- Doors and Seats
2 doors, 4 seats
- Engine
5.7i, 8 cyl.
- Engine Power
260kW, 500Nm
- Fuel
Petrol 15.3L/100KM
- Manufacturer
RWD
- Transmission
Manual
- Warranty
3 Yr, 100000 KMs
- Ancap Safety
NA
Not your average hot-rod Commodore
HSV extends and sharpens the Monaro's virtues to produce the GTO Coupe – a legitimate luxury performer.
Good: This level of performance, dynamics and luxury with a Euro badge costs $200,000-plus. Wider, stronger power delivery than standard 5.7 V8. Composed, precise handling for its weight. Great tyres, reasonable ride. Security, luxury and comfort.
Bad: Brakes fade under repeated hard use. Gearbox slower than the rest of the car. Front-heavy weight bias. Spectacular city fuel consumption. Rear occupants sit under glass. Insurance costs.
Verdict: Class, not crass.
Stars: 4 (out of 5).
Holden Special Vehicles turned out its first heat-treated Commodore V8, the VL Group A SS, in 1988. You may remember the whale-tail sized spoiler stuck on the boot, part of what is arguably the least subtle body kit ever created.
The Group A also drove like something out of Conan the Barbarian's garage.
HSV, a partnership between Holden and the UK's Tom Walkinshaw Racing Group, has since graduated to legitimate luxury-performance status, assisted by the fact that the base car, the Commodore, has come a long way since the '80s.
HSV customers, initially the few Mt Panorama boofheads who could afford one, have also grown up. Today, HSV has a diverse but still blokey clientele. It sold a record 3300 cars in 2001.
It was always going to be interesting to see what HSV would do with the Monaro's styling. Given the beautifully proportioned standard car, the potential for ruining it with a heavy hand on the trowel was considerable.
Brit Neil Simpson, who got the job has, as you would expect, toughened it up, creating a more predatory stance; it's a superfluous exercise, but not too over the top.
HSV's Coupe – the Monaro badge is reserved for the Holden models – is available in two specifications. The GTO runs the LS1 small block 5.7-litre Chev V8, producing 255kW, 30kW more than stock. Transmission choices are six- speed manual or four-speed automatic.
The GTS gets the fearsome 300kW 5.7, developed by Callaway engineering in the US, with the six-speed manual only. GTS production is due to start about now.
The GTO engine stretches the useful performance curve of the Monaro's 5.7. Peak power, and the 6000rpm redline, both occur 400rpm higher, while peak torque, a 15Nm increase, is at 4000rpm, 400 lower. This is achieved largely by freeing up the breathing at both ends with HSV components and tuning the engine management system.
The six-speed manual has a lower final-drive ratio and a shorter throw lever.
Little has been done to the Monaro's chassis. On the GTO, HSV has retained a luxury-sports character, with a slightly harder edge, softening its Clubsport suspension at the rear end to maintain ride comfort. The GTS is the take-no- prisoners race replica.
Upgraded brakes, with ventilated, grooved discs, are also fitted, as is quicker steering. Wheel and tyre sizes are the same as the Monaro CV8 – 235/40 on 18-inchers – but the GTO's wheels and Bridgestone S-03 tyres are unique.
The LS1 starts to pull from 2500rpm. At lower revs, it is weak by V8 standards; allied with tall fifth and sixth gearing (1600rpm at 100kmh), it's necessary to select fourth gear for acceptable overtaking performance and fifth on steeper highway climbs.
The 3000-4500 zone is an impressively muscular, smooth mid-range. If you're feeling lazy on a tight road you can just stick it in third and let the torque do the work.
From 4500rpm you get the HSV hit you paid for as the V8 hammers and hollers to 6000. Use the top end and you'll be much busier, as straights seem to shorten dramatically.
You can also watch the fuel gauge heading towards empty, while the trip computer brings up some outrageous numbers – the highest on test was 44 litres/100km of premium unleaded.
The GTO covers the zero-100kmh trip in 6.6 seconds, about half a second quicker than the Monaro CV8.
The HSV "Quick Shift" six-speed gearbox feels just as trucklike as the standard one. Changes are slow and, like the Monaro tested earlier this year, the fourth-third shift is occasionally reluctant.
The lever throw is shorter – perhaps HSV just trimmed a few centimetres off the lever itself.
The GTO weighs 1.67 tonnes, so it is no point-and-squirt razor-sharp handler. It requires fairly vigorous treatment when turning into a corner, and early application of power, to counter its considerable front-heavy weight bias.
That said, the Monaro body is noticeably more rigid than the Commodore sedan. HSV has done a fine job controlling weight transfer and keeping the car flat and balanced in bends.
The steering is acceptably direct and communicative, though at high speeds it is overassisted. The Bridgestone tyres are a key contributor to the GTO's handling ability, with superb grip and feedback.
In most conditions the brakes, equipped with anti-lock, are excellent in power and progression. However they faded badly on a hard downhill run, unable to cope with repeatedly hauling this much weight and power down to the required speed.
Ride quality, like the Monaro, is on the firm side but surprisingly good given the low-profile tyres. It is sufficiently comfortable and compliant to make the GTO a viable long-distance drive. Only sharp-edged bumps and potholes deliver a serious whack, through the front end, to the cabin.
The GTO uses Monaro CV8 seats, with specific leather/suede facing trim. The driver's seat is armchair-sized and luxuriously comfortable, with power adjustment and three memories. Large lads will have decent upper body support when cornering; less well-fed people will find the side bolsters of little value.
The dash layout and driving position are also unchanged. Fit and finish inside is, as in the Commodore, reasonable but there are a few rough edges and ill-fitting trim pieces.
Standard equipment is basically as per the CV8, with dual temperature air-conditioning, a 10-stack CD/cassette audio system, cruise control and a trip computer. Crash protection is compromised by the deletion of the Monaro's side airbags. However its security system is augmented by Data Dots, the spray-on process which applies the VIN number to many components in the car.
The back seat has two individually shaped positions which are more comfortable than some driver's chairs. Leg and headroom are generous by the usual restrictive coupe standards. Occupants sit under glass, however, and fry on a warm day.
The boot is also large by coupe standards, easily holding four people's gear. There is no folding rear seat back to extend capacity and under the floor is a space-saver spare. An easily accessible remote boot release would be useful.
A $17,000 surcharge on the Monaro CV8 is probably a fair ask for HSV's efforts, which don't really change the base car's character but rather extend and sharpen its abilities in several areas. The weaknesses are also similar.
You can also get most of the HSV GTO hardware in the Clubsport sedan, which costs $57,350. But then, it's just another hot-rod Commodore – the "Monaro" moniker may be absent from the GTO, but it's the magic word in Australian cars today and the prime reason for the HSV version's premium price.
Vital signs
Engine: 5.7-litre 16-valve fuel-injected V8.
Power: 255kW at 5600rpm (above average).
Performance: 0-100kmh in 6.6 seconds (quick).
Brakes: Discs with ABS (excellent in most conditions, but fade with repeated hard use).
Economy: 9-11 litres/100km highway (excellent); 17-21 city (very thirsty).
Prices: Recommended retail – $73,750; GTS – $94,750. Street price – No deals.
Main options: Satellite navigation – $3,800; Holden Assist – $1,990; premium brakes – $2,600; performance suspension – $750.
Warranty: Three years/100,000km (average).
Safety rating: Three stars out of five (VX Commodore sedan).
Residual value: 63 percent after three years (above average, Clubsport sedan; GTO is likely to be higher).
Alternatives: None at the price.
Prices correct at publication date.