Autoblog

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

"She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts." That's what Han Solo says about the Millenium Falcon. You could apply the same saying to the HSV W427 super-duper sedan just launched by Holden's in-house performance division. I mean, that front end has some serious issues, but the Corvette Z06's LS7 V8 lurks behind it, and it's no joke, giving the four-door 500 horses and 471 lb-ft of torque. Production is limited to 427 units total, 90 of which will be produced this year. All of those have already been spoken for at a heady $154,500 Australian dollars, including luxury tax. Buyers also get the opportunity to tour the cars' production facility, and get a letter from Tom Walkinshaw, who started HSV some 20 years ago. The "W" in the car's name is also a tribute to him. HSV says that the W427's angry fascia emphasizes the cooling needs of the 7.0L V8. We think it mostly tells drivers who catch it racing up in their rearview to simply move out of the way...or be swallowed whole. We hear the car runs best when fed a steady diet of FPVs.

A slew of new photos have dropped in conjunction with the car's production launch, all of which can be seen in the gallery below.


[Source: HSV]

The relationship between Holden and the late Peter Brock goes back nearly forty years, and a good part of that time saw the Aussie racing legend compete behind the wheel of a Commodore sedan. During his illustrious career, Brock's leadership of the Holden Dealer Team (HDT) racing outfit also saw several modified high-performance roadgoing Commodores hit the market before the group was disbanded in the late '80s.

Now, the owner of one of the largest collection of Brock Commodores in Australia plans to revive the HDT nameplate in Brock's honor. Queensland mining contractor Peter Champion currently owns over 40 Brock Commodores and now wants to build the kind of car Peter Brock would have built today using the latest VE Commodore. Champion and Brock had been friends for over a decade and even talked about releasing a new model months before his untimely death in a car crash during a race last September.

The new cars will likely be based on the VE SS, the same car on which the upcoming Pontiac G8 is based. The cars won't have any mechanical modifications, although it will be offered if customers seek it, says Champion. Instead, the new HDT cars will receive bodykits and wheels designed to match the original racing Commodores from Brock's era.

[Source: Drive]

Holden is planning on turning out the full capacity of 147,000 Zeta-based vehicles at its Elizabeth plant in South Australia. Part of the production increase can be attributed to the Pontiac G8's impending arrival, but there have been cagey references to importing the VE Ute, which shares the VE platform with the G8. Bob Lutz made mention of a desire to bring the Ute to the US a while back, and now GM's Asia Pacific President Nick Reilly has made a couple of cagey references to GoAuto, fueling the suspicion that we'll see a VE with a bed out back here in the US.

While discussing the Elizabeth plant's ability to meet production volume without adding a third shift, Reilly referred to US exports by saying "If they start to sell much better than we anticipated, then we would have to look at doing something else and clearly a third shift would be a possibility..." They? Hmm. When the follow-up question about just what he meant by they, Reilly sort-of clarified by further stating: "We haven't necessarily announced all the programs we have at the moment." The not-quite-confirmed multiple flavors of VE headed for the US, along with Bob Lutz's wanting to bring the Ute here as something other than a Chevy could mean that those wishing for a return of the El Camino might get their wish, minus the name.

Thanks for the tip, Ben!

[Source: GoAuto]

click image to view high-res gallery of the Holden Commodore SS V-Series

Since the Pontiac G8 burst onto the scene at the Chicago Auto Show heralding a new era of affordable, rear-wheel drive GM sedans, interest in the new vehicle has been intense. Based on GM's new Zeta platform, the G8 is actually an Australian Holden Commodore under the skin and is set to be manufactured Down Under at Holden's Elizabeth plant in South Australia. This could give us a great opportunity to tell you all about how the Pontiac G8 will feel and drive long before one lands on U.S. soil. That is, so long as Autoblog has someone actually in Australia – someone who can convince Holden to lend us a Commodore SS V-Series. Well we do, and they did.

[Images: Dane Muldoon and Damian Griggs]

Click for high-res photo gallery

By all accounts, we believe we can safely refer to the hue of the Commodore SS shown above as "purple." The VE Commodore SS is a pretty mean piece of machinery though, and for some, purple could be a tough sell. And really, the endgame is to get the shopper to part with a down payment. What's the solution? Call it something decidedly "un-purpley." Like Morpheous. Yeah!

"Is that car purple?"

"No, mate. It's Morpheous."

See? Much better (we think). Morpheous takes the red pill makes its debut at the Brisbane Motor Show this week. AutoblogGreen's Dane Muldoon is on the scene and he confirms the car's extreme purlpeness must be seen in person to be fully appreciated.

[Source: GM Holden]

UPDATE: Added mega-gallery of 131 high-res Holden Commodore images since we in the U.S. don't often get to gaze at these vehicles.

click above image to view 131 high-res images of every kind of Commodore

For those of you eagerly anticipating the U.S. arrival of Holden's rear-wheel drive Zeta platform in the form of Chevy's revived Camaro and the Pontiac G8, take heart that it's officially proven itself in the land down under. Word has come from the other side the world that the Holden VE Commodore has won Wheels magazine's 2006 Car of the Year award. Wheels magazine is a big deal in Oz, and the VE Commodore, which is based on the Zeta platform, battled fiercely with the Toyota Aurion (Australia's better-looking version of the Camry) and BMW 3-Series Coupe to win this year's honor. A field of 34 new cars were eligible for the award and were judged based on their function, value, safety and technology. The VE Commodore wasn't a slam dunk, however, because of its merely average fuel economy, a fault that has been called out enough already that Holden has promised to put the car on a diet as soon as possible. Hopefully in Chicago we'll get a peek at a Pontiac-badged version of the Commodore destined to become the next Grand Prix.

[Source: Wheels]

The Chevrolet Caprice, designed and manufactured by GM Holden in Australia, has been named Best Luxury Car at the 2006 Autocar Middle East Awards. The all-new rear wheel drive Caprice, part of GM Holden's A$1 billion (US$780 million) development of the new Commodore range, emerged as a clear winner from the two other finalists in the Luxury Car class, the Volvo S80 V8 All-wheel drive and the Lexus ES350.

Three days of analysis and testing were undertaken by Autocar's expert judging team, who declared the Caprice unbeatable value given its size, standard package and six-litre, 270kW / 362hp V8 engine which delivers a "brutal" 530Nm / 391ft-lbs of torque. Standard equipment includes Electronic Stability Program (ESP), DVD player with twin rear LCD screens, 18" alloy wheels, Bose premium 10 speaker sound system, xenon headlamps and tri-zone electronic climate control. The build quality, ride and overall refinement of the Caprice were all regarded as being superior to the previous model. In Australia, the six speed automatic, 6.0L V8 Caprice retails for A$69,990 (US$54,620).

Follow the jump for the conclusion and an additional photo...

[Source: GM]