@wheelsaustralia 59
draped over the hill folds is the SS-V Redline. There’s
a familiarity to slipping into this VFII Commo’ and
even with Holden’s focused FE3 sports suspension,
there’s a languid flow to its body control that’s
immediately endearing.
The chassis is decently tied down in extremis and has
just enough reassurance about its pitch and roll axes
to let you know exactly how hard it’s working the tyre
contact patches.
Almost everything about the Redline speaks of a
car that’s enjoyed some decent budget and a clear
development path that traces back over a decade to
the introduction of the VE generation. Teething issues
have been massaged away one by one, leaving a car
that feels admirably suited for local conditions. It’s
quick too, especially over roads that throw malevolent
compressions, cranky cambers and inconsistent
surfaces at it. You need to dial 4000rpm onto the clock
to really get the 6.2-litre lump into its stride and while
the LS3 has never been an inherently musical engine,
the in-cabin note is purposeful enough, largely thanks
to that cheap but effective Baillie Tip exhaust. The
pedals are beautifully positioned for heel and toeing
down through the gears and the brake pedal feel and
progression is about as good as it gets, in this class at
least. What’s not so great is visibility through tighter
corners, the big-boned A-pillars capable of hiding an
oncoming B-double.
The manual gearbox, while not bad of itself, is at oddswith the efforts of the rest of the Redline’s controls.
The steering’s more delicate than the car’s macho
affectations might suggest, the pedals reward a deft
touch and then there’s this hairy-chested throw that
feels like you’re trying to smash an 8-ball pool break.
What’s more, manual gearboxes with electronic parking
brakes as fitted here are a wholly dispiriting combo.
It’s hard to argue with the way the SS-V – a vehicle
with a bigger footprint than a millennial BMW 7 Series- demolishes a set of switchbacks, though. The front
end is just mighty, the 19-inch Bridgestones doggedly
keying into the scabby blacktop, helped by the benign
long-travel brake and accelerator affording the rubber
every chance to weasel out any residual adhesion. A
consequence of that travel is that you need to really
commit to big braking, something that can lead to
a heart-in-mouth moment if you’ve stepped from
something a little more overservoed. Something like a
Mustang with the Tickford 360 Power Pack, for example.
Everything is immediately more direct in the
Mustang, for better and for worse. On the run to the
drag strip at Heathcote, it’s apparent that there are
some roads where this car just doesn’t work very well.
Anything with sudden and sharp compressions quickly
sees the short travel suspension run out of answers. It’s
the only car I’ve ever climbed out of with bruised pinky
fingers from being repeatedly crashed into the steering
wheel spokes. Occasionally it feels as if a combination
of heave and pitch sends the longitudinal axis a long
LEFT: CLUBBIE HAS
ATMO MUSTANG GT
(AND COMMODORE)
FOR BREAKFAST
BEFORE BLOWING
DOORS OFF THE
HUFFER-FED
MUSTANG TO
100KM/H THANKS
TO ITS AUTO ’BOX
AND SUPERIOR
POWER-DOWN
FOR THIS SNAPSHOT IN TIME, AUSSIES CAN BACK-TO-BACK
V8S FROM OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE PACIFIC