HSV power play not over yet

HSV is not about to follow the lead of AMG by calling for an amnesty on rising horsepower outputs, saying there is still more to come from Holden’s hot-car factory.

Responding to comments made to GoAuto in January by AMG’s boss Volker Mornhinweg that Mercedes’ high-performance partner will not chase big power gains, HSV boss Scott Grant told us at the Melbourne motor show last week that HSV’s lifeblood is developing new products.

“I think there’s a little bit more to go for us,” he said.

“(AMG’s) stopping point was about 500kW or something like that and they said ‘enough is enough’, but we’re not there yet. Obviously it doesn’t make sense at some point in time, but I think there’s a little way to go.” Having just unveiled HSV’s new 370kW/640Nm 7.0-litre W427, Mr Grant said that it remains to be seen what powerplant the company would use to up the ante in the future.

He would not be drawn to comment on the supercharged V8 developed by sister company Walkinshaw Performance in conjunction with Harrop Engineering, which pushes power well beyond 400kW and torque past 700Nm.

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Melbourne show: HSV's wild W427 ride