70 january 2018 motormag.com.au
HSV could have gotten
away with the styling
tweaksandafew
badges and sold
every car it made, but
it’s impressive that it’s
continued to tweak
the product with the
new, larger brake
package and wider
rims to make the GTSR
themostcapable
Commodore(barthe
W1)everbuiltanyone who’s driven an HSV in the past decade only
at a higher level. There’s always a lot of weight to
manage and a tendency to understeer if you carry
too much corner speed, but equally there’s a lovely
neutral mid-corner balance and the choice of a neat
or exciting exit depending on throttle application. It
gives you options and supports you with one of the
most expertly calibrated ESP systems around.
The GTSR chassis is more or less identical to the
regular GTS bar one small, but important tweak.
Wheel width is increased by a half-inch at both ends
and a 6mm increase in front track led to a decrease
in offset from 36mm to 33mm. It also necessitated a
move to wider plastic front guards, again lifted from
the W1 program to help amortise development costs
across more than 300 cars. The result is less tyre flex
and better steering response, particularly just off-
centre where recent HSVs have felt slightly vague. It
may sound like a small thing, but it ensures front-end
feedback from the moment you start turning the
wheel. The trade-off is increased ‘fidgeting’ on rough
roads as the front tyres follow bumps and cambers,
although it’s rarely a major issue.
The revised steering is the final piece in a finely-
honed dynamic puzzle and, in the context of a four-
door Aussie muscle car, leaves
you scratching your head as to
how it could be bettered. Sure,
the interior can’t match the
German premium opposition
(though the diamond-quilted
Podium seats are ace), but it’s
way less than half the price.
Some will baulk at an Aussie
car wearing a $110,000 price
tag, but given the mechanical
revisions and updated styling,
not to mention its last-of-the-
line status, it feels worth the
$10K premium over a regular
GTS. Judging by the number
HSV is selling, it seems
punters also tend to agree.
As such, HSV’s Commodore-
based products are retiring at the perfect time. HSV
has stretched the Zeta platform, introduced in 2006,
to its very limits, finessing it to the nth degree. Without
major engineering revisions it’s difficult to see how
it could be improved further. Consider this: in 2006
the VE GTS produced 307kW/550Nm and recorded
0-100km/h and 0-400m sprints of 5.5sec and 13.7sec
respectively. The GTSR, using essentially the same
platform, packs 435kW/740Nm and knocks 1.5sec
off both those benchmarks. Around Winton, even
accounting for track improvements the difference
would be at least five seconds – probably more.
HSV may not have had the luxury of choosing the
fate of its local manufacturing operations, but it’s
played a hell of a hand with the cards it was dealt. Like
the Falcon, the final locally made hot Commodore is
the best. However, unlike its Blue Oval nemesis, HSV
has had the resource and platform to be able to deliver
a globally competitive product right to the very end.
Congratulations on one hell of a career.M
TheSpecs
For the final time
HSV GTSR
BODY4-door, 5-seat sedan
DRIVErear-wheel
ENGINE 6162cc V8, OHV, 16v, supercharger
BORE/STROKE 103.1 x 92.0mm
COMPRESSION 9.1:1
POWER 435kW @ 6150rpm
TORQUE 740Nm @ 3850rpm
POWER/WEIGHT 231kW/tonne
TRANSMISSION6-speed auto
WEIGHT 1886kg
SUSPENSION (F)struts, coil springs, adaptive dampers,
anti-roll bar
SUSPENSION (R) multi-links, adaptive dampers, anti-roll
bar
L/W/H5044/1899/1468mm
WHEELBASE2915mm
TRACKS1616/1590mm (f/r)
STEERING electrically assisted rack-and-pinion
BRAKES (F) 410mm ventilated discs, 6-piston calipers
BRAKES (R)372mm ventilated discs, 4-piston
calipers
WHEELS20.0 x 9.0-inch (f); 20.0 x 10.0-inch (r)
TYRE SIZES 255/35 R20 (f); 275/35 R20 (r)
TYREContinental ContiSportContact 5P
PRICE AS TESTED $111,990
PROS Looks; performance; handling; brakes
CONS Crazy fuel thirst; it’s goodbye
STAR RATING 11112