Whether you're an HSV or FPV aficionado, it's a mouth-watering prospect when Holden and Ford muscle go head-to-head. And thirty-five years on, the battle's as tough as ever.
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WHO SAYS history never repeats? The cast of characters may have switched roles, but the Australian performance-car plot remains the same as it was 35 years ago.
Back in 1972, Ford’s biggest gun was the hairy-chested Falcon XY GT-HO Phase III. Rocking on its engine mounts below the famous shaker scoop was a 5.8-litre V8, or 351 Cleveland, as it was known. Over in the red corner, Holden’s David to Ford’s Goliath, was the diminutive Torana XU-1. Powered by a 3.3-litre straight-six, the XU-1 relied on light weight to keep it on pace with the brawny Falcon. Both cars won famously at Mount Panorama – the Falcon in 1971, piloted by a plucky Canadian named Allan Moffat, while the Torana took top honours at Bathurst the following year. The XU-1’s victory marked the last of the 500-mile Bathurst enduros before the switch to a metric 1000km, but more importantly, the 1972 race created Peter Brock’s first win at The Mountain.
Wind the clock forward on the Aussie musclecar evolution, and this time it’s HSV’s biggest weapon using the large capacity V8. The GTS runs the same 6.0-litre Chevrolet LS2 smallblock bent-eight as that found in the Senator and Clubsport, but, with its sharper chassis and a larger wheel and tyre combination, makes better use of its 307kW and 550Nm outputs.
Like the luxury-tuned Senator and Grange (see page 40), the GTS uses an HSV-tuned version of Delphi’s amazing Magnetic Ride Control suspension. But, unlike the Senator and Grange, the version of MRC employed by the flagship GTS is all about extracting maximum attack from the brawny sport sedan. Default mode is ‘Performance’, which offers a fine ride and handling compromise, but does allow for more bodyroll during aggressive cornering.
While certainly firmer, its ‘Track’ setting, meanwhile, is never brittle, and body control is faultless. To further exploit the high-tech chassis tweaks, the GTS rolls on 20-inch wheels (an inch bigger than Senator and Clubsport), with 245/35 Bridgestone Potenzas up front and almost-supercar-broad 275/30 ZR20s at the rear.
Meantime, over in the blue camp, FPV’s current sharpest tool is the straight-sixpowered F6 Typhoon. What about the V8- powered GT-P? Sorry, but that 5.4-litre engine lacks low-down torque, doesn’t rev fast or high, and offers a usable power band of just 2500rpm. In short, the simple but effective HSV pushrod V8 would, and has, knocked the GT-P out of the park.
So, to really test the all-singing, all-dancing HSV GTS, we’ve thrown it into the ring with the talented and turbocharged F6. With 270kW from its blown 4.0-litre, the fast Falcon is giving away nearly 40kW to the GTS. But glance one line lower on the spec sheet, and you’ll see the Ford matches the Holden’s 550Nm peak torque production. Delve one step deeper, and you’ll realise the FPV’s maximum twist is on song from around 2000rpm, and keeps hitting the high note for another 2500rpm. The HSV, while certainly not lacking in low-end squirt, requires a comparatively lofty 4400rpm before all 550 of Newton’s metres report for duty.
Our comparo drive began and ended in misty rain. In the intervening 450km we experienced almost the whole gamut of precipitation, from showers to torrential. Throw in hail and snow, and we would have had the box set. Still, a rain-delayed journey out of Sydney gives you plenty of time to judge the relative design and ergonomic merits of the interiors.
It’s immediately apparent that the HSV is a generation younger than the FPV. As you’d expect, material and build quality is up over the old VZ models, and, for the first time since the BA FPVs, it nudges the HSV in front of the FPV. The general ergonomics are spot-on, but the seats, though comfy and supportive, are definitely designed for HSV’s larger customers. And, while the instruments are well located, the red graphics on white background make it difficult to get quick info at a glance.
The HSV’s biggest interior failing lies in its sequoia-thick A-pillars, a fault shared with all VE Commodores. Thanks to its 2915mm wheelbase, there’s generous accommodation at rear, but its sculptured bench is designed with only two passengers in mind.
With its logical layout of controls, the Falcon’s quality interior is ageing well, but there remain plenty of ergonomic compromises whose roots can be traced back to the AU from 1998. Firstly, its curved turret eats into headroom once you’re in, making entry and exit difficult for anyone approaching the old six-foot mark. You also feel like you’re sitting too high in the Typhoon, as if, rather than being embraced by it, you’re perched on top of its seat. Rear-seat passengers also suffer from a difficult entry and exit, as the rear doors do not open wide enough, and the rear arches intrude into the aperture.
Another black mark for the Typhoon is its high clutch take-up point. Jumping from car to car you really need to think about your first dozen gearchanges in the Typhoon, otherwise you’ll slip the clutch or kangaroo off the line.
Combine the difficult clutch with the ill defined gates of the six-speed manual, and it’s easy to start missing shifts. A couple of times on the rush into tight corners, third-to-second shifts became third-to-fourth, and the Typhoon coasted through almost in angel gear. And, while the turbo six is almost lag-free, matching revs on downshifts requires a hard and fast stab at the throttle to ensure there’s enough response from the engine to match road speed.
While the HSV in the photos uses the 6L80 six-speed auto, the drive component of this test was conducted using a blue six-speed manual GTS. In fact, it’s the same T56 Tremec used in the FPV. Neither are slick-shifting gearboxes, but with a sweeter clutch action and more defined gates, you feel more in command of the HSV. But, even with size-12 feet, it still takes a determined roll of the ankle for me to blip the throttle on downshift.
If the gearboxes are nothing flash, then both engines are works of art. The Typhoon’s turbocharged 4.0-litre straight-six delivers incredible urge from 2000rpm, and by 3000rpm, has you pinned in the seat with a wave of torque that seems unrelenting.
The engine does sound a bit whooshy in mid range as boost is coming on thick and fast – and turbocharging has somewhat muted the note of the straight-six – but above 4500rpm the Typhoon develops a strident bark.
For those out there who think the HSV’s engine is an old pushrod dinosaur, let me shock you: it is one of the great engines of our time. It has fewer moving parts than FPV’s ‘high-tech’ dohc 5.4-litre V8, it weighs less, and uses less fuel. The small-block V8 also makes more peak torque and more torque lower in the rev range. It also revs harder and makes more peak power. Old technology doesn’t mean obsolete technology.
The one area where the HSV’s V8 isn’t world-class, however, is its engine note. It’s better now that the engine is closer to the firewall and that Holden engineers have allowed certain frequencies into the cabin, but it lacks the rich, redolent V8 burble of old.
With both cars idling away in the rain, I explain to our oversteer-happy photographer that he shouldn’t expect any heroics. Both cars are due in the studio for our cover shoot within 48 hours, so unless he wants to make that call to editor Bulmer, there will be no slideshow. So, with my own words ringing in my ears, the GTS adopted the most natural oversteer stance as I sailed past our confused shooter for our first cornering shot.
Such is the HSV’s playful, benign nature, you can drive it on the nose for safe understeer or on those big fat rear Bridgestones for mild or lurid oversteer. Whichever stance you choose, it always feels like its on your side. Sure, the GTS will bite if you’ve got ESP switched off and you’re clumsy with the sharp steering, or heavy with the throttle. But, for a car weighing 1829kg in manual form and corralling more than 400 good old-fashioned horsepower through its rear wheels, the HSV remains a revelation.
Speaking of ESP, the HSV’s system, a mild development of that found in the Holden VE Commodore range, is simply world-class. It’s almost telepathic in the way it refuses to interfere with enthusiastic driving, even over soaking roads, so long as the driver gives it smooth steering and throttle inputs. But it will also quickly leap to the rescue if you make a complete hash of it. In fact, the HSV’s ESP set-up is so well-judged that, even in the rangetopping performance king, you’d really only ever want to switch it off if you ventured onto the smooth tarmac of a racetrack.
Thumb the MRC button into Track mode and you can sense the whole car tensing, ready for action. It’s as if you’ve locked into attack mode and the GTS is awaiting orders to engage in battle. Even with water streaming across the cambered road, the HSV’s broad Bridgestones key into its coarse chip surface and find levels of grip that are scarcely believable.
The linear and immediate power delivery afforded by the large-capacity, naturallyaspirated V8 allows you to meter out the exact amount of power with which the chassis can cope. Quite literally, you can balance the car right on the precipice of oversteer, and then, if you’re up to it, tip it over the edge with another 100rpm.
Without a lumpen V8 sitting high over the front axle like the GT, the Typhoon has fast and accurate turn-in. In fact, it’s heavier steering may be more to your taste than the light but still feelsome HSV. The F6 responds to steering commands with an alertness lacking in the doughy V8-engine GT, and overall its handling is benign and adjustable. Unfortunately, though, its high seating position makes you feel as if you’re perched above the roll centre, and this is never conducive to fast driving. Trust the chassis, however, and the Typhoon will carry a good turn of speed, even in the wet. The combination of a smaller footprint – 245/35 ZR19 Dunlop SP Sports all around – shorter wheelbase and narrower track, mean that the FPV just cannot find the grip and balance of the bigger and newer GTS.
Like the HSV, the F6 offers a ride quality that shames many so-called luxury cars. Despite 19-inch wheels, it copes with Sydney’s lunar roads better than most Audis. On crumbling country tarmac, both contenders offer body control to rival Mercs and BMWs, but again, the HSV nudges its bluff nose in front of the FPV.
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WHO SAYS history never repeats? The cast of characters may have switched roles, but the Australian performance-car plot remains the same as it was 35 years ago.
Back in 1972, Ford’s biggest gun was the hairy-chested Falcon XY GT-HO Phase III. Rocking on its engine mounts below the famous shaker scoop was a 5.8-litre V8, or 351 Cleveland, as it was known. Over in the red corner, Holden’s David to Ford’s Goliath, was the diminutive Torana XU-1. Powered by a 3.3-litre straight-six, the XU-1 relied on light weight to keep it on pace with the brawny Falcon. Both cars won famously at Mount Panorama – the Falcon in 1971, piloted by a plucky Canadian named Allan Moffat, while the Torana took top honours at Bathurst the following year. The XU-1’s victory marked the last of the 500-mile Bathurst enduros before the switch to a metric 1000km, but more importantly, the 1972 race created Peter Brock’s first win at The Mountain.
Wind the clock forward on the Aussie musclecar evolution, and this time it’s HSV’s biggest weapon using the large capacity V8. The GTS runs the same 6.0-litre Chevrolet LS2 smallblock bent-eight as that found in the Senator and Clubsport, but, with its sharper chassis and a larger wheel and tyre combination, makes better use of its 307kW and 550Nm outputs.
Like the luxury-tuned Senator and Grange (see page 40), the GTS uses an HSV-tuned version of Delphi’s amazing Magnetic Ride Control suspension. But, unlike the Senator and Grange, the version of MRC employed by the flagship GTS is all about extracting maximum attack from the brawny sport sedan. Default mode is ‘Performance’, which offers a fine ride and handling compromise, but does allow for more bodyroll during aggressive cornering.
While certainly firmer, its ‘Track’ setting, meanwhile, is never brittle, and body control is faultless. To further exploit the high-tech chassis tweaks, the GTS rolls on 20-inch wheels (an inch bigger than Senator and Clubsport), with 245/35 Bridgestone Potenzas up front and almost-supercar-broad 275/30 ZR20s at the rear.
Meantime, over in the blue camp, FPV’s current sharpest tool is the straight-sixpowered F6 Typhoon. What about the V8- powered GT-P? Sorry, but that 5.4-litre engine lacks low-down torque, doesn’t rev fast or high, and offers a usable power band of just 2500rpm. In short, the simple but effective HSV pushrod V8 would, and has, knocked the GT-P out of the park.
So, to really test the all-singing, all-dancing HSV GTS, we’ve thrown it into the ring with the talented and turbocharged F6. With 270kW from its blown 4.0-litre, the fast Falcon is giving away nearly 40kW to the GTS. But glance one line lower on the spec sheet, and you’ll see the Ford matches the Holden’s 550Nm peak torque production. Delve one step deeper, and you’ll realise the FPV’s maximum twist is on song from around 2000rpm, and keeps hitting the high note for another 2500rpm. The HSV, while certainly not lacking in low-end squirt, requires a comparatively lofty 4400rpm before all 550 of Newton’s metres report for duty.
Our comparo drive began and ended in misty rain. In the intervening 450km we experienced almost the whole gamut of precipitation, from showers to torrential. Throw in hail and snow, and we would have had the box set. Still, a rain-delayed journey out of Sydney gives you plenty of time to judge the relative design and ergonomic merits of the interiors.
It’s immediately apparent that the HSV is a generation younger than the FPV. As you’d expect, material and build quality is up over the old VZ models, and, for the first time since the BA FPVs, it nudges the HSV in front of the FPV. The general ergonomics are spot-on, but the seats, though comfy and supportive, are definitely designed for HSV’s larger customers. And, while the instruments are well located, the red graphics on white background make it difficult to get quick info at a glance.
The HSV’s biggest interior failing lies in its sequoia-thick A-pillars, a fault shared with all VE Commodores. Thanks to its 2915mm wheelbase, there’s generous accommodation at rear, but its sculptured bench is designed with only two passengers in mind.
With its logical layout of controls, the Falcon’s quality interior is ageing well, but there remain plenty of ergonomic compromises whose roots can be traced back to the AU from 1998. Firstly, its curved turret eats into headroom once you’re in, making entry and exit difficult for anyone approaching the old six-foot mark. You also feel like you’re sitting too high in the Typhoon, as if, rather than being embraced by it, you’re perched on top of its seat. Rear-seat passengers also suffer from a difficult entry and exit, as the rear doors do not open wide enough, and the rear arches intrude into the aperture.
Another black mark for the Typhoon is its high clutch take-up point. Jumping from car to car you really need to think about your first dozen gearchanges in the Typhoon, otherwise you’ll slip the clutch or kangaroo off the line.
Combine the difficult clutch with the ill defined gates of the six-speed manual, and it’s easy to start missing shifts. A couple of times on the rush into tight corners, third-to-second shifts became third-to-fourth, and the Typhoon coasted through almost in angel gear. And, while the turbo six is almost lag-free, matching revs on downshifts requires a hard and fast stab at the throttle to ensure there’s enough response from the engine to match road speed.
While the HSV in the photos uses the 6L80 six-speed auto, the drive component of this test was conducted using a blue six-speed manual GTS. In fact, it’s the same T56 Tremec used in the FPV. Neither are slick-shifting gearboxes, but with a sweeter clutch action and more defined gates, you feel more in command of the HSV. But, even with size-12 feet, it still takes a determined roll of the ankle for me to blip the throttle on downshift.
If the gearboxes are nothing flash, then both engines are works of art. The Typhoon’s turbocharged 4.0-litre straight-six delivers incredible urge from 2000rpm, and by 3000rpm, has you pinned in the seat with a wave of torque that seems unrelenting.
The engine does sound a bit whooshy in mid range as boost is coming on thick and fast – and turbocharging has somewhat muted the note of the straight-six – but above 4500rpm the Typhoon develops a strident bark.
For those out there who think the HSV’s engine is an old pushrod dinosaur, let me shock you: it is one of the great engines of our time. It has fewer moving parts than FPV’s ‘high-tech’ dohc 5.4-litre V8, it weighs less, and uses less fuel. The small-block V8 also makes more peak torque and more torque lower in the rev range. It also revs harder and makes more peak power. Old technology doesn’t mean obsolete technology.
The one area where the HSV’s V8 isn’t world-class, however, is its engine note. It’s better now that the engine is closer to the firewall and that Holden engineers have allowed certain frequencies into the cabin, but it lacks the rich, redolent V8 burble of old.
With both cars idling away in the rain, I explain to our oversteer-happy photographer that he shouldn’t expect any heroics. Both cars are due in the studio for our cover shoot within 48 hours, so unless he wants to make that call to editor Bulmer, there will be no slideshow. So, with my own words ringing in my ears, the GTS adopted the most natural oversteer stance as I sailed past our confused shooter for our first cornering shot.
Such is the HSV’s playful, benign nature, you can drive it on the nose for safe understeer or on those big fat rear Bridgestones for mild or lurid oversteer. Whichever stance you choose, it always feels like its on your side. Sure, the GTS will bite if you’ve got ESP switched off and you’re clumsy with the sharp steering, or heavy with the throttle. But, for a car weighing 1829kg in manual form and corralling more than 400 good old-fashioned horsepower through its rear wheels, the HSV remains a revelation.
Speaking of ESP, the HSV’s system, a mild development of that found in the Holden VE Commodore range, is simply world-class. It’s almost telepathic in the way it refuses to interfere with enthusiastic driving, even over soaking roads, so long as the driver gives it smooth steering and throttle inputs. But it will also quickly leap to the rescue if you make a complete hash of it. In fact, the HSV’s ESP set-up is so well-judged that, even in the rangetopping performance king, you’d really only ever want to switch it off if you ventured onto the smooth tarmac of a racetrack.
Thumb the MRC button into Track mode and you can sense the whole car tensing, ready for action. It’s as if you’ve locked into attack mode and the GTS is awaiting orders to engage in battle. Even with water streaming across the cambered road, the HSV’s broad Bridgestones key into its coarse chip surface and find levels of grip that are scarcely believable.
The linear and immediate power delivery afforded by the large-capacity, naturallyaspirated V8 allows you to meter out the exact amount of power with which the chassis can cope. Quite literally, you can balance the car right on the precipice of oversteer, and then, if you’re up to it, tip it over the edge with another 100rpm.
Without a lumpen V8 sitting high over the front axle like the GT, the Typhoon has fast and accurate turn-in. In fact, it’s heavier steering may be more to your taste than the light but still feelsome HSV. The F6 responds to steering commands with an alertness lacking in the doughy V8-engine GT, and overall its handling is benign and adjustable. Unfortunately, though, its high seating position makes you feel as if you’re perched above the roll centre, and this is never conducive to fast driving. Trust the chassis, however, and the Typhoon will carry a good turn of speed, even in the wet. The combination of a smaller footprint – 245/35 ZR19 Dunlop SP Sports all around – shorter wheelbase and narrower track, mean that the FPV just cannot find the grip and balance of the bigger and newer GTS.
Like the HSV, the F6 offers a ride quality that shames many so-called luxury cars. Despite 19-inch wheels, it copes with Sydney’s lunar roads better than most Audis. On crumbling country tarmac, both contenders offer body control to rival Mercs and BMWs, but again, the HSV nudges its bluff nose in front of the FPV.
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