2014 HSV VF GTS SEDAN MANUAL

Holden and Ford had been locked in a fierce war for the hearts and minds of Aussie performance car fans for decades, and this battle really heated up early in the 21st Century. With new, far more powerful models being released HSV tried a nuclear approach to winning with the 430kW (580hp) 2014 GTS model. Teased at the launch of the Gen-F model range, the top-spec HSV would feature the 6.2-litre supercharged V8 normally found in the fifth-generation Chevy Camaro ZL-1 and Cadillac CTS-V. Available only in a sedan body, the GTS would return for the first time in generations as a regular production model but at a near-$100,000 price tag. While their other models had also run variants of the LS engine family for nearly 15 years by this point, HSV still had quite a job to fit the supercharged late-model small-block V8 into the VF sedan shell. Extra fluid radiators and coolers were needed to keep operating temperatures within-spec, while the drivetrain presented more issues. While other Holdens used the Tremec TR6060 six-speed manual the GTS had to be equipped with the heavy-duty 9L90 six-speed auto or MG-9 manual, both of which had to be spaced down in the car as they didn’t quite fit in the standard transmission tunnel. The 9.9-inch super-heavy-duty rear-end and larger drive shafts were housed in the same cradle as the track-spec Camaro ZL-1, but HSV had to engineer their own solution to use the VF’s electric park brake as the Camaro used a cable system. On top of this the big banger Holden used advanced Magnetic Ride Control (MRC) adjustable dampers, which were cycled through the dial on the centre console controlling the various driver modes. The interior featured plush, heavily-bolstered leather bucket seats and an advanced driver interface that included track maps for all race circuits in Australia, G-meter, and many other digital outputs. GTS drivers also enjoyed all the normal luxury touches high-spec local cars of the time had. These include blind spot monitoring, dual-zone climate air conditioning, cruise control, bi-modal exhaust, nine-speaker Bose audio, and more.