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, Holden Special Vehicles have officially unveiled Australia's true world-beater, the HSV W427.
The HSV W427, which had the covers taken off at the 2008 Melbourne Motorshow in 'showcar' format, is now in production. Sales of the seven litre 375kW 'Supercar' has begun in Australia and New Zealand.
HSV's Managing Director Scott Grant said the car demonstrated engineering and design ingenuity was alive and well in the Australian car industry. "The story around the development of this car is quite remarkable," Scott Grant said. "We are proud to have produced a vehicle of these proportions and are confident the public response to the HSV W427 proves there is a strong future for luxury and performance vehicles in this country."
The HSV W427 nameplate is a tribute to the first Holden Special Vehicle - the Group A SS VL Commodore, produced just over 20 years ago. This car became known as the 'Walkinshaw' in deference to the owner of the HSV business, Tom Walkinshaw, while '427' is the cubic inch capacity of the engine.
Hand built by the General Motors Performance Build Centre in North America, the Chevrolet seven litre engine graces only two vehicles anywhere in the world - the Corvette Z06 and now Australia's own HSV W427. The HSV W427 produces 375kW of power (500 horsepower on the old scale) and 640Nm of torque, which required an extensive engineering program for the car, including all new clutch, gearbox, differential and exhaust, which will be fitted at HSV's Clayton production facility.
"We have spent two years developing and testing this car and are really proud of the end result," said HSV's Engineering Manager, Joel Stoddart. "It's the car HSV has always wanted to build and the VE platform gave us the confidence to push the boundaries.". "The W427 has a new six piston front braking system, six airbags, ABS and Electronic Stability Control.".
Like all HSV's the W427 will carry a full three year, 100,000km warranty.
HSV's design team, led by Julian Quincey, have also left a distinctive mark on the final product. "The design brief for the HSV W427 was to create a unique face for HSV, one that would signal the cars immense capability, authority and power," Quincey said. "The W427 is the flagship for the whole HSV range and we wanted to emphasise the hand built qualities of this car.". "We believe we have achieved this with a range of design features including the imposing front face - which emphasises the need for cooling air for the seven litre engine, to the effective and functional three piece design rear lip spoiler, made of carbon fibre to keep weight to a minimum," he said.
The HSV W427 wheels and graphic are the work of Adam Dean Smith, a former Wheels Young Designer of the Year. They feature a 'castellated' design graphic, also picked up on the exhaust tips.
HSV have confirmed that no more than 427 W427s will ever be built, with 90 vehicles to be built in 2008. The price, inclusive of the new Luxury Car Tax regime, will be $155,500. Darren Bowler, HSV's General Manager of Sales and Marketing said that each purchase of a HSV W427 will be accompanied by a special customer program designed to offer an insight into the craftsmanship that goes into the building of each and every vehicle. "Every customer will have the opportunity to book into an exclusive VIP tour of Holden Special Vehicles Clayton based production facility, to observe the HSV W427 build process," he said. "We've established and themed a dedicated viewing station for the HSV W427 build bays on the factory floor." Transfers to Clayton will be at the owner's expense and are only available to purchasers of a HSV W427.
Customers will also receive a personally signed letter from Tom Walkinshaw along with a unique vehicle build certificate. A Customer Access Portal, containing build information, servicing details and other information on the history of their car will also form part of the ownership experience.
HSV W427 owners will receive extra protection on their purchase with the inclusion of a new upgraded version of the world famous DataDots DNA anti-theft technology. Known as DataDots DNA 'Platinum', incorporates the latest encrypting 'nano' technology to authenticate genuine HSV components as well as the core vehicle. Holden Special Vehicles HSV W427 will be Australia's first car company to offer this upgraded security feature.
All 90 cars being built in 2008 have been pre-sold.
source : Holden Press
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