Monday 20th October 2003

Monaro Hits Blightly

V8 Coupe hits road and track in 2004!

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Surrey based Emotional Engineering has confirmed that it will race a Holden Monaro in next year's British GT Championship.  The decision is closely aligned to the announcement by Vauxhall that it will formerly introduce the 320bhp V8 road version to the UK from Spring 2004.

Allen Orchard, Managing Director, Emotional Engineering: "This car is a real slice of Ozzie prime beef and an exceptional piece of engineering. It has a proven track record, including outright wins in the Nations Cup, and we shall be looking to make an immediate impact.  We take delivery in December and our planned race programme includes the British GT Championship and a selection of prestigious European events.  We are now working closely with our business partners, Vauxhall, Cummins and Valvoline, to create the best possible racing and marketing environments from which to achieve success ."

   
Stuart Harris, Manager, Media & Motorsport, Vauxhall: "The Vauxhall Monaro has already developed an impressive racing pedigree in the Southern Hemisphere and we are delighted that, with Emotional Engineering at the helm, it will be racing in the UK next year ."

Link : www.ee-sport.com

[PetrolTed]

[JonRB]

Good news indeed, apart from an identical albatross to the one that hangs around the neck of the VX220 - the dreaded Vauxhall badge.

What is wrong with badging it a Holden? Instant street cred from those of us in the know, and instant sales.

GM obviously thought the VX220 would create a halo effect on the rest of the Vauxhall range. It didn't.
They obviously think that the Monaro will succeed where the VX220 failed. It won't.

Instead the Vauxhall badge will exhibit a reverse halo effect on the Monaro and it simply won't sell as well as it would with a Holden badge.

Damn shame.

[PetrolTed]

I suspect Vauxhall will go halfway and start blurring the lines between the VXR racing team and the sporty cars. VXR Monaro or something like that.

[DustyC]

Very nice motors and as common as common loud stuff in Australia.
The HSV models are very special though. Hope to see them here too.
(This car is also the Pontiac GTO in USA).

[jagsy]

What I can't understand is that these cars are made for the UK market.

Holden set me a brochure and they sell lots of Vauxhalls over there, eg astra.

So come on, bring it over and market it right and you'll have a winner.

Oh and yes, Ilove mine so thats a good advert to start with he he

[te51cle]

But with only 320bhp ? I thought they were supposed to be 400 and enough to challenge my Corvette ? Who am I going to play with now ? Back to the biking crowd I think !

[sjc]

Te51cle, the HSV vertions have 340/410/500BHP.Now that WILL give you something to play with.

[jagsy]

But note, I think this is a Holden, not a HSV?!?!?!

[JonRB]

jagsy said:

But note, I think this is a Holden, not a HSV?!?!?!

HSV stands for Holden Special Vehicles.

>> Edited by JonRB on Wednesday 22 October 14:44

[te51cle]

Good, let's hope they select their dealers to support it carefully based on ability rather than willingness !

[jagsy]

JonRB

I do know that, but a HSV does not have Holden written anywhere on the car. It is a division part owened by Holden and TWR.

Holden is the more basic spec, HSV is the tweaked high spec car, like AMG is to merc.

Therefore the Monaro that will be hitting the UK, although superb spec, probably won't be as highly spec / tuned / as good suspension as the HSV version would be.

It that clear - cos I'm confused too??

[PetrolTed]

Strictly speaking I guess I'd link that story to a Holden forum if I we had one, but the Monaro is better linked to the HSV forum than the VX one which is why I selected this one.

[JonRB]

Ahh, I see jagsy.

Ooops. Sorry if I appeared to insult your intelligence - it was not intended.

[jagsy]

Ted, no man leave it in HSV, lets not complicate things too much.

JonRB, intelligence, what intelligence>?!?!??!?

Just a little more on the Holden / HSV thingy, there are 2 websites in Oz, www.Holden.com.au and www.hsv.com.au. You'll see there that although the cars look VERY similar they have different names, e.g. the Holden Commordore is the HSV Clubsport R8 and GTS in various tweaks and the Monaro is the Coupe.

I'm afraid its not all clear to me but thats my understanding.

The Monaro thats coming here I thought was rated at 302HP, lets hope the 0 is on the wrong place. Basically it'll be that same great LS1 with a few minor mods to intake and exhaust will give another 20 / 30HP.

>> Edited by jagsy on Thursday 23 October 07:49

[Crazy of Cookham]

Ahh. At last some discussion on the basic difference between Holden and HSV. Vauxhall had the Manaro at the NEC or a version of it. One thing it was not was a HSV. The absence of the upgraded braking system and a host of other missing items proves the big gap between Holden and HSV.
In addition to the explanation given already does anyone know of the current status of HSV. Since the demise of TWR I believe HSV was taken back under the wing of Holden which cuased technical problems in the race series. I am a bit grey on this does anyone know.

[te51cle]

The HSV Coupe 4 looks interesting. I would guess that the gearbox is next to the engine rather then being a transaxle version as fitted to the Corvette. I like the idea of being able to tweak up the engine and not have to worry about traction every time you touch the throttle. ** Edit - I'll ask on the other thread.

BUT, WHO ON EARTH THOUGHT THAT "MALOO" WAS A GOOD NAME FOR A PRODUCTION CAR !! (even for a truck)

>> Edited by te51cle on Thursday 23 October 09:21

[jagsy]

Crazy
I don't know what is happening with HSV - they seem to be strong enough if Holden have taken on the burden. And they've released the 4x4.

te51cle
It might be a maloo - but its a hell of a vehicle

[Dr Terry]

Hi Guys.

Just to add to your discussion on the difference between Holden & HSV.

Holden is the Australian division of General Motors (wholly owned by the Yanks)

HSV is (or was up until his recent financial dramas) wholly owned by TWR UK. It's now owned by a shelf company of some sort, but as far as we can tell not owned by Holden. It's a bit like M/Benz & AMG, the cars are made by Holden then finished by HSV at their factory & sold thru HSV dealers, who are actually selected Holden dealers that hold an HSV franchise. HSV pays Holden a percentage of the profit to cover use of the name & design rights etc.

HSV cars do not carry Holden badging & do not use any Holden nameplate. That's why you don't see HSV Commodores, Berlinas, Calais, Monaros etc.

Holden keeps on upping the ante though, to the point where a current Holden Commodore SS is a better car allround when compared to a HSV GTS of only a few years ago.

The current baseline motor for HSVs is 285 kW (approx 380 bhp) because the current Holden SS & Calais has 245 kW (approx 330 bhp)

Any comments.

Dr Terry.

[sjc]

At last a definitive answer, welcome to Pistonheads!!

[LuS1fer]

Well it will be nice to see what the hell we do get. I hear tales of 320bhp like the Middle Eastern Lumina SS (also a Holden) then a UK base model of 302bhp (Z28 power but more weight)for 28k and then CAR feature a 370bhp HSV with "a Corvette engine" (aren't they all...)and seem to miss the fact it has HSV all over it and casually mention it will cost £37k.

To add coinfusion to everything, it is a fact that GM lied about the Camaro Z28 output which was nearer 345 than the claimed 305 bhp which means the Holden intake must be very poor or they're lying too. It's like the Secret Service.

Tell ya what. No.