Is a brand new HSV with 470kW on tap too good to be true? Read on and find out.

My first thought when I was told Ebbett Holden was selling Walkinshaw Performance-enhanced 470kW HSVs off the showroom floor was: “Who’s inflated dyno figures are those?” How wrong I was. I can happily comfirm that claim as being true.

Four hundred and seventy kilowatts is a whole lot of power in anyone’s language. Most car enthusiasts dream of owning something with that much grunt, or spend years building one. Now, thanks to Australian company Walkinshaw Performance and its New Zealand agent, Ebbett Holden, it’s available to anyone with the cash.

As Holden just released the most powerful Aussie production supercar yet, the HSV W427, there is a bit of confusion between this Walkinshaw and that, as the W in W427 also stands for Walkinshaw. While from all accounts the W427 is an amazing car, it retails for $199,000 and produces 370kW from its naturally aspirated 7.0-litre (427ci) LS7.

This Walkinshaw, dubbed the WP470, started life as an HSV Clubsport R8, with a 6.2-litre 317kW LS3 engine. Stock standard, the R8 retails for $80,000. As featured here the asking price is $120,000, but the added cost is well worth the money.
Although the Walkinshaw performance upgrades Ebbett is offering are as yet relatively unknown, the Walkinshaw brand is synonymous with high-performance Holdens. Usually any type of aftermarket performance enhancements would void a new vehicle warranty, and in a way they do. HSV’s warranty is long gone, but Ebbett and Walkinshaw are so confident in their products that they will include a factory-style warranty in the purchase price of a Walkinshaw vehicle.

What’s Different?

It’s possible to spec any new Holden or HSV with Walkinshaw parts, but to keep it simple we will focus on the WP470, which we were lucky (make that very lucky) to have the pleasure of driving for a few days. Nestled in the valley of the LS3 is a Harrop 122 supercharger and water-to-air intercooler, which is responsible for a large chunk of the 150-odd-kW power increase over factory. Rather than just slapping on the blower and hoping for the best, the vehicle’s fuel system is also upgraded, and the ECU reflashed to suit. The ECU tweak in itself is worth a good chunk of power in these cars, and when combined with the blower, the potential is huge. Due to higher flowing heads, the 6.2-litre LS3s show great results when blown compared to the 6.0-litre LS6 the HSV vehicles came with until recently. Reportedly, the same package on a 6.0-litre is still good for around 420kW, so don’t bee too disappointed if you own one and want some Walkinshaw goodies.

The supercharger pumps 8.6psi of air through the motor, and when you combine that with the 10.7:1 compression ratio of the LS3, you soon see why the power comes on like a switch.
What surprised me was that the car still runs stock headers. No doubt even more power could be unleashed if these were replaced with higher flowing tubes. From the cats back the exhaust is all Walkinshaw though, and despite the power produced, it is remarkably quiet. Or perhaps it was just that the whine of the blower up front is so prominent, you forget about the noise from the car’s rear.

The six-speed manual gearbox has been mated to an aftemarket clutch to handle the added torque the supercharger provides, which is none too shabby at nearly 800Nm. How long the gearbox would last, I’m not too sure. The wise option would be to fit a Corvette-sourced T6060 if the box ever did decide it didn’t like the pressure any more.

Rather than just throw huge power at the standard brakes and suspension, the stock four-pot front brake callipers, which are generally regarded as huge, have been replaced with larger six-pot items. The stock rotors remain, and that’s not a bad thing as they are 365x32mm from the HSV factory.

The reason these cars are built on Clubsport R8s rather than the higher spec GTS model is that the GTS has magnetic ride control suspension, which makes changing it a little awkward. The R8 has no problem being fitted with lower and firmer springs, and that’s exactly what’s been done here. Not only are the Walkinshaw springs 30mm lower than stock, they are also marginally firmer.

This article is from NZV8 issue 45. Click here to check it out.

Visually, the Walkinshaw stands out from anything else on the road thanks to the bonnet scoop, reminiscent of that found on the original 1987 Group A ‘Walkinshaw’ VL Holden. The rear wing has also been colour-matched to suit the scoop, and aerodynamic spotlight covers are fitted to the bumper.

The trained eye will pick the differences, and the Walkinshaw graphics adorning the vehicle will alert fans that this car is something special. Failing that, the 470 badge which sits where the 317 item used to be gives the game away completely.

Part of the extra $40,000 this car commands over the standard item is no doubt due to the stunning leather retrimmed interior. Retro Auto Trimmers in Auckland has done a fantastic job of not only the seats, but also the doors and centre console.

On The Road

The most impressive thing about this car is not the list of parts, but the way it drives. It’s without a doubt the most fun point-to-point car I have ever driven. In any gear, even the slightest press of the throttle brings about that supercharger whine and presses you back into the seat. I can imagine the addictiveness of the vehicle’s acceleration would lead to many demerit points, as the faster the car goes, the faster it seems to want to go. The legal speed limit easily passes by unnoticed, as the power makes moving the vehicle’s 1800kg so effortless. 
Despite the clutch being an aftermarket heavy duty item, it was as simple to operate as the factory one, and around town the car drove as well as a standard R8. In fact, it used even less fuel than a stock one thanks to the hours of dyno tuning Walkinshaw did when creating these packages. On a trip from Auckland to Hamilton, I decided to just take it easy (that deserves a medal in itself with this car), and to my surprise we recorded a figure of 9.9l/100km. That’s substantially lower than a standard R8’s claim, which has a rated fuel consumption figure of 14.5l/100km.
In the twisty bits the car requires a lot of concentration — not because it drives badly but because it drives so damn good. Power out of a corner and before you know it you’re heading way too fast into the next.

Stomp the brakes and they pull you down, then do it all again. It’s a matter of swapping from pedal to pedal, there’s no in-between. That supercharger whine and huge amount of power prove too tempting to resist.

On cars fitted with 20-inch rims the tyres are often so low profile that, on country roads, vehicles can become skittery. This feeling wasn’t there with the Walkinshaw, although even on a good road you could feel the traction control struggling to keep the car moving from a standing start. The Holden and HSV engineers have done a great job building a chassis that can handle a 40-percent upgrade in power, yet still ride nicely even when pushed hard. I don’t have a spare $120k, so wasn’t about to find out what the car was like with the traction control switched off. In all truth, I don’t think that would enhance the car’s performance or the driving experience at all.

If I do ever have that much money to spend, I would be knocking on Ebbett Holden’s door so fast to get one it’s not funny. The reality is that this side of twice the asking price there really isn’t a brand-new car available that could compete with the WP470. It’s not just the huge amount of power the car produces, it’s how usable the power is that creates an unbeatable combination.

Words: Todd Wylie Photos: Adam Croy

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