1960s General Motors Holden 327 Monaro performance production car
Credit: Shannons
General Motors entered into some markets around the world, by buying up existing, local companies. In Britain, that was Vauxhall, in Germany, Opel. In Australia, they bought up a motor body manufacturer called Holden.
In the 1960s, when GM forbade factory support for motor racing around the world, Holden went racing anyway. Not quite that blatant: they called it the Holden Dealer Racing Team, financed it through advertising, & produced road cars with engines, gearboxes, suspensions & brakes which provided an effective foundation on which to build a circuit racer.
1960s General Motors Holden 327 Monaro production racer
Credit: bringatrailer.com
These days GM is a bit more relaxed about its cars being raced. One of the contenders for fastest production car in Australia is the Walkinshaw Performance Products W507. This is a Holden Special Vehicles GTS powered by a supercharged 6.2-litre LSA V8 with $8,000 of modifications by Walkinshaw to increase power & torque:
http://www.motoring.com.au/reviews/2014/large-passenger/holden-special-vehicles/gts/walkinshaw-w507-2015-review-48154
You've seen the videos of Teslas drag racing fast cars from around the world. CarAdvice set out to see how a Tesla Model S P85D compared to a W507 & then they ran it against a modern Holden production racer:
More about these races from CarAdvice:
http://www.caradvice.com.au/386305/drag-race-model-s-p85d-v-v8-supercar-v-walkinshaw-w507/?yt_desc / drag race Model S P85D insane mode P90D ludicrous mode V8 Supercar Walkinshaw W507 Supercheap Auto Racing’s V8 Supercar racer takes on world’s fastest four-door production car drag race motoring journos Supercheap Auto Racing drag race challenge Supercheap Auto Racing team competes V8 Supercars Championship Australia’s premier motorsport category track Victoria Winton Raceway team ace driver Tim Slade 650hp+ Holden Commodore V8 Supercar challenger world’s fastest four-door sedan supercharged turbocharged V8 V10 fully electric Tesla Model S P85D Insane Mode superseded Model S P90D Ludicrous Mode Model S P85D combined 567kW power over 750hp 0-100km/h 3.3 seconds Supercheap Auto Racing V8 Supercar over 480kW power 3.4-seconds V8 Supercar weight advantage 1400kg Model S P85D over 2000kg all-wheel drive 4 wheel drive track-specified V8 Supercar road fastest series-production four-door sedan built in Australia HSV GTS Walkinshaw Performance Walkinshaw Performance W507 tuned HSV GTS 507kW 680hp 6.2-litre supercharged V8 W507 challenge world’s fastest four-door sedan fastest Australian-built four-door sedans drag race Walkinshaw Performance W507 Tesla Model S P85D start line supercharger whine exhaust noise six-speed automatic gearbox throttle 850Nm torque rear tyres tyre smoke ease on the throttle standing 400 metre straight Insane Mode maximum current draw batteries creep off loud pedal torque Tesla Model S P85D 1150Nm torque all four wheels technical advantage off the line race starter drops his hands throttle Model S P85D rockets ahead traction fully-electric Tesla tapers off sprint four car lengths ahead stupendous acceleration off the line Tesla gains traction relentless push starts slowing 100km/h supercharged V8 road car full-blown race car slick tyres Slade warm up laps track noise side exhaust outlets almighty roar gear change naturally-aspirated 5.0-litre V8 engine uses Holden 308 cast iron block control cam shafts aluminium dry sump race seat three pedals gearbox trick six-speed sequential transaxle integrated spool differential triple-plate carbon 7 1/4 inch clutch giant AP Racing brakes 900 degrees Celsius under race conditions car weighs just 1400kg Model S P85D idle race fires up V8 Supercar Model S dead silent revving the car countdown starts vehicle’s launch parameters manual brake engine perfect rev band race-starter releases clutch rocket away from the line hot cold tyres traction off the line Tesla Model S P85D half way marker clear lead V8 Supercar locks full traction reeling in the electric Tesla I scan my rear-vision mirror just metres behind me finish line tight two car lengths hit the brakes travelling at almost 170km/h 47 metres per second V8 Supercar taking the racing line first corner fury and power under the bonnet V8 Supercar loud machine backfires drag race finish line Tesla Model S P85D straight-line speed road car and full-blown race car Supercheap Auto Racing rematch battery LiIon Lithium on charge recharge /
