Holden Special Vehicles

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Holden Special Vehicles (abbreviated HSV ) is an Australian manufacturer of high-performance automobiles, based exclusively on Holden models.

history

HSV was founded in 1988. The company is jointly owned by Holden and ex-Scottish racing driver Tom Walkinshaw . HDT (Holden Dealer Team), behind which the Australian racing driver Peter Brock stood and who terminated the partnership with Holden in 1987 in a dispute, can be regarded as a forerunner ; The cause was a "polarizer" installed by HDT, which supposedly improved the cars' performance and consumption.

HSV presented the first model in March 1988, the SS Group A SV, a four-door sedan based on the Holden Commodore VL at the time , of which 750 were built.

The factory was initially located in a newly built factory near Melbourne , but it soon became too small due to the unexpectedly strong demand. Therefore, HSV moved in April 1995 to a nearby building that had previously been used by Nissan .

The HSV version of the Holden Commodore VE presented in 2006 is offered in some Arab countries under the name CSV (Chevrolet Special Vehicles) CR8.

The success of HSV prompted Ford Australia to set up a tuning department with a similar profile in 2002 with Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV).

Models

HSV Senator, VS series, 1995–1999

Since 1988 HSV has been offering high-performance automobiles in Australia and New Zealand, most of which are based on the respective large Holden models (in rare cases, variants of smaller models have also been developed, such as the Holden Astra, which in 1988 was based on the Nissan Pulsar , or recently the VRX). HSV used and continues to use all the body variants offered by Holden: four-door sedan, coupé, station wagon and Ute .

The changes to the engine, chassis and brakes are always accompanied by upgraded interiors and a sporty appearance with special wheels, spoilers, etc.

The drive is mostly provided by tuned variants of the engines used by Holden, namely a 3.8-liter V6 and a five-liter V8. To this end, HSV itself developed a 5.7-liter version of the V8 with a longer stroke in the mid-1990s. More recently, the six-liter V8 from the Chevrolet Corvette has also been used as a starting point.

HSV GTO from 2006, in the background a club sport based on the Commodore

The body design of the HSV models came from 1991 to 2001 by Ian Callum , a Scottish designer who also designed the Aston Martin DB7 .

Most of the production is traditionally made by variants based on the four-door Holden Commodore , mostly in the clubsport version. There were also HSV versions of the Holden Monaro coupé . The HSV- Utes cover a special market segment , mostly marketed under the name Maloo . Finally, there are also their own variants of the Holden top model Caprice or Statesman , mostly offered under the name Grange .

The quantities of the individual models are usually between a few dozen and several hundred copies.

In spring 2008 the HSV program included the following models:

In 2020, the HSV Sportcat based on the Holden Colorado will be the only proprietary model to be offered. HSV is also converting some Chevrolet models for the Australian market.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Chevrolet Arabia: CSV CR8. Retrieved December 24, 2010 .

Web links

Commons : Holden Special Vehicles  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

swell

  • Julie Thompson: Holden Special Vehicles 1988-2003 . Ellery Publications, Axedale (Australia) (2004)