale) and 640Nm of torque, which required an extensive engineering program for the car, including all new clutch, gearbox, differential and exhaust, which will be fitted at HSV’s Clayton production facility.

“We have spent two years developing and testing this car and are really proud of the end result,” said HSV’s Engineering Manager, Joel Stoddart.

“It’s the car HSV has always wanted to build and the VE platform gave us the confidence to push the boundaries.

“The W427 has a new six piston front braking system, six airbags, ABS and Electronic Stability Control.

Like all HSV’s the W427 will carry a full three year,100,000km warranty.

HSV’s design team, led by Julian Quincey, have also left a distinctive mark on the final product.

“The design brief for the W427 was to create a unique face for HSV, one that would signal the cars immense capability, authority and power,” Quincey said.

“The W427 is the flagship for the whole HSV range and we wanted to emphasise the hand built qualities of this car.

“We believe we have achieved this with a range of design features including the imposing front face – which emphasises the need for cooling air for the seven litre engine, to the effective and functional three piece design rear lip spoiler, made of carbon fibre to keep weight to a minimum,” he said.

The W427 wheels and graphic are the work of Adam Dean Smith, a former Wheels Young Designer of the Year.

The feature a 'castellated’ design graphic, also picked up on the exhaust tips.

HSV have confirmed that no more than 427 W427s will ever be built, with 90 vehicles to be built in 2008.

The price, inclusive of the new Luxury Car Tax regime, will be $155,500.

Darren Bowler, HSV’s General Manager of Sales and Marketing said that each purchase of a HSV W427 will be accompanied by a special customer program designed to offer an insight into the craftsmanship that goes into the building of each and every vehicle.

“Every customer will have the opportunity to book into an exclusive VIP tour of Holden Special Vehicles Clayton based production facility, to observe the W427 build process,” he said.

“We’ve established and themed a dedicated viewing station for the W427 build bays on the factory floor.”

Transfers to Clayton will be at the owner’s expense and are only available to purchasers of a W427.

Customers will also receive a personally signed letter from Tom Walkinshaw along with a unique vehicle build certificate. A Customer Access Portal, containing build information, servicing details and other information on the history of their car will also form part of the ownership experience.

HSV W427 owners will receive extra protection on their purchase with the inclusion of a new upgraded version of the world famous DataDots DNA anti-theft technology.

Known as DataDots DNA 'Platinum’, incorporating the latest encrypting 'nano’ technology to authenticate genuine HSV components as well as the core vehicle.

Holden Special Vehicles W427 will be Australia’s first car company to offer this upgraded security feature.

All 90 cars being built in 2008 have been pre-sold.

Source - HSV Media.

[88GreenVN]

All 90 2008 production sold already - Bugga me that was quick.

[klaw81]

Another collector's item that no doubt will become very valuable in 20 years time...maybe some of them will even get driven every now and then.

In the meantime, we can all gaze in wonder at how they managed to make it so damn ugly, and why 500hp is all they can get out of a 7-litre engine. Pretty weak effort, and a typical yobbo (redneck?) approach to power gains - just make the engine bigger and bigger.

We got the 5.7L in 1998, and now in 2008 we have the 7.0L, does this mean by 2018 we will have an 8.3L motor? They might manage to get 600hp out of that one.

[88GreenVN]

Another collector's item that no doubt will become very valuable in 20 years time...maybe some of them will even get driven every now and then.

In the meantime, we can all gaze in wonder at how they managed to make it so damn ugly, and why 500hp is all they can get out of a 7-litre engine. Pretty weak effort, and a typical yobbo (redneck?) approach to power gains - just make the engine bigger and bigger.

We got the 5.7L in 1998, and now in 2008 we have the 7.0L, does this mean by 2018 we will have an 8.3L motor? They might manage to get 600hp out of that one.

They are just leaving a bit of power for the next model in a few years time. They never give all that it has on the first release.

Example the 5.0 L VN at 165KW standard and the HSV got 180 KW. Identical engine but for the tune.

[VT-565]

We got the 5.7L in 1998, and now in 2008 we have the 7.0L, does this mean by 2018 we will have an 8.3L motor? They might manage to get 600hp out of that one.

I got 1000hp out of 9.2 litres, am I a redneck?

[88GreenVN]

I got 1000hp out of 9.2 litres, am I a redneck?

Does it have 18 wheels

[UNKNOWN]

**** poor effort from GMH....

Why didnt they just use this....

Corvette Z06 features include:

LS7 7.0-litre (427 cubic-inch) Gen IV V8 engine
373kW (505hp) @ 6300rpm
657 Nm of torque (470 lb.-ft.) @ 4800rpm
6-speed manual transmission
7000rpm redline

[azkwazere]

**** poor effort from GMH....

**** poor effort from HSV!

aZk.

[UNKNOWN]

**** poor effort from HSV!

aZk.

Ahh, yes. Thanks for the correction. HSV! That makes it worse!!!

[klaw81]

I got 1000hp out of 9.2 litres, am I a redneck?

For a naturally aspirated performance car, 100hp per litre is good and 100kW per litre is excellent. So no, you're not a redneck, you're just crazy if you drive that on the road

@ 88GreenVN : They can keep some power in reserve if they want, but 500hp from 7.0L is ****-poor. They should be able to get another 100-150hp from that motor at least - not that GMH did any engine design, they just bought the motor from the Seppos. Maybe they could afford the big motor but not the cost of a 700hp capable driveline to go with it, at least not with a 3-year warranty.

And I don't care how fast it is, it's still fugly. Unless you're a collector, you'd have to be nuts to buy a $160k Holden. Spend the same on a Nissan GTR and you've got a genuine supercar killer, on or off track - Porsches beware!

[88GreenVN]

For a naturally aspirated performance car, 100hp per litre is good and 100kW per litre is excellent. So no, you're not a redneck, you're just crazy if you drive that on the road

@ 88GreenVN : They can keep some power in reserve if they want, but 500hp from 7.0L is ****-poor. They should be able to get another 100-150hp from that motor at least - not that GMH did any engine design, they just bought the motor from the Seppos. Maybe they could afford the big motor but not the cost of a 700hp capable driveline to go with it, at least not with a 3-year warranty.

And I don't care how fast it is, it's still fugly. Unless you're a collector, you'd have to be nuts to buy a $160k Holden. Spend the same on a Nissan GTR and you've got a genuine supercar killer, on or off track - Porsches beware!

Yourve nailed it there with the 3 year warranty/drive line. And do you really need more power to make people buy it - well for the first 90 cars - No because they have sold them already.

If sales slip a bit then Ver 2 may have 10 or 20 kws more.

[Reaper]

Some of the knockers on here make me shake my head at times. HSV have built the fastest sedan Australia has ever seen and the best some can say is it's a **** poor effort???

Reaper

[immortality]

the LS7 is still a large factory produced engine with tolerances to suit. do a decent rebuild with some blueprinting and you'll make that extra 100hp easy. it's not so much the factory power figure you gotta look at but the future potential this engine has, and this one has plenty

if outright poewr was the goal HSV woulda used the LS9 likethe new 'vette

[klaw81]

Some of the knockers on here make me shake my head at times. HSV have built the fastest sedan Australia has ever seen and the best some can say is it's a **** poor effort???
Reaper

It may be the fastest production sedan (in a straight line) that has been assembled in Australia, but they've done it by bolting an inefficient, imported truck motor into a tarted-up Commodore. Whoopee - people have been doing that for ages, you can see old Holdens with truck motors at any drag strip you care to visit. The only difference is that Holden put a warranty on theirs, and tarted it up with the ugliest bodykit since the GTS-R.

Being assembled in Australia doesn't excuse it for not being competitive in a global market. There's absolutely nothing remarkable or revolutionary about this car, it's just the latest evolution of a Yankee tradition of making every car "better" by bolting in a bigger motor and fitting an outlandish bodykit.

I'll give Holden some credit when they demonstrate they can do something clever and ingenius on their own, rather than raiding a US parts bin for go-fast bits and plastic.

[Reaper]

It may be the fastest production sedan (in a straight line) that has been assembled in Australia, but they've done it by bolting an inefficient, imported truck motor into a tarted-up Commodore. Whoopee - people have been doing that for ages, you can see old Holdens with truck motors at any drag strip you care to visit. The only difference is that Holden put a warranty on theirs, and tarted it up with the ugliest bodykit since the GTS-R.

Being assembled in Australia doesn't excuse it for not being competitive in a global market. There's absolutely nothing remarkable or revolutionary about this car, it's just the latest evolution of a Yankee tradition of making every car "better" by bolting in a bigger motor and fitting an outlandish bodykit.

I'll give Holden some credit when they demonstrate they can do something clever and ingenius on their own, rather than raiding a US parts bin for go-fast bits and plastic.

???? What rock have you been hiding under??? They sell more commodores overseas than they do here (from memory). Seems pretty competitive to me!

Reaper

[klaw81]

I clearly didn't mean "competitive" in the sense of global market share of worldwide sedan sales (not that the Commodore would even get into the top 50 ). I meant "competitive" in terms of design innovation or efficiency. Compared to what's happening elsewhere in the world, this car is a giant leap backwards.

I don't mean to be slinging off at Holden in general, I'm just disappointed that a flagship car like the W427 is such a redneck meathead yobbo car. I'm sure it will be fast, and will probably be a valuable collector's item eventually...if the collector happens to be blind.

[Calaber]

Have to agree with Klaw. Just what relevance to today's motoring scene does this car have?

And why does it need to have a 427? Why isn't HSV satisfied with a 6 litre engine - how much power do these cars need?

Now I'll sit back and wait for the flak.

[cxcxcxvcvcvc]

Have to agree with Klaw. Just what relevance to today's motoring scene does this car have?

And why does it need to have a 427? Why isn't HSV satisfied with a 6 litre engine - how much power do these cars need?

Now I'll sit back and wait for the flak.

True, it would be nice to see them go back to a 5.7 with a factory supercharged setup or even a single turbo setup, now that would be a little different! i mean holden needs to rethink about the complete design of their engines and drive train all together! as much as the boss motor in the fords is a boat anchor, @ least ford tried to smash the mould and bring something a little newer to the table! and the same as with the jap cars i mean love em or hate em but most of the jap cars out there are miles ahead in technology than the new holden motors/cars!

[STEALTHY™]

And I don't care how fast it is, it's still fugly. Unless you're a collector, you'd have to be nuts to buy a $160k Holden. Spend the same on a Nissan GTR and you've got a genuine supercar killer, on or off track - Porsches beware!

You say its fugly, then you mention the new GTR. Now THAT is a fugly car.

Give me $160,000 and i'll eat your GTR with a boat anchor (VN)

[Kruza]

You say its fugly, then you mention the new GTR. Now THAT is a fugly car.

Give me $160,000 and i'll eat your GTR with a boat anchor (VN)

^^^^^ill give u an extra 100 points for that remark stealthy.....i agree with ya there!!!

just seen the news, and i want to have 4 here in my driveway
$155g , well, its only money for some, but its a piece of GMH/HSV hi-po machinery for yrs to come!!!!!

looks like there wont be many left for sale by the end of the yr i reckon...
let alone by june next yr..

[klaw81]

You say its fugly, then you mention the new GTR. Now THAT is a fugly car.

Give me $160,000 and i'll eat your GTR with a boat anchor (VN)

You say the GTR is fugly and then you mention a VN.....

Ok ok, it was a cheap shot.

I guess I'm not so blinkered that I can't see past whatever fare the golden boys at HSV are dishing up. I know there are lots of better cars out there, and I'm not afraid to look at the W427 in the harsh light of day and see it's a totally irrelevant, irrational, yobbo redneck chariot with a leather interior.

I'm sure it will sell quite well - there are a lot of redneck yobbos out there.

[minux]

Some of the knockers on here make me shake my head at times. HSV have built the fastest sedan Australia has ever seen and the best some can say is it's a **** poor effort???

Reaper

It is a **** poor effort, 0-100 in 4.7 seconds? Yippeee, nothing a tuned LS1 wont munch, how is it worth 155k? Dry Sump setup with a monstrous engine? Yay how exciting. It is just a GTS with a bigger engine. The car looks bland, over priced and fuel economy well, 17 litres per 100? Thats pathetic. This car is priced at double what a BMW M5 is actually worth in AU dollars anywhere else in the world, A DB9 can be bought in real world terms at less than the price of this car. The W427 has NOTHING special about it, sure it is expensive but so are many other cars.
If i had to part with that much coin, I'd certainly go the NEW V Spec R35.

Australian government needs to stop propping the **** out of Australian Manufactuers here, we get ripped big time because Ford and Holden cannot make competitivley priced cars. Christ imagine how great it would be to pay the real world price of 32k for a petrol or diesel 3 series BMW. Thats what everyone oelse ont he plant pays for them...except Australia

[VT-565]

Does it have 18 wheels

It's got no wheels at the moment, rendering the power useless lol
But it will have 4 when it hits the track.
It's not a street car, by the way

[klaw81]

This car is priced at double what a BMW M5 is actually worth in AU dollars anywhere else in the world, A DB9 can be bought in real world terms at less than the price of this car. The W427 has NOTHING special about it...

Hooray, someone else who won't blindly follow wherever the lion badge leads them. In fact, this car is the Australian version of the M5....and what a poor substitute it is.

If you must have a fast Commodore, buy a Clubsport - give it an exhaust and a good tune and you'll have the performance of the W427, but without the awful styling and inefficiencies, for half the price. Or, if you're actually into genuinely cars, get a GTR and thrash seven shades of hell out of any W427 / Ferrrari / Porsche you happen to see.

[stocky]

worst seats ever