The Carsales Network's magazine partner Wheels has gone front page with the story that HSV will (finally) launch its 'monster' model -- a 7.0-litre Corvette-engined VE. While you learned of the existence of such a model here first (more here), Wheels is the first entity to connect the hi-po Commie with HSV's 20th Anniversary. The Aussie motoring media should have taken the hint when HSV's founding managing director and current resident patriarch, John Crennan, decreed that HSV would leverage its 20th Anniversary "with some dramatic activities" at the recent WM Grange launch. However, while you can almost guarantee that JC has removed most remaining obstacles for the arrival of several ultimate HSV models to celebrate the birthday, Wheels may not have the full story.
Indeed, piecing together conversations with various HSV personnel over the last two years, the hottest-ever Commodore may have received the go ahead, but it is unlikely to arrive before 2009.
Why? Read on…
Having to drop the Monaro-based HRT427 after the real costs of bringing it to production were underestimated was a huge embarrassment for HSV -- especially with 'parent', Holden. This didn't kill HSV's desire to offer an exclusive performance model with race breeding. In fact, the exercise proved that such a market exists.
This elite level has always been separate to the mainstream HSV model range in the tradition of the original yellow GTS-R and the VTII GTS 300 with its special Callaway engine. In HSV consciousness, it represents a purist non-turbo, non-supercharged sportscar that would provide the foundations for endurance racing anywhere in the world as the original VTII GTS 300 continues to do in local production racing. Last year's special batch of VZ ClubSport R racecars for the Bahrain International Circuit race series and the Dealer Team Special version of the previous ClubSport have kept this racebred thread alive within HSV.
Now, the special LS7 engine as fitted to the Corvette Z06 with its dry-sump lubrication and titanium internals delivers HSV a ready-made opportunity to revive the HRT427 in spirit, if not in detail. And although there are several much cheaper options open to HSV to replicate LS7 performance levels, including supercharging, the purists within HSV do not see these forced induction lower-revving engines as true alternatives
That doesn't mean the mainstream HSV range won't benefit from the cheaper alternatives -- it will, sooner rather than later. But an LS7-powered model is seen by HSV as the entry to a new over-$100,000 market both here and abroad.
The biggest obstacle to date has been whether the HSV name and Commodore platform could support a pricetag beyond $125,000. The huge sales success of HSV's new E-series and the half-million dollar prices of used Australian musclecars would suggest that this concern may have faded. In this context, the timing of Crennan's decree is significant.
But before you start throwing cheques at HSV, significant practical issues still exist. Indeed, it's these that will likely keep the production 427 from making the 20th Anniversary party.
The main handbrake is dealing with the installation of the LS7 and its dry sump plumbing, oil tank and so on -- both in a packaging sense and as part of the normal production line processes at Holden's plant at Elizabeth. Although the V8 Supercar practice of locating the key components in the rear of the vehicle would appear to be a straightforward solution, such an installation is impractical in a road-going vehicle. It's unlikely the Elizabeth line would cope with the added production stages either.
The potential of building a wet sump LS7 is equally problematic -- even before the discussion of the costs involved in partially dismantling an engine that already costs at least three times that of the LS2.
Further, there is a question of a suitable transmission. The LS7 is currently mated to a six-speed manual transmission which though upgraded for the extra torque and power of the special engine, is normally fitted to a car (the Corvette Z06) that is approximately 600kg lighter than a similarly-equipped VE-based four-door. It is believed that this has always been one of the key obstacles for the LS7 project to reach fruition.
No one at HSV is saying whether there are any concerns over the Z06 Corvette's manual transmission's ability to cope with the extra weight of an HSV model, but durability testing and countermeasures would still be in relatively early days. It is also extremely unlikely that HSV has suddenly found a much easier and more cost-effective way of repackaging the dry sump engine lubrication under the VE bonnet over the last six months. However, what has changed is the extraordinary success of the E-series range which continues to break all HSV sales records. This in turn has generated extra funds and extra confidence that the market would pay a substantial premium for an exclusive dry-sumped LS7-engined GTS-R 427 model.
LS7 aside, Crennan's emphasis on "activities" (see above) suggests that cheaper, more powerful alternatives to the current range will also be on the 20th Anniversary agenda.
The most likely scenario is for HSV to test the waters at this October's Sydney Motor Show and mark the start of HSV's 20th Anniversary celebrations, then take orders for delivery into 2009.
Shades of HRT427… Certainly. Only this time HSV will make sure it knows exactly what it is going to take to get the car to market and at what price.
And what price a 400kW HSV supercharged model in the $80K region to take the shine off Ford's Orion XR range at the Melbourne Motor Show in March?
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