HSV W427 - Photo Gallery, Sports Car, Motor Show, Reviews

Friday, May 1, 2009

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.