In conjunction with the 2009 Melbourne Motor Show, HSV has announced the release of a special-edition Senator super-sedan. A less-expensive ( $69,990 AU – about $44,600 USD) alternative to the pricier, more lavishly-equipped Senator Signature ($80,500 AU – about $51,300 USD) that launched in 2006, the Senator will be limited to a total of just 89 cars. Thirty of these cars get manual transmissions; the rest will have automatics.

While the new Senator makes do without features such as the Magnetic Ride Control suspension found on the Senator Signature, the important part – the 6.2-liter LS3 V8 lump underhood – remains. It's good for 317 kilowatts (425 horsepower) and 550 Nm (405 lb-ft) of torque, which should be more than enough juice to generate a cloud of tire smoke visible from the moon.

Gallery: HSV Senator

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[Source: HSV]

Late last year Holden, the Australian arm of General Motors, announced it would be getting a new small sedan based on the global platform underpinning the Chevy Cruze. At the time, it was assumed that the Holden would feature revised sheetmetal and possibly a new name, but now that the wraps are off, it's clear that the only things changed are the badges, grille and location of the steering wheel. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as the new Cruze is a looker regardless of what brand name is affixed to the front.

Hit the jump to check out the Holden Volt.

The Blue Oval's FPV F6 is relentlessly awesome. Loud colors. Alice Cooper eye makeup. Blistering, turbocharged inline-six power. It drops the full musclecar ethos onto a completely modern Australian performance sedan. We love it, but it may not necessarily be for everybody. Ford Performance Vehicles knows this, and the F6's V8-powered evil twin, the FPV GT, gets an additional, more subdued "E" trim level. Darker colors. No decals. No "eye black.". It's a more conservative Aussie muscle machine.

When the Melbourne Motor Show opens its doors in a few days, the FPV stand will be home to a very production-ready-looking F6 E "concept." Don't let its rather sedate appearance fool you. Underhood, you'll still find the 415-horsepower, 416 lb-ft , 4.0-liter turbo-six. Ford's performance mavens say they're using the F6 E concept car to determine whether there's demand for a production version. We think that decision's obviously been made already. After all, why else would the PR mention things like the color selection and theoretical starting price? Face it, you lucky SOBs Down Under are getting yet another tasty entree added to your street missile buffet. Official press release after the jump.


[Source: FPV]

Next year, Toyota Australia will begin local production of the Camry Hybrid. To celebrate this (and drum up some PR), Toyota Style Australia has created the HC-CV (Hybrid Camry Concept Vehicle) for the 2009 Melbourne Motor Show. What is that, exactly? Well, it's essentially the recently-updated 2010 Camry Hybrid, gussied up with a custom white paint color, a modified fascia, some snazzy wheels, blue decals and accents, and leather seats that incorporate the Hybrid Synergy Drive wave logo. Strip away the assorted pieces of flair, and you get the production car that's already been unveiled, only with the steering wheel moved over to the wrong side. See more of the HC-CV in the gallery below.


[Source: Toyota Australia]

Eight automotive brands failed to make the trip to this year's Detroit Auto Show. Compare that to last year's Sydney Auto Show in Australia, where eighteen brands declined the offer to showcase their wares, and you might conclude that things in Cobo Hall really aren't that bad. The shortfall of manufacturers on display contributed to a 40% dip in visitors to the Sydney show last year. Facing that same predicament this year, the options were to put on another dismally attended show or go to a biannual format and let Melbourne handle the 2009 honors.

Unsurprisingly, Sydney has voted for the latter. Carmakers have been pushing for just one show major show in Australia for some time now, which makes some sense given that Sydney and Melbourne combined don't even have the population of Los Angeles County. The Melbourne Motor Show will still run from February 27 to March 9 this year, and Sydney will return in October of 2010.

[Source: WA Today | Photo by Greg Wood/Getty]]

Click image for a hi-res gallery of the HSV W427

The modern American auto show circuit has turned into a series of venues at which automakers try to out-green or out-crossover each other, with the occasional fire-breather thrown in. Down in Australia, it's like the late 60s or early 70s, with a power-mad pissing contest between GM and Ford going full-tilt. We already saw Holden's killer flex-fuel muscle concept, the Coupe 60. Now it's time for the skunkworks to unveil its newest street missile. We previewed it this morning, but here it is in all its glory: the HSV W427. The "W" is a nod to Tom Walkinshaw, whose TWR crew joined up with Holden in 1988 to create the Group A VL SS Commodore, a homologation special that marked the birth of GM's Australian factory performance division, HSV.

The 427 represents the engine's size in cubic inches, as in GM LS7 V8 cubic inches. The Corvette Z06's heart has been transplanted into the VE Commodore's body, which has been substantially modified with a unique blackened fascia (you might also call it "ugly," or more diplomatically, "menacing"); updated aero bits all around; new 20" wheels; and an immeasurable amount of testosterone. That's what the LS7 brings to the party -- no blue pills required. Final power numbers aren't yet available, but HSV expects them to be in excess of 496 horses and 472 lb-ft. That should make the W427 the fastest Aussie street-legal supercar ever produced. All the good Corvette trickery is in play, too: magnetic ride control, big brakes, and the bi-modal exhaust system are among the hidden goodies that make it the ultimate super saloon. Quantities will be limited, but lucky owners will feel like every road is Bathurst.

HSV's press release is pasted after the jump.


[Source: HSV]

Click image for a hi-res gallery of the production TRD HiLux

Toyota Australia is finally ready to unleash TRD HiLux. The concept version bowed a year ago, and while the production truck was shown at the Brisbane show earlier this month (supposedly its "official" debut), the officially official debut is taking place tomorrow in Melbourne, where this all began way back when. To back that up, additional photos of the supercharged TRD HiLix have been released along with a new press release, but Toyota is still being coy with the hard numbers. All the Aussie division says is that the blown 4.0L will make around 25% more power and 20% more torque than the standard-issue HiLux SR5 Double Cab's mill, while consuming a bit less fuel, to boot. Toyota will presumably confirm the final power and torque figures tomorrow, which we expect to be around 300 hp / 330 lb-ft. That's enough to let the TRD HiLux make the 0 - 62 mph (100 km/h) sprint in under 7.5 seconds. Our friends Down Under get to pound on the new sport truck in April, when it joins the TRD Aurion in showrooms. Follow the jump for Toyota's latest (but probably not the last) press release.


[Source: Toyota]

Today at the Melbourne Auto Show in Australia, GM's Holden subsidiary is rumored to debut a new super sedan based on the Commodore and developed by its highly capable Holden Special Vehicles division. The exact nomenclature to be affixed to the sedan's flanks is unknown, but we expect a suitably sporty one like HSV GTSR, or something to that effect. It will powered by the 7.0L LS7 V8 from the Chevy Corvette Z06, which makes 505 hp in the Vette but will likely be detuned a smidge to just under 500 hp in the Holden, and could cost upwards of $150,000 in Aussie money. Reports suggest it will also have a cache of accompanying hardware to back up the monster motor like the largest brakes ever used on a Holden and lots of trickle down technology from Australia's V8 Supercar racing series. It will be built by hand away from the common Commodores, but still be covered by Holden's 3-year, 100,000 kilometer warranty. This will be fastest and most expensive (by far) vehicle that Holden has ever produced, and despite increasing concerns over the cost of gas in Oz, the brand believes it will have no trouble securing buyers for its limited allotment. We'll bring you more pics of the car after it debuts to what will surely be an astonished Australian market, but until then you can wrap your mind around the idea that what fits underneath the hood of this car should also fit in the engine bay of the Pontiac G8 and Chevy Camaro.

[Source: The Sydney Morning Herald]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the E-Vade.

We've already seen some shots of Australia's own Ariel Atom/KTM X-Bow contender, but the mom and pop operation from Down Under has officially unveiled its E-Vade track car ahead of the Melbourne Motor Show.

The glorified go-kart looks like it came out of someone's garage, which it did, but it's already undergone testing at the VACC karting track in Port Melbourne. The E-Vade tips the scales at a rather portly 2,094 pounds, but the 402-hp, twin-turbo'd Nissan V6 mounted out back should be able to entertain both the driver and his wind-blown passenger. A track-only version is also planned producing (gulp) 670 hp, with both models sending power to a five-speed gearbox produced by Albins Off Road Gear. A six-speed cog swapper is also reportedly in the works.

While we're a bit skeptical about how such a wee-beastie can handle all that grunt with such a short wheelbase, we're looking forward to seeing a shoot-out between the E-Vade, the X-Bow and the Atom. Throw in a Se7en for good measure and it should make for an epically good time at the track.


[Source: World Car Fans]

Click image for TRD Aurion gallery. TRD HiLux gallery below.

TRD didn't just show off its new Corolla-based rally car at the Melbourne Motor Show. The Aussie wing of Toyota's factory motorsports arm also pulled the sheets off a new production car, the TRD Aurion, and a near-production-looking concept in the TRD HiLux pickup. The emergence of the special Aurion represents the world debut of TRD as a vehicle brand, opening the door for TRD versions of just about anything the automaker sets its mind to.

The TRD Aurion doesn't play around, either. This better-looking (much better looking in fact) Aussie version of the Camry gets a blown 3.5L V6 good for at least 320 horsepower. Some of you will notice that the TRD production car is essentially a dead ringer for the Aurion Sports Concept (gallery) that made its debut at the Sydney Motor Show back in October. We think the production car looks better, with less grey in the nose and much nicer-looking wheels. Sadly, Toyota thinks that the Camry has to look boring in our market. Come on guys, this look and the supercharged engine would go a long way towards making people think of the car as something other than an inoffensive, boring appliance.

Joining the TRD Aurion at the Toyota Stand is a TRD HiLux concept pickup. The four-door short-bed truck sports TRD graphics, a black roll bar, and a supercharged 4.0L V6. No power numbers were given. TRD only says that HiLux concept's engine is good for "substantially more" than the 234 horses the standard HiLux produces. If we had to guess, we'd say that our friends in Oz can look for the "concept" part of the HiLux's name to be dropped in the future.

[Source: Toyota]