HSV W427 Officially Launched
July 23, 2008 by George Skentzos
After months of speculation and controversy, HSV has officially unveiled its 375kW W427 ’supercar’.
Its unveiling also marks the first day of sales in both Australia and New Zealand carrying a price tag of $155,500 – with all 90 cars being built in 2008 already accounted for.
The W427 namesake is a tribute to the first HSV ever produced – the Group A SS VL Commodore which has been affectionately named the ‘Walkinshaw’ in reference to HSV founder Tom Walkinshaw.
The hand-built 7.0-litre LS7 V8 powerplant is found in only two cars around the world, the Corvette Z06 and now the HSV W427.
“We are proud to have produced a vehicle of these proportions and are confident the public response to the W427 proves there is a strong future for luxury and performance vehicles in this country.” HSV’s Managing Director Scott Grant.
The W427 has been fitted with an all new clutch, gearbox, differential and exhaust to cope with the incredible 375kW (or 500hp in the old money) and 650Nm on tap.
“We have spent two years developing and testing this car and are really proud of the end result,” said HSV’s Engineering Manager, Joel Stoddart. “It’s the car HSV has always wanted to build and the VE platform gave us the confidence to push the boundaries.”
The car also sports a new six piston front braking system as well as ABS and Electronic Stability Control and carries HSV’s standard three year, 100,000km warranty.
The design brief for the W427 was to create a unique face for the HSV range and embody a new halo car for the brand which would signal immense capability, authority and power.
“We believe we have achieved this with a range of design features including the imposing front face – which emphasises the need for cooling air for the seven litre engine, to the effective and functional three piece design rear lip spoiler, made of carbon fibre to keep weight to a minimum,” Julian Quincey HSV design team.
The unique wheels and W427 logo are the work of Adam Dean Smith, a former Wheels Young Designer of the Year.
HSV has also confirmed earlier reports that no more than 427 examples of the W427 will ever be built – possibly less if there is an unlikely lack of demand.
W427 buyers will also be treated to a special customer program designed to offer an insight into the craftsmanship that goes into the building of each and every vehicle.
This comprises a VIP tour of Holden Special Vehicles Clayton based production facility, to observe the W427 build process from a dedicated viewing station.
Customers will also receive a personally signed letter from Tom Walkinshaw along with a unique vehicle build certificate while a Customer Access Portal, containing build information, servicing details and other information on the history of their car will also form part of the ownership experience.
As one of Australia’s most expensive production cars, the W427 also receives the extra protection of an advanced version of the world famous DataDots DNA anti-theft technology which incorporates the latest encrypting ‘nano’ technology to authenticate genuine HSV components as well as the core vehicle.
In case the price tag is just slightly out of your range, we have left some of the more appropriate images in the gallery at full size (2.0Mb) to use as wallpaper (next page).
Full W427 specifications can be found here.
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This W427 is lame is just a Gts with a new engine and the price is just dumb get a Gtr only if you are a Holden fan go and sell you home and buy this W427.:)
It seems the haters are often the ones who can’t spell properly, or construct basic sentences here.
Just something i have noticed.
Soory Mr Tom
My Engwish not so good because Im a riceboy.
While i think its a hot looking car and will be collectable,its way over priced.375kw and high 12 sec 1/4 mile passes is bugger all these days.Seen plenty of stock F6 FPV,s cut those times.Big brakes,tuned suspension and some big rims.Big whoop!!!!!!!
Did that to my FPV and still make more power at the wheels then what this things makes at the engine and cost me half the price.I can see many a F6 and XR6T waiting to chop this thing to bits.ME included…..
Still a nice looking tough car.Pity about the interior thou.Makes me wanna puke.
I dont care what you say. Whether its rare, one of a kind, wont be remade etc. $155,500 or whatever the price tag for a a simple car such as a HSV with a big engine is NOT worth the money.
Yes the car is fast in a straight line but thats all aussie muscle cars have (hey i love them im not bagging them). Thats the beauty of our cars – theyre simple. Just an engine in a box to put it simply. And thats not worth 155k
For that price you could get close to a brand new M3… other killer bmws, mercs, audi, etc…
GTR (costing less)… provides u with so much more
I dont see this car delivering anything worth the price tag except a head turner in Frankston
Extra 50 or so kW for double the price over a regular HSV/FPV… with a ‘reputation’ cause its the biggest and going to be rare – give me a break. idiots
I’m all for exclusivity, limited builds, special editions or whatever and sure – if you can afford to buy some exclusive vehicle and it appreciates in value, then good on you for doing so…
But come on, HSV – seriously? Could you maybe put some effort in making the thing look a little special? Make the car look like its worth its ridiculous price tag?
The car looks like a Commodore with a fugly body kit. The interior and dash look like absolute crap and the performance figures, in all seriousness, aren’t that special.
This thing looks and goes nothing like its price tag would indicate. Ridiculous waste of money.
Soseg I agree that the beauty of “our” cars is that they are simple …so are the people who buy them.
it would be alot better if they didn’t get the engine out of a corvette.
i think a supercar is more than just a car with a big engine. you hear a lot about other manufacturers like ferrari pushing the boundaries in weight-saving, aerodynamics, design, building process, engineering etc to bring us the supercars we all know today. these same supercars tend to be designed from the ground up to create something unique to every eye.
with this ’supercar’ from HSV, well as far as i can tell all holden have done here is chuck a bigger engine in their commodore, upgraded some components, and tweaked the front end design to stop it from looking the same as every other HSV thats on the road already. then they hyped it up with words like ‘unique’ and ’supercar’. if that gives a car the title of a supercar then lets prepare for a new generation of supercar aurions, accords, mondeos, lancers, mazda6, etc etc
why dont they just stick to calling it a muscle car. oh well, my 2 cents
man this forum is oozing with anti-holden ppl, im pretty proud of holden for doing this, i believe its a little conservative looking but at least its not over the top. yes it has its commodore roots but thats not a bad thing. its a great chassis.
the successor of the VL,VN group A and the VS GTS-R
all which are all historic vehicles.
well done holden/HSV
IF anyone thinks this car is just big wheels kit big engine big brakes, They are plainly dumb c**ts.
And I’m sick and tired of hearing people say, Oh well if i spent 20k I’d go faster!..
Into a tree?
Into A rebuild?
Into a pound?
Into a cell?.
This is the most complete car built by Aussies to date, From ground up, It’s ready to handle stop and perform in one hit, And it’s factory standard.
For those who think it’s nothing special in times..
Measure up to it, .5 of a second is huge in car lengths,
1 second is massive, Don’t think it’s small and not that far ahead 7 car lengths sitting behind it down the 1/4 mile lol.
The car speaks for itself anyway, They will sell all made, And the owners wont give a toss what anyone thinks to be honest.
I quite like the idea of stuffing a 7 litre engine into anything at all really, nothing wrong with that at all. More grunt equals more tyre smoke – perfect.
However, where it all goes horribly wrong and just a little bit pear shaped is all the attached hype, rubbish and nonsense grand standing that inevitably comes along with it.
By anyones and everyones definition a supercar is a supercar, and that means a Ferrari, or Lamborghini, Pagani or the mighty Ascari, Koenigsegg and Bugatti. These are SUPERCARS, low slung two seat mid engined monstrously powerful exotics.
Which the W427 isn’t.
Remember it’s only a Commodore with a very big engine.
So forget all the supercar rubbish and hype, they just say that and bang their drum and talk it up so they can charge you more, which is exactly what HSV have done, and done magnificently.
It is a massively, massively overpriced car.
Remember it’s only a Commodore with a very big engine.
Remember it’s double the price of any other HSV. And for twice the money it should be a lot lighter, meaner, more distinct looking and definately quicker..
We are being short changed..
But then again Tom Walkinshaw is Scottish isn’t he?
After reading this, I just think back to Jeremy Clarkson, saying this car is…. Moronic. (He really took the piss on Australia throughout the test segment too!)
Which to an extent I agree, its big, fat, simple, brutish, madmaxish, typical Aussie reflection of our initial percieved car culture. But hey thats us…
I agree Riley – V8 Supercars… I mean why would they want to use the same engine out of the Corvette which recently broke the [much more high tech] GT-Rs record lap around the Nurgburgring?
it isnt a prety one is it qute ugly yet still it sounds good but agianst everything else in the world of motoring hmm why if the price is about the same as a gtr id go for the gtr
most people buy these hoping that they’ll appreciate in value and dreamt of selling them for close to a $million in a few decades (good luck). these are priced at 150000 because one of the cars has been sold for close to one $million recently. in a few decades time most people who bought w427 will have their cars still in immaculate condition competing against each other to sell their cars so good luck selling the car anywhere near what they expected. all these brainless people will no doubt be dissappointed (hahahahahahahah)
why would any one want to spend $150,000 on a crappy holden anything! there are a lot of cars in that market way more worthy of that price tag and would drive a lot better, the new lexus isf “1/4 mile 12.6″ and the nissan gtr would be way better buys!!!!! if you Talk about it as a collector item you have to keep it a long time for that and who would want to drive this slug for that long NOT ME!
Shame about the Massey Ferguson gearbox.
BMW M3 V8 anyone?
Or better still, FG F6, same pace better handling, and whack 90k into the stockmarket….
..and if you want it to be quicker than the 427 just chip it..!
This 427 wont be much when Ford brings out there GTHO. GTHO was the fastest production car in the world back in the 70s and has been here like that for over 30 years. Ford will do the same again and will always conquer here in OZ with there muscle cars. My moneys on the GTHO anytime. So wat is so good about a 427??????. Its just another holden/pontiac to me.
What’s so good about it? Well, for starters, it’s here now, for those who like that sort of thing.
For those people who think that this is “JUST ANOTHER COMMODORE” proves that the intelect of some people is just beyond repair. The bottom line is that those of you who have nothing better to do with your time than think up stories as to why you wouldn’t buy one, tells most of us that you have got an attack of the green eye’d monster, and would probably never get off your ass long enough to earn enough money to be able to afford one anyway. It’s Australian, it’s unique, and the people out there with half a brain will applaude HSV for Having more brains than other Australian manufacturer’s to have the balls to do it.
$155K for a riced up taxi?! Now thats just fking stupid!!
No wonder it’s a limited edition, i guess there isn’t enough gullible people around with that kind of money!!
Seriously, to be a true classic it must have more going for it then just a limited production!!
A 7.0L engine at this day and age is a joke, and especially with those power and torque figures!!
Thommie79 – you sound like a grumpy old twat, perhaps you are. Suppose this is too big for UK roads like the Falcon
as well eh?
$150,000 for a holden! tell them there dreaming! make mine a lexus isf or nissan gtr any day!
At this point they have sold the 90 which are expected to be built by the end of the year meaning there’s $13,950,000 and if HSV manage to sell all 427 427s [of which there are reportedly another 90+ orders] they can expect to make $66,185,000
Which means if you have ordered a Clubbie a GTS or Maloo you could be waiting a bit longer
Tom-arse: The 427s got more going for it than an Aurion could ever hope to have
For starters they have sold the first lot of cars which are to be built by the end of the year.. which means HSV have found at least 90 more customers who are prepared to pay a set price for an Aussie Perfomance Car than what Toyota have been able to find to buy a TRD Aurion – who have had to reduce the price – at least 2 times?
The HSV 427 may be 3 times a s much ans the TRD which means for the price of 1 HSV 427 you could buy 3 TRD Aurions…. However; there’s no way you will ever get [3 times] the rush of adrenalin etc in the Aurion that you would in the HSV!
Having said that though I would prefer A V: Walkie as its the Original HSV and far more unique
Come to think of it though a mint condition; VL Walkie with relativley low K’s can reach close to the same price as the HSV427
The most Limited Edition HSV were the 2 Black VN SS Group A Sedans made specially for the Tooheys 1000 both of which I believe are now in Perth.. And yes they were painted black at the factory not just resprayed
Tomas: Have they ever made a Limited Edition Prado?
If people are as Tomas believes Nuts to pay $155000 for a High Performance Taxi… I wonder what he’d say to the Businessman who paid close to $1m for the only real production [road going] HSV-427 Monaros a couple of months ago?- The other one is a prototype/show-car at Holdens HQ in Melbourne
Then again I doubt he would believe that a Saudi Arabian Tycoon offered Holdens chief Designer Richard Felazzo over $2 for the EFIJY
I just got myself thinking again that this is not really a good investment seriously even though you might fetch a big payout in the end, the risks are heavy with a car being a collectable.
1. The dangers of the car being destroyed by fire, accident, someone stealing it, someone damaging it, discovering its a lemon to begin with, are some things you have to consider.
2. Insurance each year for this car could be a real bitch given its a limited edition.
I might be wrong but, I starting to sway that people who buy this are more genuinely wanting to be unique and owning a piece of history rather than the realisable value in a couple of years time which is more of a bonus for keeping it immaculate…
Once again the little sad bogans can’t tolerate other peoples opinions, so they resort to insults, and drag this blog off topic!!
No Name Says:
“Thommie79 – you sound like a grumpy old twat, perhaps you are. Suppose this is too big for UK roads like the Falcon as well eh?”
WTF has the falcon and UK roads got to do on a W427?? And what sort of a cowardly name is “No name”?? How old are you ??
Wheelnut Says:
“Tom-arse: The 427s got more going for it than an Aurion could ever hope to have”
Who cares?? As I have mentioned a number of times before, I’m not a one brand blind fanatic such as your self, and your bogan possey!!
And the brands I’m really into, an ignorant fool such as your self wouldn’t have even ever heard of anyway!! Also I guarantee the aurion would outlast the W427 given the same mileage!!
Wheelnut Says:
“Have they ever made a Limited Edition Prado? “
Yes, but an ignorant bogan such as your self, that probably never even left the country, wouldn’t have ever heard of them!!
Besides every one who is serious about their 4wd’s will mod them out!!
And it is a stupid bogan trait to be fascinated by limited edition cars anyway!!
Wheelnut Says:
“If people are as Tomas believes Nuts to pay $155000 for a High Performance Taxi… I wonder what he’d say to the Businessman who paid close to $1m for the only real production [road going] HSV-427 Monaros a couple of months ago?”
There sure are better ways to make money!! Wheelnut, you are forgetting the guy probably got more enjoyment out of being seen throwing that kind of money on the car, then the car itself!!
Lets be honest, the W427 is no history maker, nor will anyone outside of Australia ever know it even existed!!
Tomas – You say that I am a one brand fanatic because ,ost of my comments are all to do with Holden…. Yet most of your commerts are all about Toyota
If you can manage to keep your comments and the discusion on topic you will see that I and the other Holden Ford fans are infact able and would like to talk about other cars other than Holden/Ford.. However we never really get a chance
Because on virtually every topic you and your Toyo-homies come and take whatever opportunity you get to change the topic so that we end up Arguing about Toyotas.. as your unfounded comments constantly criticuse the other makes
Therefore; you should expect those who have Holden/Ford as their preferred make to come on here and make statements such as the ones I did mainly because your denograting statements are usually based on opinion not fact..
In relation to resorting to insults and personal attacks the Toyo-boys are guilty of that farmore than we are… In particular your leader; Mr Toyota himself AKA Dingo
As for Limited Edition: whacking a Getaway or a Rugby World Cup 2003 Sticker and a few other extras such as a set of Foglights on a car doesn’t really count as Limited Edition.. That’s more like an End Of Model Runout as theres nothing really special about them either – apart from the sticker “woo bloody hoo”
I mean by your terms the any car can be considered to be a Limited Edition. Whereas the W427 is a Limited Edition as no other car in the Holden HSV lineup has the 7.0 Litre V8 bodykit or the same interior as it does
Quote [Tomas79] Lets be honest, the W427 is no history maker, nor will anyone outside of Australia ever know it even existed!!
You obviously haven’t heard of a thing called the internet then?
On other international automotive websites there are stories relating to cars from Australia including Ford Holden and even Toyota.
There are a number of people on those sites who after having seen the cars not to mention read the specifications or reviews as to how well they perform etc comment on how much they want one and would love the Holdens and Fords to be sold in countries like the USA UK and Europe
Yeah I would like one,that comes from one who has been told to go hug a tree,doesn’t like cars etc
Those who say waste of money,alternative investment considerations etc may forget those that do buy one are not likely to miss the $155K as much as the majority.
They can afford to put it away & have they every day driver parked next to it.
Is it overpriced?Possibly,but again the market it caters to is not all that concerned.
Enjoy some of the money you make if you can.
Those TLS shares are boring by comparison.
Tomas79 – I wonder if Skodas, Tatras, Pragas, could make as much power or have the same level as performance as the 427…. I know Audis and Mercedes Benzes would have no Problem.. but a Skoda?
BTW: If I was such a one eyed Holden fan then why would I be driving an ‘02 Subaru “Bug Eyed” Impreza RS Sedan? – with approx 150Kw
Hahaha Wheelnut, Do you even know what Tatra’s, Praga’s or the Skoda’s that I’m refering to are??? Obviusly not!!
Yes the Tatra do come with 610kw engines and 2000+ NM engines. But does the W427 come in 10×10? I guess not!!
And without Tatras there wouldn’t be no VW betles or Porsche 911s… But I’m not gonna be carry on about them on here… If you really wanna discuss this, or your number one nemesis The toyota, feel free to discuss on the forum!!
Yet again Toyota Fans comparing Apples with Oranges!
The Australian Built HSV427 is a family sedan whereas the Czech Built Tatras are renown for making purpose built High Mobility AWD Trucks and ATVs be it 4×4 6×6 8×8 10×10 and 12×12 with powerful V8 or V12 engines. used for Military Purposes, Construction and Mining. They have also been successful in the world Famous Dakar Rally.
Having said that HSVs are good at doing what they’re designed to do just as the Tatra is good at doing what it is designed to do.. both very impressive – yet not really comaprable against one another
Same applies in relation to Praga who started off back in the early 1900s in Czechoslovakia making cars such as the 1934 Prga Super Piccolo Sportowni Special [which looks lke a "stretched" old VW bug x'ed with a 1939 Chevrolet Deluxe Aero Coupe].. as well as trucks and military vehicles some which used caterpillars inorder to make it through snow or sand
But more recently have developed a reputation for Motrorcycles; particularly Trail Bikes
So as I said before its a case of Apples and Oranges
Wheelnut, don’t forget a wealthy Saudi Arabian tried to buy the one-off Cadillac16 from GM for $10M. GM said “nope”.
Some people with money WILL pay for exclusivity.
I’ve read so many times people hate the wheels, but for some reason I really like them.
The exterior looks great. Can’t see why anyone says it looks almost like any other HSV. Same people who think FG looks almost the same as BFII I guess.
The interior I definitely don’t like tho.
I know Watto and yet they tell us that the TRD Hilux and TRD Aurion are distinctively different in terms of looks to that of the standard ‘Lux’ or Aurion…. How exactly?
Well…., I have to admit I like the body kit on the TRD Aurion, maybe because it makes the otherwise bland tortoise-noised Aurion actually look really good.
Mind you, that’s the only thing I like. FWD with 400Nm/245kW??? No thanks. I am yet to see one on the road however.
But yeah, I get what you mean on the VESS Ute blog about a black TRDLux with graphite stripes.
Wheelnut Says:
“Yet again Toyota Fans comparing Apples with Oranges!”
Wheelnut, you brought up those cars here, and you asked the question “Tomas79 – I wonder if Skodas, Tatras, Pragas, could make as much power or have the same level as performance as the 427…”
So tell me who is comparing apples with oranges?!! But apart from that I do agree with your description above. But note, the Tatras also used to make air cooled rear engined sport cars, and limousines, and the vw betle is a cheap T97 knock off. But when the communist took after ww2, the passenger car side of things seriously degraded. And as for the Pragas they also used to make kick arse port-axled offroaders!! As for the skodas mentioned above, I was referring to the SKODA-liaz (not part of vw’s SKODA auto), that also used to make offroad trucks that raced in DAKAR. But as far as Aussie classic go, I’d rather have an OKA, then a limited production W427!!
I was referring the current Skoda sedans and the Praga Piccolo Coupes [VW Look a like]- Not the 12×12 Off Road Monster Trucks..
I mean correct me if I am wrong but this website is called Car Advice NOT Truck Advice?
I mean If someone said they like Daewoos… most people would probably think of the small cars that Holden are selling instead of Opels wheras they may actually like Daewoo Earthmoving or Construction Equipment – Tarax Truck Back-Hoes and Graders.. or they could be talking about the electrical appliances Daewoo make such as Televisions or Fridges.
Wheelnut, once again, you brought up those cars on here.
Also look up dictionary.com, a car is defined as any wheeled vehicle!! So yeah, trucks are still cars!! As for Praga Picolos coupes being VW look alikes, I don’t see the resemblance, also when they were manufactured, vw didn’t even exist!!
To say that a Truck is a “Car” is like saying that a 2 man tent is a House..
Sure they serve the same purpose but they are designed for different purposes and are built using different materials
You challenged me that I wouldn’t know about to the other makes of cars you like [which you mentioned on the car advice forum]. I knew of these makes beforehand and as this topic [like the majority of others on this site] is about cars – I thought you were talking about the cars they made..
Even though the “definition” of Car may include Trucks I’m sure most peoples understanding or perception of what a car is would be a Falcon Commodore Aurion Sedan Ute Wagon or Coupe etc NOT Tatra Trucks and the like
I am yet to find a topic on here to do with the latest Freightliners Kenworths Western Stars Caterpillars or OKAs etc.. why because this sites called Car Advice
As for The VW Look alike comment in regards to the Praga… I know they were areound before the VW beetle its just that there would be some people who wouldnt know about them and I hought it would be good to give them an idea as to what they looked like – that is all…
Wow this car looks worse than the standard HSV’s and not that much faster for that crazy price tag?
The whole thing screams try-hard against its more ‘business suit’ rivals from Germany.
Tomas79: If you went by the definition of Car [which you referred to] then surely a Toyota Aurion should be able to carry/tow the same amount of cargo as the latest Freightliner… or a Mini should be able to clear sand dunes and make it through rough rocky terrain like an OKA
But can it? NO – why not they are both cars?
Can a Propeller driven Cesna carry the same number of Passengers as the latest Boeing 777 Dreamliner or be as manouvreable or as fast as a FA-18 Fighter Jet etc?… I mean they’re all Aeroplanes aren’t they?
Ford Volvo Toyota and Mitsubishi for instance also make Cars and Trucks so when you say you like/hate Fords or Volvlos etc what are you talking about their cars or their trucks….?