GM Holden has given its loyal Commodore fans more of everything by equipping its last Australian-built model with a 6.2-litre V8 engine straight out of the pages of Captain America.
And it has given the exhaust system a crackling soundtrack all its own in honour of the GM Holden engineer who developed part of it but died of illness before the Series II VF Commodore was completed.
It is called the ‘Baille Tip” after the late Dr David Baille. It consists of an opening in the exhaust that uses pressure to send the sound back through the exhaust towards the cabin, boosting the noise level by 10 per cent.
That and the bi-modal system that detonates extra fuel in the exhaust on overrun creates an aural violence befitting “the quickest Commodore ever.”
“The application of the bi-model exhaust, mechanical sound enhancer and the ‘Baillie Tip’ ensures you’ll hear VFII before you see it,” says Holden’s lead development engineer Amelinda Watt.
“The 6.2-litre LS3 engine combined with the revised differential ratio and suspension changes means this Commodore is, without doubt, the best we’ve ever made.”
Chief Holden engineer Andrew Holmes said the ‘Baillie Tip’ was an integral piece of VFII’s new sound character. It “is a very smart but simple piece of engineering that contributes to the overall vehicle beautifully. Naming the part after David was a non-negotiable tribute that all the Holden engineers wanted to do,” Holmes said.
The LS3 is a 6.2-litre American-built engine used in the Chevrolet Corvette sports car and HSV Commodores. It delivers 304kW of power and 570Nm of torque. The previous V8, the LS2, made 270kW and 530Nm. The LS3 makes the Series II the quickest non-HSV Commodore, with a claimed 0-100km/h time of 4.9 seconds.
The revised Commodore range – sedan, sportwagon, ute, long-wheelbase Caprice – will go on sale in New Zealand soon. The V6 models get extra bits and pieces including keyless entry and a blind-spot warning system and start at $49,990 for the V6 Evoke sedan and $49,490 for the SV6 ute.
The V8s get the go-faster goodies, starting with the SS sedan at $62,990 through to the SSV Redline sedan at $75,990, the wagon at $78,490 and the ute at $64,490.
