First published in the December 2002 issue of Street Machine
Holden Special Vehicles are on a roll. When they launched out of the ashes of Brocky’s HDT operation, the company’s objectives, in terms of cars sold per annum, were measured in the hundreds. That was 15 years ago. HSV figure they’ll shift no fewer than 3500 cars in 2002. The target for 2003 is in the region of 5000.

Factor in, say, an average price of 65 large. That works out at around $325 million in sales for next year. Then add in apparel sales, you know, caps and shirts and jackets and stuff, where some say the real money is made…
But are they any good? The cars, I mean. Is a Clubsport $10,000 better than an SS? Is a GTS twice as good?
Mark Skaife is doing his best to answer exactly that question as he throws a new Y-Series 300kW GTS at a zillion kilometres per hour into a rough left-hander at Lang Lang, Holden’s Victorian country estate and proving ground east of Melbourne.

The 2002 V8 Supercar champ is attempting to explain to a dumb journalist the finer points of digressive damping rates and how they effect the ability of the inside front tyre to maintain contact with the road. The dumb journalist is flat out attempting to hold down his lunch.
That Skaifey is there in the first place highlights HSV’s mega-successful win-on-Sunday, sell-on-Monday approach to flogging cars, but he’s also keen to share his input to the suspension tuning of all the new Y-Series cars, in particular the variability of damping action through each shock’s stroke.

Making HSVs handle better is one of the things Mark Skaife does between races and he is proud of what he has achieved. The chassis changes were made “to counter press criticism of turn-in feel and ultimate grip levels”, he said, as well as to exploit the better steering feel of the revalved VY Commodore power steering racks. The objective was to increase roll stiffness to counteract the tendency of Commodores to understeer on the pace.
HSV engineers achieved this by increasing low-speed bump and rebound damping. Skaife calls this ‘digressive’ damping, as opposed to the more familiar ‘progressive’ damping where the damping force increases with the speed of the shock force.

Confused? Me too, but not about the result, one of the best handling, rear-wheel-drive V8 sedans I’ve had the pleasure of driving, particularly in GTS trim. It still gives away a mountain of weight to the imports, which will have it working its pips off on a Sunday morning mountain blast, but a good steerer will never be embarrassed no matter what the company.
But HSVs are about more than going around corners quickly. They are also about acceleration, technical credibility, aggressive style and value for money. Surprisingly, HSV have not taken Ford’s bait and instead concentrated on broadening the spread of power of their Gen III V8s through close attention to engine management.

Power is unchanged from 2000 to 4000rpm but there’s heaps more down low and marginal extra five kW at the redline, for 260kW all up, the same as the BA XR8. The GTS hottie stays at 300kW.
Both variants are quick by most other measures, especially if you know how to read a tacho, but just in case you don’t HSV have thrown in a shift light as standard on all manual models.

As for style, well, the VT shape’s been around for so long now that it’s getting harder to keep it looking fresh. Opinion is divided on the general VY makeover with its ‘Camry front and Magna rear’, as the plain-speaking Sydney Morning Herald reviewer Bill McKinnon put it, but TWR Chief Designer Neil Simpson has achieved that ‘muscular but sophisticated’ feel synonymous with HSV and they look modern and tough in the flesh.
The front clip is “inspired by a Formula 1 wing”, Simpson explained. “The V forms part of the centre bar and reinforces the HSV signature.” Inside, Simpson has built on the cool new VY dash by adding a bunch of HSV-specific details (leather tiller, white-faced instruments, 260km/h speedo) and an EH-like centre binnacle incorporating oil pressure and volt gauges.

The mix of models has been broadened, with the revamped Senator and 300kW GTS sedan returning to the fold, the latter with an auto option for the first time. The XU6, however, has been canned, although they will rustle one up out of parts if you’re desperate. Detail specs have also been raised across the range. What used to be the performance brake option is now standard, as is climate air and a six-disc in-dash CD player.

So there you go, the best handling Holdens ever built, fast as muck and as luxurious as a dirty weekend at a posh city pub. “Where else can you buy a large four-door sedan with 300kW and automatic transmission for under $100,000?” HSV boss Chris Payne asked. Where indeed?
HSV prices (in 2002)

- Maloo $50,950
- Maloo R8 $57,950
- ClubSport $58,200
- ClubSport R8 $68,860
- Senator $73,950
- GTO Coupe $74,570
- Signature $79,950
- Grange $85,024
- GTS Sedan $93,500
- GTS Coupe $95,869

HOLDEN SPECIAL VEHICLES
Y-SERIES CLUBSPORT (GTS SEDAN)
GET IN | |
Type: | 5.7-litre LS1 Chev V8 |
Power: | 260kW @ 5600rpm (300kW @ 6000rpm) |
Torque: | 475Nm @ 4000rpm (510Nm @ 4800rpm) |
Comp: | 10.1:1 (9.95:1) |
SIT DOWN | |
Gearbox: | Four-speed auto/six-speed manual |
Diff gears: | Auto 3.07:1 (3.46:1); manual 3.71:1 (3.91:1) |
Cool stuff: | IRS, ABS, traction control |
SHUT UP | |
Wheels: | 18×8-inch alloy (19×9-inch alloy) |
Tyres: | Bridgestone 235/40 ZR18 S03 (Pirelli 245/35 ZR19 P-Zero) |
Front brakes: | Twin-piston (six-piston) calipers on 330mm (362mm) rotors |
Rear brakes: | Twin-piston (four-piston) calipers on 315mm (343mm) rotors |
HANG ON | |
Kerb weight: | 1660kg (1710kg) |
Wheelbase: | 2788mm |
0-100km/h: | 5.6 (5.1) seconds |
0-400m: | 13.8 (13.3) seconds |
Comments