It's been 18 months in the making but the impossible has happened. We finally have something close to an all American V8 muscle car on our sunny Southeast Asian island.
The local Skoda distributor, Harvest Automobile, has added the Australian performance brand, Holden Special Vehicles (HSV), to their stable and this marks the Australian manufacturer's first foray into our local market.
While the HSV GTS and the rest of its E3 series sibling are meant to offer bang for buck performance back in their home markets, the unique local market situation has altered that intention slightly.
Due to the addition of our COE and other taxes, the HSV GTS finds itself thrust into the same league (economically speaking) as the German V8 sports saloons.
This puts it in one tough crowd when you consider the members of this club include the veteran BMW M3, the very delectable Audi RS5 and the mad as hell Mercedes-Benz C63 (The one Lewis was hooning with a little while ago). These are all powered by mighty V8 powerplants and all very capable in their own right.
The local Skoda distributor, Harvest Automobile, has added the Australian performance brand, Holden Special Vehicles (HSV), to their stable and this marks the Australian manufacturer's first foray into our local market.
While the HSV GTS and the rest of its E3 series sibling are meant to offer bang for buck performance back in their home markets, the unique local market situation has altered that intention slightly.
Due to the addition of our COE and other taxes, the HSV GTS finds itself thrust into the same league (economically speaking) as the German V8 sports saloons.
This puts it in one tough crowd when you consider the members of this club include the veteran BMW M3, the very delectable Audi RS5 and the mad as hell Mercedes-Benz C63 (The one Lewis was hooning with a little while ago). These are all powered by mighty V8 powerplants and all very capable in their own right.
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What's worse, Borneo Motors, the local Lexus dealer has recently brought in the most un-Lexus Lexus IS F V8 performance saloon that is priced closer to the HSV GTS price bracket than any of the aforementioned Germans.
Exterior
The brutish V8 machine traces its origins back to the Holden VE Commodore. The base car itself already commands quite a fair amount of tarmac measuring in at 4,894mm from nose to tail. As the base car was designed to be a full sized four door sedan, this led to a rather stately regal overall design language.
While the base car was rather low-key, the design team at HSV sprinkled a little of their V8 Supercar bits and created something that is totally unrecognisable of the original model.
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For starters, gone are the smooth unbroken surfaces of the front fascia. In its place is an angry mutilated face of a true muscle car that resembles a Pontiac GTO from certain angles. The space between the headlights are made up of a large air intake split down the centre while the lower half gets another large gaping hole to hoover up additional cool air. The hood comes with additional air scoops that provide additional life preserving cooling to the beastly powerplant beneath.
On the sides just behind the front wheel, massive slats are cut out in the bodywork to allow heat from the large brakes to escape. In the rear, the most noticeable change comes from the addition of a spoiler while lower down is where you find the trapezoidal shaped tips of the bi-modal exhaust system.
This large sedan rides on equally large 20 inch E3 Performance alloys that gives the GTS a huge footprint on the tarmac. The large alloys allows clearance for some massive brakes and in this case, the GTS gets a 6:4 setup with huge yellow calipers and slotted discs to make clear this car's intentions.
Interior
Getting into the Aussie bruiser, the first thing that captures your attention is how much larger everything is on the inside. Built for the larger Aussie physique, the seats in the GTS are much larger than what most of us are used to. My frame manages to settle in the seat comfortably but with plenty of shoulder and seat space to spare.
On the sides just behind the front wheel, massive slats are cut out in the bodywork to allow heat from the large brakes to escape. In the rear, the most noticeable change comes from the addition of a spoiler while lower down is where you find the trapezoidal shaped tips of the bi-modal exhaust system.
This large sedan rides on equally large 20 inch E3 Performance alloys that gives the GTS a huge footprint on the tarmac. The large alloys allows clearance for some massive brakes and in this case, the GTS gets a 6:4 setup with huge yellow calipers and slotted discs to make clear this car's intentions.
Interior
Getting into the Aussie bruiser, the first thing that captures your attention is how much larger everything is on the inside. Built for the larger Aussie physique, the seats in the GTS are much larger than what most of us are used to. My frame manages to settle in the seat comfortably but with plenty of shoulder and seat space to spare.
The interior does give off a solid quality feel but it comes off a little dreary on the inside with lots of black and inadequate contrast from the trimmings. Staring back at you is the abnormally large wheel that helms the beast. While the rake and reach adjustable chunky steering feels great for those with larger paws, it can be a handful for those with smaller hands. The instrument cluster here looks racy with its bold white fonts against an all black background.
The centre console gets some additional dials that show oil pressure, oil temperature and volt metre. Most interesting though is the monitor that displays all your telemetry information which HSV calls the Enhanced Driver Interface (EDI). The EDI system here bears more than an echoing resemblance to the system used in the GTR.
You get pages for a stopwatch, engine gauges, a G-metre, a vehicle dynamics display and several more that are too numerous to list. A novel feature is the ability to download all these telemetry into a thumbdrive for analysis on the laptop. The buttons and knobs on the centre console seem to suggest that HSV took pages out of Audi's design book.
Similarly in the back, the rear seats are generously spacious with no problems for fitting three adults in the rear. Though no official figures are available, the boot does seem big enough to accommodate up to three golf bags without much difficulty.
The centre console gets some additional dials that show oil pressure, oil temperature and volt metre. Most interesting though is the monitor that displays all your telemetry information which HSV calls the Enhanced Driver Interface (EDI). The EDI system here bears more than an echoing resemblance to the system used in the GTR.
You get pages for a stopwatch, engine gauges, a G-metre, a vehicle dynamics display and several more that are too numerous to list. A novel feature is the ability to download all these telemetry into a thumbdrive for analysis on the laptop. The buttons and knobs on the centre console seem to suggest that HSV took pages out of Audi's design book.
Similarly in the back, the rear seats are generously spacious with no problems for fitting three adults in the rear. Though no official figures are available, the boot does seem big enough to accommodate up to three golf bags without much difficulty.
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The Drive
Turning the key in the GTS is as much an event as actually driving it. There's a certain thrill in hearing that V8 rumble to life with a baritone throb. The GTS is powered by GM's Corvette derived 6.2-litre LS3 motor and shoves with its 435bhp coupled with a very decent 550Nm of torque on tap. At idle the gurgling V8 replicates the aural pleasure you get from watching Quentin Tarantino's 'Deathproof' movie as the villain runs around (or over) hapless babes in his very sinister Dodge Charger.
Give it a shove and the engine revs easily to release a primal scream through the bi-modal exhaust system. Naturally the exhaust system is similar to that on a Corvette. The bi-modal exhaust system incorporates a butterfly valve that alters the exhaust flow between two types of mufflers. Each muffler contains a different number of cells and in turn alters the volume and ferocity of the exhaust. The valves will open and close depending on the engine's RPM and throttle position.
In a straightline, the GTS will worry most of what the Germans have to offer. Mashing the throttle, the mad Aussie takes off like a bat outta hell. For a car with this much straightline performance, it takes a pretty decent set of stoppers to haul it back to a standstill. The GTS comes equipped with a 6 piston front and 4 piston rear brake setup. When things get a little too hairy, you can be sure the brakes will slow you down so fast it'll tear your face off.
Turning the key in the GTS is as much an event as actually driving it. There's a certain thrill in hearing that V8 rumble to life with a baritone throb. The GTS is powered by GM's Corvette derived 6.2-litre LS3 motor and shoves with its 435bhp coupled with a very decent 550Nm of torque on tap. At idle the gurgling V8 replicates the aural pleasure you get from watching Quentin Tarantino's 'Deathproof' movie as the villain runs around (or over) hapless babes in his very sinister Dodge Charger.
Give it a shove and the engine revs easily to release a primal scream through the bi-modal exhaust system. Naturally the exhaust system is similar to that on a Corvette. The bi-modal exhaust system incorporates a butterfly valve that alters the exhaust flow between two types of mufflers. Each muffler contains a different number of cells and in turn alters the volume and ferocity of the exhaust. The valves will open and close depending on the engine's RPM and throttle position.
In a straightline, the GTS will worry most of what the Germans have to offer. Mashing the throttle, the mad Aussie takes off like a bat outta hell. For a car with this much straightline performance, it takes a pretty decent set of stoppers to haul it back to a standstill. The GTS comes equipped with a 6 piston front and 4 piston rear brake setup. When things get a little too hairy, you can be sure the brakes will slow you down so fast it'll tear your face off.
Taking the big sedan through the slalom course, the first impression was that the lock to lock action was somewhat slowed by the larger than necessary steering wheel. Going through the slalom, the big sedan felt bogged down by the big V8 block in the front and was a little slow in its change of direction. At the same time you could feel the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) trying to keep the rear end in check. Going through the slalom course a second time with the Magnetic Ride Control (MRC) system turned on, the GTS's change of direction did tighten up but you could still feel the heft of the vehicle.
To be honest, potential owners of the GTS and the UK equivalent Vauxhall Monaro aren't looking for grip driving when they pick up a muscle car like this. It is the hooning potential of this brawny muscle car that convinces them to commit on that dotted line.
And if you're lucky to find an expanse of tarmac large enough, you'll be sure to turn off the ESC and throw the large sedan into a Jeremy Clarkson powerslide while involuntarily screaming "POWEEERRRRRRRRRR" with a huge grin spread across your face doing it. Nothing comes close to the same visual ecstasy of watching a large sedan powersliding across a vast expanse of tarmac with copious amounts of smoke pouring off the back.
Expectedly, the gurgling V8 wouldn't be winning any awards for economy but the engine isn't any worse off than the Mercedes-Benz C63. Giving about 6.5km/L compared to the C63's 7.2km/L.
To be honest, potential owners of the GTS and the UK equivalent Vauxhall Monaro aren't looking for grip driving when they pick up a muscle car like this. It is the hooning potential of this brawny muscle car that convinces them to commit on that dotted line.
And if you're lucky to find an expanse of tarmac large enough, you'll be sure to turn off the ESC and throw the large sedan into a Jeremy Clarkson powerslide while involuntarily screaming "POWEEERRRRRRRRRR" with a huge grin spread across your face doing it. Nothing comes close to the same visual ecstasy of watching a large sedan powersliding across a vast expanse of tarmac with copious amounts of smoke pouring off the back.
Expectedly, the gurgling V8 wouldn't be winning any awards for economy but the engine isn't any worse off than the Mercedes-Benz C63. Giving about 6.5km/L compared to the C63's 7.2km/L.
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Conclusion
While the petrolheads in the local Australian expat community will readily accept the GTS over the German offerings, local buyers will need a lot more convincing to part with their moolahs for it.
And it will be an uphill task considering the $360,000 GTS is priced just slightly under $40,000 from the closest German rival. For most buyers, the additional $40,000 spread across a bank loan won’t matter much.
While the petrolheads in the local Australian expat community will readily accept the GTS over the German offerings, local buyers will need a lot more convincing to part with their moolahs for it.
And it will be an uphill task considering the $360,000 GTS is priced just slightly under $40,000 from the closest German rival. For most buyers, the additional $40,000 spread across a bank loan won’t matter much.
The distributor will do good in marketing the mad Australian as something unique from the rest of the German V8s. It should cater to individuals who dare to be different and stand out against the Germanic assault.
If you’re looking for an American muscle car without the shoddy interior, the GTS is a great candidate for those weekend outings with the wife. Sideways of course...
What do you think? Jot down your opinions at the comment box below.
If you’re looking for an American muscle car without the shoddy interior, the GTS is a great candidate for those weekend outings with the wife. Sideways of course...
What do you think? Jot down your opinions at the comment box below.
