Holden Special Vehicles has released details of a new, 20” forged option wheel to be available on its E3 range.

The new SV Performance Forged wheel comes in a “dark stainless” finish and features the premium “SV” logo etched into the wheel spoke.

Keen HSV enthusiasts may recognise the wheel from the recently launched SV Black Edition models, where the wheel was standard fitment but in a gloss black finish.

The new SV Performance Forged wheel comes in an 8.5” front and 9.5” rear sizing and has been designed to be available as an option on all HSV models (excluding the SV Black Edition). It will also be compatible with the 6-piston brake package available on the GTS. (more…)

Holden Special Vehicles has released details and announced pricing of its new SV Black Edition.

Based on the E Series 3 range, the SV Black Edition will be available in ClubSport R8 and Maloo R8 guise. The package will see cosmetic upgrades and cost a few thousand dollars over the regular prices.

The “darkness” of this Black Edition starts with the exterior, where matte black paintouts on the front and sides combine with the “Vector” bonnet scoops. The Clubsport R8 also receives a bootlid spoiler.

All SV Black Edition vehicles will be dressed up with, twenty inch forged and staggered SV Performance alloy wheel finished in gloss black. The limited edition Clubsport R8 also get HSV’s performance suspension, as well as HSV’s Bi-Modal exhaust. Under the bonnet it’s business as usual with HSV’s 317 kilowatt, 6.2 litre, LS3, Generation 4 V8 engine.

The interior features a unique finish on the console, instrument panel and steering wheel while special edition sill plates, Onyx leather trim, matte black badging and a subtle lip spoiler on the ClubSport R8 complete the package. A unique build plate is also fitted to every vehicle. (more…)

Tom Walkinshaw, owner of the Holden Racing Team (HRT) and a career veteran in racing and performance car circles, died yesterday at the age of 64 of lung cancer.

Scottish-born Walkinshaw packed a wide variety of accomplishments into his lifetime and his racing history included a career as an F1 team manager and owner at Benetton and Arrows, along with time spent as a driver in Formula 2, Le Mans and in touring car championships. He was also the owner of English rugby club Gloucester.

In Australia, Walkinshaw was heavily involved in local motorsport and his exploits included a Jaguar-sponsored assault on the Bathurst 1000, the birth of Holden Special Vehicles in 1987, the creation of the Holden Racing Team (HRT) in 1988 and a swag of V8 Supercar titles.

Holden Chairman and Managing Director Mike Devereux today paid tribute to Holden Special Vehicles and Holden Racing Team owner and founder Walkinshaw in saying, “On behalf of the men and women at Holden, I’d like to extend our deepest sympathies to Tom’s family, friends and co-workers across the world. For more than 20 years Tom’s pursuit of excellence helped forge our brand’s reputation as a performance leader both on and off the track through the creation of Holden Special Vehicles and the Holden Racing Team. From the original 1988 Group A Commodore that will forever be known as a “Walkinshaw” to the extraordinary W427 20 years later, Tom’s work was truly iconic. His contribution not only to Holden, but the automotive industry is legendary and will never be forgotten.”

Holden Special Vehicles over in Aussie has confirmed that it will be adding a 4-cylinder turbocharged model to sit along side the beefy V8s in its range.

After discontinuing the Astra-based VXR, HSV currently has no models smaller than the Commodore and has decided to develop the Holden Cruze platform for much increased performance.

HSV’s big cheese Phil Harding confirmed that the company was investigating adding a performance-tuned Cruze to its line-up, but he wouldn’t offer any solid technical details on the forthcoming model.

Rumours are that HSV’s Cruze will be based on the locally-built model that’s set to enter production at Holden’s South Australian plant in 2010.

What isn’t known is if HSV’s small car offering will be based on the sedan or hatchback version of the Cruze (both of which will be built in Australia), but the sedan’s greater structural rigidity may see it go ahead. The hatchback (pictured in Chevrolet form), however, may look sharper and be more direct replacement for the now-discontinued Astra VXR.

In terms of engine and power there’s no official word yet but HSV is likely to draw from one of GM’s new breed of small-displacement direct-injection turbocharged engines, ranging from a 104kW 1.4-litre to a 200kW 2.0-litre. The Delta-platformed Astra VXR utilises a turbocharged 2.0 litre inline four developing 177kW, so there’s plenty of potential for decent power.

Suspension will be modified to improve handling, but HSV could stay with the Cruze’s rear beam axle set-up or shift to the Euro-market Astra’s independent rear suspension.

Styling will naturally be injected with more excitement for HSV’s Cruze, with new bumpers, larger wheels and body kits making it stand out.

A launch date hasn’t been announced, but with Australian production of the Holden Cruze scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2010, HSV’s small car may make an appearance mid to late next year.

Click here to read a Car and SUV review of the HSV VXR.

Click here to read a Car and SUV review of the Holden Cruze Sedan.

Holden Special Vehicles has announced a special Limited Edition 20 Years of Maloo R8 to celebrate the 20th birthday of the iconic Aussie ute.

Since its launch at the Sydney Motor Show in October 1990 the HSV Maloo nameplate has proved popular for ute enthusiasts on both sides of the ditch.

Recently the Maloo received modern features like launch control, competition mode ESC, and Daytime Running Lamps when HSV’s E2 Maloo R8 was released.

HSV is looking to continue this tradition of pushing the boundaries for utility vehicles with the 20 Years of Maloo R8.

The special edition Maloo will be available in only 100 units and will have such features as Vector E-vents and bonnet scoops, 20 inch black alloys, and a bi-modal exhaust system. It will also showcase the brand’s latest technical developments, including the new Enhanced Driver Interface system, Side Blind Zone Alert, a rear park assist with reverse camera and satellite navigation.

Prices for the 20 Years of Maloo R8 will begin at $67,900 AUD for the manual.

The 20 Years of Maloo R8 is due to make its first public showing at the Deni Ute Muster in Australia this October, and will begin arriving in showrooms around the same time. Expect a few to make it across to NZ so if you’re interested get in touch with your local HSV/Holden dealer.

Just a few days after the launch of the new 2011 Grange, Holden Special Vehicles has gone a step further and announced details of its entire 2011 HSV E-Series 3 range.

The HSV range received styling upgrades last year with the arrival of the E-Series 2 vehicles, the new E-Series 3 range focuses more on technical and interior upgrades.

The new line-up consists of the ClubSport R8, ClubSport R8 Tourer, Maloo R8, Senator Signature, Grange and GTS. There is no longer a place for the entry-level GXP vehicle and there’s no plans for a new entry-level model in the future.

So what’s new for the HSV E Series 3?

Leading the highlight list are three brand new HSV technologies;

-      HSV’s new Enhanced Driver Interface (EDI), which streams vehicle performance data directly to the new touch screen display.
-      Liquid Propane Injection (LPI) is the first system of its kind on an Australian production car, and is available as an option on all models, except for the Clubsport R8 Tourer.
-      HSV’s new Side Blind Zone Alert (SBZA) will be available as an option on every model in the E3 range — and is standard on the Grange.

In addition to technological innovation, HSV has added a significant set of unique interior updates to the E Series 3, including;

-      New ‘Oracle’ dash
-      New model specific stainless steel ID plate on the centre console
-      New twin-stitch seat trims on GTS and Senator Signature, as well as a new leather colour in Turismo Rosso.
-      New binnacle gauges
-      Piano black trim on the centre console and steering wheel
(more…)

Holden Special Vehicles will launch a more powerful, re-styled new Grange (WM3) with a host of new technology as part of its MY11 range of model upgrades inspired by the company’s E-Series 2 line-up (read news).

The Grange was first included in HSV’s line-up in 1997, and has been the company’s luxury flagship ever since. It’s received a host of upgrades including more power, updated equipment and refreshed styling.

Visually, the updated Grange follows its HSV stablemates, with a new look both front and rear. Like the rest of the HSV line-up, the updated Grange also gets LED daytime running lights at each end of the front bumper.

Julian Quincey, HSV Chief of Design and Styling, believes the new-look Grange will appeal to more buyers. “We have made the Grange a more dynamic looking car, and the update delivers greater on-road presence,” he said. “It definitely still retains the classy appearance and proportions that you expect from a luxury performance car; however, we have added a few more masculine-looking details like the DRL’s and the shockwave inspired exhaust tips.”

Inside, the new Grange features the all-new Enhanced Driver Interface (EDI); an intuitive touch-screen display that provides info on vehicle dynamics, economy and performance. The 2011 Grange is the first HSV model to feature the new EDI system.

Tim Jackson, HSV’s General Manager of Marketing believes this feature will be perfect for the HSV customer.

“EDI is for the driving enthusiast. For the first time our customers will have real-time information including G force, power & torque, accelerator and brake position, and stability control data — all at the driver’s fingertips,” he said. “For the real enthusiast they can even download their data to a USB memory stick and analyse it on their laptop.”

Operated through a touch-screen display, HSV’s EDI system offers a total of 11 different functions, allowing drivers to tap into the car’s computer and monitor fuel consumption, stability, g-force and various vehicle dynamics.

Perhaps most appealing to track enthusiasts is the race screen, which utilises GPS technology to log and display a driver’s ability on the race track, including lap times, fastest laps, and lap gain and loss.

HSV has yet to reveal when the EDI system will make its way to the rest of its range, but it should be included in the rest of the range over the next year.

Under the bonnet on the 2011 Grange is HSV’s GM-provided 6.2 litre LS3 V8, now producing 325kW and 550Nm of torque. This high-spec powerplant is only fitted to the Grange and the GTS models.

The refreshed Grange will also be made available with HSV’s new optional LPI technology, which allows the engine to operate on both LPG and regular unleaded petrol.

HSV says its LPI system offers improvements in running costs and emissions outputs of up to 15 percent, while not lessening the LS3 engine’s power and torque figures.

Check out images of the new Grange and HSV’s EDI system in the gallery below. (more…)

Holden Special Vehicles, has launched a limited edition model to help celebrate 20 years of its most successful nameplate — the ClubSport.

The ClubSport brand first appeared as a permanent fixture within the HSV range back in June of 1990 as a VN HSV ClubSport. Featuring a 5.0 litre engine boasting 180kW and 400Nm of torque – only 410 VN series ClubSports were built. From those beginnings the model has evolved today to become the highest selling vehicle in the HSV line-up.

General Manager of Marketing and Communications, Tim Jackson, said this milestone was worthy of celebration for the company. ”If we step back 20 years to 1990, this really was a watershed year for the HSV brand. Not only did we introduce our first ClubSport model in June but 1990 also represented our first Bathurst victory with the Holden Racing Team, who are also celebrating 20 years of success this year. The ClubSport has such great history and meaning within our business, and it has always been our purists vehicle – bringing track focused performance and handling to a road vehicle.”

The 20 Years of ClubSport model will receive as standard HSV’s performance suspension, 20 inch Pentagon wheels in Millennium silver and leather seats for no additional cost.

It will be identifiable by a unique decal on the rear window, which the HSV enthusiast will recognise as a modern iteration of the original VN “CS ClubSport” badge, to commemorate the anniversary of the model.

General Manager of Sales, Darren Bowler, said he expected the car to be well received within the HSV Dealer network and among HSV’s customer base. “With this level of value add at no additional cost we anticipate the 100 vehicles will move very quickly and good luck to the person who manages to grab No.1 in the model build.”

The 100 limited edition 20 Years of ClubSport models will start appearing in HSV Dealers from late June. The vehicle will come with an RRP of $66,690 AUS  for manual and $68,690 AUS for automatic.

Check out some facts on the HSV Clubsport below and to find out more about the 20 Years of Clubsport model contact your local HSV dealer or click here to visit the HSV NZ website.

Click here to read a Car and SUV road test of the 2009 HSV R8 Tourer.

HSV ClubSport Fast Facts:

¢    The ClubSport model has been exported to both the UK and the Middle East markets.
¢    The best build year for ClubSport was 2003 with over 2200 being built.
¢    When the first ClubSport went on sale (VN), its RRP was $33,320 (man) and $34,140 (auto), and a total of 410 were built. Its engine was a 4987cc V8 producing 180kw & 400Nm.
¢    The ClubSport model has had four different engine variants over its lifespan including the original 5.0 litre then the 5.7 litre LS1, 6.0 litre LS2 and the current 6.2 litre LS3.