My version of events is - what actually happened - out there in the $150K+ buyers market. No rose coloured glasses from behind the parts desk.
GTR, C63, M3, all whipped the W427. Unfortunately it was slowest in group. Should of been $80K then it would have been fastest in group.
Not hard to see how an Omega with a big engine isnt going to cut it at the upper end is it? Same will happen with the new $200K mug-catcher.
W427 was a good car, just way too expensive for what it delivered.
Holdens are supposed to be cars for the Aussie working man, not priced like Mercedes.
Last edited by Martin_D; 06-04-2012 at 07:44 PM.
This thread has become a little entertaining and more than a little tedious with the usual bitching, sniping and ridiculing. Be nice to hear some proper facts about the mule that we all know has been on the streets for a while now.
I enjoy my Aussie cars with a bit extra and I have had a selection from both camps over the years. In 15 years: Commodore SS, XR6, XR6T, F6 and now a couple of R8's. Only one manual though. I am interested in this hypothetical LSA GTS but not at $150k. As has been said enough times above a great engine alone does not a great car make. If a GTS with big brakes comes in around $80 ~ 85k then the LSA GTS needs to be no more than $20 ~ 30k above that. And I hope it doesn't get stuck with the crime scene interior. Otherwise it will fall into a different bracket and lose its attractiveness.
At $150k all cars in that range come into contention and the shortcomings of each offset against the benefits and at that money the C63 wins hands down even if it is a bit too small. LSA GTS isn't even second, maybe 4th or 5th behind the M3, Audi S4 or S5, Lexus thing etc. The GTR doesn't come into this because of the cost of maintenance. My car is used to get to work each and every day, drives on our sh!tful Qld roads and gets left in carparks at supermarkets, golf courses, airports etc. I also keep the cars for a maximum of 3 years, sometimes 2.
So an LSA GTS pegged at 375kW and 650Nm, big brakes, retuned suspension and bushes. Nice new 20s that have some style and a maximum $30k premium. If the GTS goes higher than this or what I think is reasonable then HSV have definately lost a sale. Maybe they sell a Senator with some Walky tweaks and BBS wheels but definately no $150k GTS.
But given what Walkinshaw are asking for their version of an HSV with the works I guess you guys are probably right about the predicted cost. Has Walkinshaw sold any of these cars??????????????
There are plenty of facts in this thread.
The reality is this....who cares if there is a supercharged HSV this year?
Its not going to be competition for a $55K FPV GS, instead it will more than likely be a pie in the sky dreamboat like the W427, priced absurdly, so that it has little relevance to what you or I drive Commodore.
Since Holden have signed the Commodores death ticket with the Greens/Labor how about they make an affordable actual performance car that people can buy and own rather than a show special 2 tonne boat with a detuned engine covered in Korean plastic crap that gets its ass whipped by everything in its class......and send the old girl out with a bang![]()
Extremely arrogant and selfish opinion of yours Martin to ASSUME that just because an expensive HSV doesn't appeal to you (or others that think like you), it means it's of no interest to anyone else. There are around 50 different brands of new cars available in this country at the moment, for just a million annual sales. Clearly people like variety, and I haven't even included the late model US import conversion market, which tends to have customers spending this sort of money just to be different to everyone else like yourself...![]()
Nah Davo. Arrogant and selfish describes HSV and the w427 project and it's poor sales not the GFC as you often mention. If it were the GFC explain why so many potential buyers choose to go next door and spend the same sort of coin on a euro like an m3 or c63. If HSV didn't go stupid and only charged 100k instead of what they did. It would of been far more successful. The same will ring through this time I foresee
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There is ZERO chance it being only 20 or 30K above the existing GTS, as the cost alone of engineering it for ADR's and to GM's requirements, spread over a small run, will already blow that out. And that's before any other cosmetic type changes or other unique additions regular HSV's don't have. Bolting an engine in is the easy part, but driving it around the block to make sure it doesn't blow up doesn't cut it as "engineering" to a manufacturer.
Cars like this (or W427 before it) are not meant to be "popular" due to affordability. They are meant to be aspirational for a small number of people that can afford to spend this sort of money...those who don't give a stuff if others don't like their choice!
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