Latest in a long line of hot muscle cars from Holden, the
HSV GTS (E2 Series) not only looks like a racer, but goes like one. Powered by GM's latest 6.2 litre LS3 V-8, which develops 435 bhp (325 kW), the compact E2 models have been stiffened up compared with the previous models, and so are more like track days cars, hitting 60 mph in just over 5 seconds.
Yet the GTS is a very docile everyday muscle car you can drive quietly through town without turning heads. Well, not quite, because the stylists at HSV (Holden Special Vehicles) wanted the E2 models to look as if they were just off the race track. At the front, there is a two-part black grille going almost right down to the front apron which is only a few inches off the road.
Aggressive front end
A pair of shallow nostrils in the hood, and the now-fashionable LED driving lamps, set low down, complete the view when one of these hot V-8s comes up in the rear view mirror. Enough to make most people pull over!
The rear end has been restyled too, with a pair of very wide exhausts at the sides, with a central diffuser, and a black panel to highlight the revised shape. There are also vestigial fins at the corners, and, of course that big wing, which is high enough to generate some downforce, but not high enough to obscure rear-view vision.
Maybe you will like that or maybe not, in which case you can find another HSV tuned model to suit. Some are much more discreet, but still powered by the LS3 V-8.
When I went out from HSV Headquarters to get in the car, it certainly stood out with that metallic gold paint against the dull grey of the car park.
When I jumped into the car, I pushed back into the familiar leather-trimmed bucket seat, and eyed the large rev-counter and speedo separated by an electronic display. I used that display to show the digital speedo because you really need to know how fast you are going in the GTS in Australia, where the speed limits are pretty low.
Rocket-like standing start
I hadn't driven far before I was at the front at urban traffic lights on a dual carriageway. I let out the clutch and put my foot down, shot forward and almost immediately lifted off as I was up at the speed limit. No doubt about the low-speed performance.
To do the GTS justice, I had decided to drive it in Victoria, Australia, heading off along the Great Ocean Road, one of the twistiest and most beautiful roads anywhere, and was also set to take in some of the quieter roads inland, which turned out to be equally twisty. First, though, we took the freeway out of Melbourne, and cruised along at the obligatory 62 mph (100 km/h) speed limit, the car behaving very well, quiet, comfortable and refined.
At the speed limit, the engine is idling along at 1,700 rpm, just sipping the fuel. Put your foot down, though, the fuel disappears quite fast, as you would expect with that big engine in a fairly heavy car, despite its fairly compact dimensions.
Good driving position and seats
The seats were as good as I had expected, and the ride on the smooth freeway was good. On the twisty roads later I found the seats was a bit wide for me, but with good lateral support.
Fat Potenzas on 20-inch wheels
By the time we reached the twisty parts of the Great Ocean Road, it was raining hard, and later on there were small streams running across the road in places. Not to worry, the GTS is sitting on Bridgestone Potenza RE050A tires, which grip well in the wet and are good dry road tires as well.
As is common these days, the rear tires are fatter than the fronts, and they are fitted to massive 20-inch rims. The front tires are 245/35R20s on 8.5-inch rims, and the rears are 275/35R20 on 9-inch rims. Although the ride is pretty hard and joggly, the way these low-profile tires soak up minor irregularities in the roads is excellent.
It was in these murky conditions that I got my first chance to see how the GTS behaved in the wet, and started off cornering fairly steadily, and gradually turning up the wick. With the stability control in normal, the GTS cornered on rails, never even diverting an inch from the selected line. In those conditions, many an exotic car would have needed more delicate handling.
The next day, conditions were similar near the coast and in the rain forest, but were dry inland, allowing more aggressive cornering on very quiet well-surfaced roads. Again, the GTS shone out like a pair of Xenon headlamps on full beam.
Excellent steering, tramlike tracking
One of the best features of these Holdens and HSVs is the steerring which is excellent. It could do with a touch more feel, but as it is the car goes exactly where placed, so you can tuck right into the apex, with the tire just touching the painted white line as the car goes round on rails, with virtually no roll. Just like in a tram.
Handling and steering and just excellent, and match the prodigious power. On twisty roads, the GTS is great fun to drive, turning in sharply, following the line, accelerating fast out, then a dab on those powerful brakes before the next turn, and so on.
Competition settings for stability
To get a more aggressive, you can set the stability control to Competition setting which prevents it acting till you start to slide. You can also switch it off completely, as you would expect on a car which you can take onto a track.
And launch control
Another track feature is the launch control, which allows to accelerate from a standstill as fast the conditions allow. You set it up, then drop the clutch and floor the throttle. The engine speed goes up to 4,500 rpm, and you take off. You'd better have your hand on the gear level because you will need to shift up in a trice!
Manual gearbox on the clunky side
That brings me to one of the weaknesses of the GTS, and it's one you find on other GM cars with same power train and that's the gear shift. The six-speed manual gearbox has been improved since I drove a Corvette a few years ago, but it is still a bit of a clunker, requiring quite a lot of effort to make the shifts you need.
This is no knife-through-butter shift that you get in supercars, but a slow sedan-car type shift, which is a real pity because, despite the massive torque, you need to go from sixth to third quite often on the open road. Of course, there is an automatic option, but without thelaunch control.
In fact, this is where you can have some real fun, driving along fairly straight roads with light traffic. You just sit there, tooling along at about 1,500 rpm in top, until a gap comes, go down to third, and before you can blink you have passed the car in front, and are back your side of the road. This is one of those situations where power gives you added safety, and helps you cover the ground fast.
Damping very firm
One of the much-trumpeted features of the latest E2 models is the magneto-rheological damping, in which tiny particles are charged electrically to vary the resistance according to conditions, which are monitored continuously. In fact, these dampers don't seem to react to the road conditions better than conventional continuously adjustable dampers. True, they do control body movement well, but have very firm settings. What's more you can set them to 'Track' for even firmer settings, which you would rarely need on the road.
Overall, though, despite weighing over 4,000 lb (1,800 kg), this is a mighty impressive super-sedan that accelerates like a rocket, yet cruises quietly, is as at home in the city as a city car – except for that rather heavy fuel consumption, which is actually quite good for such a road rocket. In fact, the HSV GTS can compete head-on with much more expensive machinery as a great road car. What's more it will be fun to drive on a track.
