We often see muscle cars championed in bold, bright colours like Track Red, Barbados Green, Indy Orange, or Wild Violet. These vibrant hues catch a lot of attention, but what if you don’t want your car to bring constant attention like a fluro billboard? Thankfully, if you do some hunting you can find awesome muscle machinery in more subtle colours.
The final locally-developed F-Gen HSVs are some of the greatest modern muscle to be found in the General Motors family, with grunt for days, along with excellent handling and braking, generous interior features, and great build quality. And, while there are plenty of F-Gen HSVs to be found in white, red and black, the metallic Nitrate Silver is an under-appreciated gem as it shows off the VF-generation Commodore’s smooth curves, without hiding the crisp character lines that give the HSV models a lot of their attitude.
The biggest news when the F-Gen HSVs broke cover back in 2013 was the GTS packed 580hp (430kW) and 740Nm thanks to 6.2-litres of supercharged LSA V8. This was a specially-built variant of the Gen IV 6.2-litre LS3, but with a stronger block and heads, 9.1:1 comp (versus 10.7:1 in the LS3), and a water-air intercooled Eaton 1.9-litre four-lobe TVS supercharger.
The LSA had been used in the fifth-generation Camaro ZL1 and Cadillac CTS-V, and HSV further raided the ZL1 parts bin to take the 6L90E six-speed automatic transmission (TR6060-MG9 for the six-speed manual), and 9.3in rear-end with torque-vectoring to improve handling. The F-Gen HSVs also brought serious hardware like the third-generation Magnetic Ride Control (MRC) shocks, forged six-pot and four-pot AP Racing brakes, a Heads-Up Display, multiple drive modes selected off a console-mounted dial, upgraded fluid coolers, bi-modal exhaust, and an on-board computer called the Electronic Driver Interface which included stuff like live read-out gauges for oil temperature and boost, plus lap timers for a bunch of tracks in Australia.
It added up to 0-100km/h times of around 4.2-seconds, with the quarter-mile dispatched in just 12.3-seconds. The Vision Automotive F-Gen GTS has run into the nines on a factory blower, while there are bolt-on upgrades available from Harrop. A race-ported 2650i with a cam and supporting mods would be an easy way to squeeze well over 700rwhp out of this package.
This example from The Motor Gallery is a notable GTS for two reasons: it has under 100,000km (98,398km) and is listed for $99,990, which would make it one of the lowest-mileage F-Gen GTS HSVs for under $100-beans! As these top-dog HSV models have boomed in price since COVID its unlikely there will be many factory-supercharged GTS models available under that $100k barrier for long.
The factory forged 20-inch wheels have been replaced by polished 22-inch rollers and the car is listed as having coilover struts. These cars make amazing dailies, and can be turned into ridiculous performers despite their size.
ADDRESS
The Motor Gallery
13-15 Kilpa Rd, Moorabbin VIC 3189
CONTACT
TRADING HOURS
Mon – Fri: 9:00am – 5:00pm
Sat: 9:00am – 4:00pm
Sun: 10:00am – 2:00pm
Comments