HSV W427 vs other high powered V8 and turbo 6 cylinder sedans

[flooded one]

hey all just wondering what peoples opinions are on these W427 things. i have a mate who is an absoulte diehard holden fan who when gets into arguments about any other car always goes on about these things. dont get me wrong. i think a W427 would be fun too drive but for the money i reckon an XR6 turbo or an F6 is better value. I mean for a $155 000 or whatever the stupid amount was for one and its 7L V8 it does 0-100km in 4.6 seconds. i think thats pretty sad considering half that price you have FPV and other HSV offerings that have 0-100km in just under 5 seconds and the fact HSV claims this too be a supercar??? I think of supercars as lambos etc not commodores and falcons. also cant confirm but have heard that the F6 has a similar 80-120km/h time as the W427. i think my mate got a little upset when my reply too his "fords dont go fast" comment was" google worlds most powerful V8 and i dont think a factory made road Holden or HSV car has yet reached 200mph" but you got to expect that when you argue with people.

[MethodX]

Originally Posted by wildrider

hey all just wondering what peoples opinions are on these W427 things. i have a mate who is an absoulte diehard holden fan who when gets into arguments about any other car always goes on about these things. dont get me wrong. i think a W427 would be fun too drive but for the money i reckon an XR6 turbo or an F6 is better value. I mean for a $155 000 or whatever the stupid amount was for one and its 7L V8 it does 0-100km in 4.6 seconds. i think thats pretty sad considering half that price you have FPV and other HSV offerings that have 0-100km in just under 5 seconds and the fact HSV claims this too be a supercar??? I think of supercars as lambos etc not commodores and falcons. also cant confirm but have heard that the F6 has a similar 80-120km/h time as the W427. i think my mate got a little upset when my reply too his "fords dont go fast" comment was" google worlds most powerful V8 and i dont think a factory made road Holden or HSV car has yet reached 200mph" but you got to expect that when you argue with people.

Havent some GM cars gone that fast?

[StrikeTwiceXR6]

In all honesty, the W427 was just yet another Holden/HSV fantasy car that isn't available to the masses.

[nstg8a]

The wd40 is without doubt IMO the best ever true muscle car built by ford or Holden.

Just because it's expensive doesn't make it rubbish.

I wish ford had the balls to build something as wild as that.

[flooded one]

Originally Posted by MethodX

Havent some GM cars gone that fast?

yes they have easily but i dont think any of them was a road legal holden.

[NX74205]

$155,000? I'd buy a C63 AMG Coupe for that money. It's quicker, lighter, looks and sounds better and is just a hell of a lot more desirable.

No way is a W427 worth $155K. The value for money equation does not add up.

[flooded one]

Originally Posted by nstg8a

The wd40 is without doubt IMO the best ever true muscle car built by ford or Holden.

Just because it's expensive doesn't make it rubbish.

I wish ford had the balls to build something as wild as that.

I agree with it being a true muscle car but I dont with supercar claims thou. the way ford australia is atm i doubt that will happen here. thou realistly the offerings FPV have isnt really that far of it. if the FG GT 335 can clock 0-100 in 4.9 seconds. (5L supercharged vs massive 7L) a few mods and you'd be a head of it and that would be still under the W427 price. a few mods with an F6 would also beat this. dont get me wrong the W427 would be fun to drive but calling it a "supercar" is a bit overated i personally think. just wish i could find a comparison with 80-120km/h times for both F6 and W427

[flooded one]

Originally Posted by NX74205

$155,000? I'd buy a C63 AMG Coupe for that money. It's quicker, lighter, looks and sounds better and is just a hell of a lot more desirable.

No way is a W427 worth $155K. The value for money equation does not add up.

thats what i mean. a massive V8 and yet it doesnt sound much quicker then a F6 (or most HSV) and you can buy one of them for nearly half the cost.

[flooded one]

i found this in my search. its pretty bloody good time for a stock car well i think it is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxG0vMGz58g

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by wildrider

i found this in my search. its pretty bloody good time for a stock car well i think it is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxG0vMGz58g

The W427 was an expensive exercise to deliver what FPV F6 and GT 335 experience for a fraction of the price...
The coming R Spec GT335 and 275 rear tyres should put the GT into the 11s at the strip with no other mods.

HSV won't be taking a back seat either, the rumored S/C 6.2 for the GTS should keep Holden fans more than pleased.

Time and technology moves on..

[Black F6]

Originally Posted by wildrider

i found this in my search. its pretty bloody good time for a stock car well i think it is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxG0vMGz58g

My F6 went 12.3 stock

[pottery beige]

Originally Posted by nstg8a

The wd40 is without doubt IMO the best ever true muscle car built by ford or Holden.

Just because it's expensive doesn't make it rubbish.

I wish ford had the balls to build something as wild as that.

yep.. factory big cubed, nat asp, dry sumped, track weapon for the street.. can't beat that..

[Rodge]

Wildly over-priced and I agree with jpd80 time and technology moves on.

W427's claimed 0-100 was actually 4.70 and I think only one reviewer ever achieved that. Best time i've heard of for real world acceleration, 80-120 k.p.h. is 3.1 seconds by Wheels or Motor can't remember which.

OTOH well respected N.Z. Auto car achieved these 80-120 times
FPV F6 2.64 seconds
SC GT 2.51 seconds
Jaguar XRF 2.50 seconds

W427 is only a supercar in the minds of whoever wrote the extremly creative marketing blurb that went with its release. Motor has just achieved 4.83 seconds for the new SRT8 and the engine is probably not even run in properly yet and that's with 245 rear's !! The SRT8 comes with truck loads of technology and goodies that make the W427 which retailed for well over double the money look like nothing more than a cheaply tarted up Commondore.

A simple $1500 tune on SC FPV puts anything the W427 could do into the catagory of yesterday's news.

[aussie muscle]

The only W427 i've driven is the one on Forza (xbox), so, well, ........ does that count?

[2011G6E]

I've had a bit of a sore spot against the W427 from when they only had the one built, and entered it in "production car" races where it would win against real production cars.

I suppose a production of "one" is what Holden called "production". The fact that the one vehicle they built was pretty much unregisterable was also a sticking point...which the racing ruling bodies didn't seem to care about at the time.

[mcnews]

W427 is the best standard performance car ever made in Australia. It cost a lot of money, yes, but it was a properly done effort at a no expense spared Aussie sedan capable of serious hard work. 7 litres of NA grunt, awesome, coolers for gearbox and diff etc. huge brakes etc... Nothing else comes close.

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

I've had a bit of a sore spot against the W427 from when they only had the one built, and entered it in "production car" races where it would win against real production cars.

I suppose a production of "one" is what Holden called "production". The fact that the one vehicle they built was pretty much unregisterable was also a sticking point...which the racing ruling bodies didn't seem to care about at the time.

I think you're confusing the W427 (the VE based HSV) with the Monaro-based HRT427, which there was only one made and was entered in the Bathurst 24 hour. And yes I agree, it was a rort.

[gtxb67]

comparing the cost of any australian ford to a w427 is like comparing how much less a ferrari cost in 93 to a mclaren f1 road car

it is missing the point entirely

[crymoarpls]

Originally Posted by NX74205

$155,000? I'd buy a C63 AMG Coupe for that money. It's quicker, lighter, looks and sounds better and is just a hell of a lot more desirable.

the 427 is much rarer. i see a lot of c63 coupes and sedans getting around brisbane. i have never seen a 427 on the road here.

[gtxb67]

Originally Posted by crymoarpls

the 427 is much rarer. i see a lot of c63 coupes and sedans getting around brisbane. i have never seen a 427 on the road here.

that's because their targeted market has to get together with another 309,999 others to be able to afford it. their centrelink payments means they can only afford $500 each

[crymoarpls]

Originally Posted by gtxb67

that's because their targeted market has to get together with another 309,999 others to be able to afford it. their centrelink payments means they can only afford $500 each

you're partially right. while there probably is a lot more market in people who inherited money from mum and dad and only want a 'yooropeean' car to drive from the tanning salon to the coffee shop and back in, i think it is really because there was only 137 of the w427s built.

[xisled]

Originally Posted by Rodge

Wildly over-priced and I agree with jpd80 time and technology moves on.

W427's claimed 0-100 was actually 4.70 and I think only one reviewer ever achieved that. Best time i've heard of for real world acceleration, 80-120 k.p.h. is 3.1 seconds by Wheels or Motor can't remember which.

OTOH well respected N.Z. Auto car achieved these 80-120 times
FPV F6 2.64 seconds
SC GT 2.51 seconds
Jaguar XRF 2.50 seconds

W427 is only a supercar in the minds of whoever wrote the extremly creative marketing blurb that went with its release. Motor has just achieved 4.83 seconds for the new SRT8 and the engine is probably not even run in properly yet and that's with 245 rear's !! The SRT8 comes with truck loads of technology and goodies that make the W427 which retailed for well over double the money look like nothing more than a cheaply tarted up Commondore.

A simple $1500 tune on SC FPV puts anything the W427 could do into the catagory of yesterday's news.

Also these may be up with a SC 355, but these cars where avaliable 4 years ago. Back 4 years ago the best FPV you could get was a 315.

If HSV keep it up, IMO HSV would be way out in front of FPV today.

[gtxb67]

Originally Posted by crymoarpls

you're partially right. while there probably is a lot more market in people who inherited money from mum and dad and only want a 'yooropeean' car to drive from the tanning salon to the coffee shop and back in, i think it is really because there was only 137 of the w427s built.

it was a joke, but originally there was going to be 427 built (at least 400), then 200 and finally 137 or something
so i guess not enough people could pool their dole money into a fund big enough to buy the others

Originally Posted by xisled

Also these may be up with a SC 355, but these cars where avaliable 4 years ago

and as much as i hate to suggest it - how would the sc 355 go around corners and brake compared to the w427
straight line speed is only part of the driving experience

[tezxr8man]

They are expensive and not really that much faster but at least with that performance you get a beefed up driveline to handle it with a different diff And gearbox, i would hate to be a C/Bearing or diff in a falcon at the moment with their performance

[Black F6]

Originally Posted by xisled

Also these may be up with a SC 355, but these cars where avaliable 4 years ago. Back 4 years ago the best FPV you could get was a 315.

If HSV keep it up, IMO HSV would be way out in front of FPV today.

Forgetting about a little car called the F6310?

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by tezxr8man

They are expensive and not really that much faster but at least with that performance you get a beefed up driveline to handle it with a different diff And gearbox, i would hate to be a C/Bearing or diff in a falcon at the moment with their performance

Wasn't the majority of the R&D costs associated with fitting the dry sumped engine into the Commodore based car? I read that it was quite an exercise to complete.

[seedywagon]

Nothing says bogan like spending 155k on a Commodore.

[RedHotGT]

I've been very critical of the W427 in the past - not against the car - but the concept of selling it in the first place.

The W427 is what happens when people who like to take risks within a company try something different. It's also what happens when companies listen to the demands of the public who 'demanded' a 7.0litre supercar styled sedan. They were aiming at selling 500 of them.... pity that only 140 odd people stumped up the $150k to buy one. (which is exactly what would happen if the HO was reborn - but I digress)

The specifications of the W427 are impressive, and really are not comparable to other cars out there simply because there isn't one like it. And sure, you can slam an F6 310 down a 1/4 mine at a similar speed - I get that. But lets run the same 2 cars around Eastern Creek or Phillip Island ALL DAY on a track day and see who ends up with more laps, consistently, and without issues. It hurts to say it - but the W427 would win that battle hands down.

I love that people instantly think of the 1/4 mile as the 'be all and end all' to decide how good cars are. That's basically like judging a house suitable for your family by how well the kitchen appliances work - brilliant in one aspect - but not indicative of the whole package.

The car itself is great. Sure - it's got the wrong badge on it for my liking, but hey i'm not the target demographic for the car anyways.

Was it a sales failure - Yes
Is it a brilliant car - Yes
Would I want to own one - No

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by pottery beige

yep.. factory big cubed, nat asp, dry sumped, track weapon for the street.. can't beat that..

Here here.

If Ford made a 450kw Falcon GT in the same vien as the WD40, imagine the praise.
Good on HSV for having a could at it.

[crymoarpls]

Originally Posted by seedywagon

Nothing says bogan like spending 155k on a Commodore.

some people feel the same way about any falcon or commodore - regardless of price. they are idiots.