2009 Vauxhall VXR8 Bathurst Edition
February 11, 2009 by George Skentzos
In a move that will no doubt cause some controversy here in Australia, Holden (HSV) has released two new special Bathurst edition models into its overseas Vauxhall line-up.
The new Bathurst and Bathurst S Edition models bare an uncanny resemblance to the 40th Anniversary GTS, although also sport a few choice performance upgrades to go with the stripes.
With the addition of a Walkinshaw Performance 122 Supercharger, the 6.2-litre LS3 engine of the Bathurst S develops an enormous 417kW and 715Nm – well clear of our local W427 flagship.
The comprehensively engineered package also includes a large capacity intercooler, high-flow fuel injectors, a separate cold air intake and Walkinshaw-developed ECU map, while the standard manual gearbox is upgraded with a high-torque capacity clutch.
To reign in the extra horsepower on the supercharged model and give the normally-aspirated model some street cred, both Bathurst Edition models also boast a new Walkinshaw Performance brake and suspension package.
This includes a new set of six-piston callipers up front with four-piston down the rear, along with stiffer, height-adjustable springs and Walkinshaw-developed coil-over dampers.
The bespoke damper units have 15 separate valve settings with independent corner adjustment for the owner’s preferred setup.
To visually differentiate the Bathurst Edition models from the normal VXR8, they have received a near identical stripe package as the 40th Anniversary GTS.
Although in addition to this, the new models boast front fog light covers, ‘Bathurst’ badging, a console-mounted badge showing the car’s build number and ‘Walkinshaw Performance’ tread plates.
Finally, as a true track day prospect the Bathurst models also feature an optional Bi-Modal Exhaust system which offers two noise settings: ‘Street’, with an upper limit of 92dbA, or ‘Optimum’, which releases the LS3 V8’s full 102dbA.
The twin two-and-a-half inch stainless steel system also unlocks a further 7kW from the big V8 and adds a touch of class with unique chrome tail-pipe finishers.
In the UK, the standard Bathurst Edition is priced at around AUD$84,000 while the Bathurst S Edition comes in at AUD$99,500.
With such a large price gap in the Australian HSV line-up between the GTS and W427, it’s difficult to understand why Australians weren’t offered a similar package with the 40th Anniversary GTS.
Print it: 
And here comes the immature Ford/Holden fights.
To your rooms boys or i’ll give you 2 a clip ’round the ear.;)
Pretty much Richo ,and Im a Ford girl !
Where does it say this Holden Vauxall is a Monaro hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm nowhere, if they are going to trace history why dosen’t Holden honour it with respect. You can’t even buy any VE Bathurst editions (monaros) here. SHAME SHAME SHAME…
I think Holden Co is confused as much as their fans and buyers..
Falcondore,up till now this whole article has been about the WALKY……..GMAFA comes on and makes an unfounded self opinionated comment,we would prefer to keep on topic. What have you just contributed to this ?
Shall we continue Richo !
I want to Tom W to answer why one is warranted and another isnt? Can we invite him on to ask him? Anyone?
Either way this car is the Ducks Guts!
Car advice have done an article on a twin turbo VE thanks to the guys at APS. The article states
We don’t often cover the modified car scene (a segment we will soon be launching an entirely separate website for) but when news came of a 415kW twin-turbo kit for the new Commodore V8 range from APS, we had to take a look
It then goes on to say its an easy and relatively cost effective way to enter the 400Kw club etc
My point is as you obiously are aware of APS and acknowledge the fact that customers can take their cars there in the pusuit of more power – then what’s the difference with someone taking their car to WPS to build their own Bathurst edition? Dee duch cars are available in Australia
BTW: we’re still waiting for that sepperate website for enhanced or modified cars CA
GMAFAD – My comment about the Monro was in response to Mick who said “Also to cast everyones minds back to the Monaro VXR that came as a Monaro VXR500 which was supercharged, also it was almost exactly the same price as the NA version. So the Pom’s supercharging our export HSV’s is nothing new!
Cos just as WPS have done all the work on the VE HSV Bathurst edition TWR did all the work on the [UK Only] Monaro
Richo, you can’t ORDER a car to the same specifications, you can only MODIFY a car to similar specifications. HSV is an agent for WP, NOT a supplier or installer.
I have presented you with facts and corrected your assumptions, certainly no need to ‘duck and weave’.
I am NOT going to mention an aftermarket tuning house which will void a new car warranty as an alternative to the lack of a production model.
The comments in the article were not made to “instigate a negative holden/hsv response” but rather to draw comparison to the 40th GTS which many agree was an enormous dissappointment.
To say CarAdvice needs to ‘research’ in your first comment was not only incorrect but also insulting. If you want to continue commenting in this way you are well on your way to a ban, consider this a warning.
Wheelnut, rest assured our performance car website is very close to being launched.
The point Richo made was that the Bathurst was available in Australia, which it simply isn’t. To repeat what I wrote above, I am not going to mention an aftermarket tuning house which will void a new car warranty as an alternative to the lack of a production model.
what you fail to mention George is that Walkinshaw Performance is not just any old tuning house, its owned by the very same company that owns HSV, that makes them the same entity.
And your just wrong anyway, because you CAN go to a HSV dealer and order a car to that exact specification. You just can, i don’t understand why you cant just admit this.
Yes you can take a second hand HSV to a walkinshaw performance centre and get the work done there as well, but you can also have the work done before the car is even delivered to the HSV dealership which is delivering it to you.
This is not assumptiong, its fact, i don’t understand why your trying so hard to say that Wheelnut and I are wrong.. frankly i dont understand why your even on here arguing, you’ve got your website hits, all your doing now is reducing the credibility of your employer…
George, your arguing over sementics, you said you can’t get this car in Australia, trying to paint HSV in a negative light of “oh why can’t you get this kind of car in Australia” but the fact is you CAN get this car in EXACTLY the same specification just without a silly badge. Whether or not its an officially licensed product or not is immaterial, you can still buy it, officially or not, i can, you can, anyone can go and buy one of these right now at your local HSV dealership.
next your going to be saying that HDT Brock commodores where not available in Australia because the work wasn’t done by Holden rather it was done by Brock in a seperate facility and by a company not directly owned by Holden
Richo, perhaps you missed my earlier comments.
I am going to recap everything for you.
YES, you can order these parts from WP and produce something similar to the Bathurst Edition model.
NO, in reference to your first comment – this does not mean the car is available in Australia.
YES, the vehicle can be shipped directly to WP for these or similar performance parts.
NO, these parts are not sold or provided by HSV, they merely refer customers to WP in an agreement as they are partly owned by the same individual.
YES, you can send a new HSV to ANY aftermarket performance shop straight from the factory – I can confirm this from personal experience.
NO, any WP modifications are not covered by a factory warranty just like any other aftermarket shop.
YES, Tom Walkinshaw has a stake in both HSV and WP.
NO, WP and HSV are not the same entity – Tom Walkinshaw is merely a common stakeholder.
NO, it is not appropriate to recommend readers option WP parts onto their vehicles in order to reproduce the Bathurst since it would void their factory new car warranty.
YES, it is appropriate to question why a similar model isn’t offered in Australia considering the similarities with the dissappointing 40th GTS and obvious price gap.
YES, HDT Commodores – as ugly as they may be – are sold as new in Australia through a third party firm, similar to TechArt and Brabus.
Any other questions?
TWR did no work on the [UK Only] Monaro VXR500, the work was done by Wortec and Vauxhall dealer Greens of Rainham.
I can’t believe I sat here and read this entire thread. Richo, and to a lesser extent, Wheelnut, you’re killing me…
I get everything you are saying, you can get the same specced vehicle here in Aus through HSV and their referral agreement with WP.
It is NOT, however, a Factory Bathurst Model, no matter which way you spin it.
Simply buying an XY Falcon and then buying all the bits to make it the same as a GTHO does not make it a GTHO. I’m sure you get this.
Same goes here, except the car is new. The GTS 40th edition is a limited run waste of time, and maybe, if this car wouldn’t steal sales from the overpriced W427, the Bathurst Model should have been OUR GTS 40th Anniversary Edition.
No semantics, No bitching, no nothing. This vehicle, no matter how many COPIES you make, IS NOT available in Australia. Oh, and the stupid little badge is what so many people pay all that money for – it’s called exclusivity…
Sorry, but I enjoy this site and the posts normally, but this one just s**t me enough to have a say.
And before you say it, I dont know George or anyone on the CA team, I just think you’re wrong.
I think you will find these cars are having the extras fitted @ Walkinshaw Prefromance and have been built for Vauxhall to fit in with the Nurburgring VXR Astra and Artic Edtion VXR Corsa.
Walkinshaw Prefomance in the UK have been fitting Super Chargers to the VXR8 for a long time now.
whatever George, you should have put it in the article, thats all i’m saying, you could have said you can get these parts in australia just not as a factory model or whatever. You know it as well as i do, you wanted to create drama, i note you haven’t denied this…
Richo – I wouldn’t worry about George because despite the fact that those who order an New HSV can [at the same] time order their car to be sent [next door] to WP to have their car shall we say customised.
It’s obvious that he doesn’t want to talk about it as he believes by mentioning that customers have this option he will be held responsible if the warranty is voided.
Yet in the article CA did about the 415kw twin turbo VE built by APS they told CA readers that its a really easy and cost effective way to enter the 400Kw+ club – they didn’t seem to care about voided warranties in that story.
George you don’t have to recommend people have the enhancements done to their car but you should at least have told them that it is possible to have them done by a performance workshop that is recognised by HSV – just as Brabus is by Merc-Benz
Afterall the site is called Car ADVICE is it not..? you can tell people about something however whether or not they follow that advice is up to them
Richo – Its not that we won\’t win this HSV-WP arguement it\’s more like we\’re not allowed to..
Richo and Wheelnut,
You are both missing the point big time. You can take any car to any tuning house you want straight from factory. What George is saying is that it does not make it a factory model. I coud get a 460 crate motor from ford racing and jam it into my POS AU falc, that doesn’t mean it’s a factory model, does it?
And just for the record Richo, assumptiong isn’t a word.
Why dont we try and get Tom to answer these questions ?
Suck it up richo and wheelnut, the article is about the Bathurst edition, not about how you can make you own version in Australia. So let me get this straight, next time CA does a review on an Impreza RS you want them to give you a detailed encounter as to how you can make it into an WRX by getting after market parts from STi?
If you don’t agree with what CA’s written, don’t come to the site. Actually it might be easier if CA just doesn’t review holdens. Then all the Cubs would be putting in their two cents all the time and trying to justify why anyone would spend good money on a glorified commodore.
Holden is like chalk and cheese and for some reason >> cheesy << becomes a more relevant word when controversial modified commondore’s are mentioned in the same sentence.
GEE GEORGE,
would you like to tell the audience which particular hdt commodore’s YOU THINK are ugly??? maybe you have a bit of anti holden/hsv about you after all…
B-Man – its quite different when your talking about receiving a car, driving it away from the dealership and then doing major modifications on it, and ordering a car directly through a HSV dealership with the mods already done and picking the car up for the first time with all of the modifications completed.
Also theres no need to be a wanker and pick up on a minor typo and be all sarcastic about it, i mean really you just made yourself look a lot more stupid then my typo made me…
Actually, no he didn’t…
The fact you keep on about this stupid idea you have got yourself fixated on makes me wonder you need help.
Even in the face of numerous people disagreeing with you, you still can’t accept you’re just plain wrong.
CA and George for that matter, have shown NO brand bias that I have seen, nor was it even remotely evident in this article that he was trying to create “Drama” as you put it.
Time to grow up now and move on…
No because a journilist would NEVER do anything to draw maximum attention and therefore readers and therefore advertising to their work now would they… seriously how naive are you?
Its in the subtle ommisions of information and quotes such as “In a move that will no doubt cause some controversy here in Australia” and “it’s difficult to understand why Australians weren’t offered a similar package” the writer is quite clearly trying to get an emotive based response to this article.
Look back over the many articles in car advice, the articles that get the most comments are negative news stories against Holden, Ford and Toyota. The more comments the more people coming back again and again to view the site… advertising.
I agree there is no particular brand bias at Car Advice, they are just clever, they know how to get hits, that is 100% what this article was designed to do, Car Advice i’m quite sure won’t deny this. If you read my original post, I had no particular gripe with the article, I just wanted to point out that you can get a car of this exact specification in Australia, which is true whether its an officially sanctioned product or not. I only got “heated” when George danced his way around the subject as much as possible rather then just accepting yes you can get the car here, and yes you CAN ORDER ONE THROUGH A HSV DEALER! If George didn’t jump up and down trying to defend what is basically a minor point anyway, there would have been no argument. All he had to say was “You can get a car exactly like this in Australia, just it isn’t covered by HSV’s full factory warranty”. Instead he decided to go on and on and on and on about through the comments which really made himself look distinctly unprofessional if nothing else. Also plain wrong, he said Walkinshaw has a “stake” in both companies but nothing more, which is completely wrong because Walkinshaw’s holding company owns both brands entirely. They are as much the same entitiy as Big W and Woolworths, Coles and Kmart, etc
Again, how naive do you want to be?
anyway whatever, i’ve made my point, some agree, some don’t, whaaa cry boo hoo bye bye
No Richo, you can’t get the car here, no matter how close the parts are from Walkinshaw, it’s still not the same car no matter which way you look at (if you want to be techincal).
Can you also get the bathurst and Vaxhaul badges from Walkinshaw? No… thought so!!
So it ain’t the same..
iVE GOT A VXR8 OVER HERE INTHE uk
gREAT car, not many on the road, autobox crap and weak, but only slightly chipped to 445bhp
fast enough…total posers car…but cant see the sense in the LS3 with some sticky strips…however i;ll go to the paint shop and for about 200 quid get strips put on mine..
thanx aussie for a blindin car though…ps, get a parking sensor fitted to the front..it works great interfering with police lidar 20/20 speed guns
Wow Richo how wrong you are really surprises me. My brother owns a HSV dealer in conjunction with a Holden dealer and he just confirmed to me via phone that there is no way in hell that you can get this EXACT car in Australia. It just cant happen. the factory will not send the car “next door” to recive mods. They will deliver it to the dealer and if by your request you want mods done they will reccomend to you before delivery that you let WP tune the car as it is a recognised partener. YOU CANNOT BUY THIS CAR IN AUSTRALIA!