The launch of the supercharged Camaro in North America has fed speculation that the same engine could appear in a Holden Special Vehicles GTS sedan.With 415Kw out of the box, the Camaro ZL1’s 6.2-litre supercharged V8 has the potential to humble the 335Kw supercharged V8 GT Falcon into the weeds let alone severely embarrassing some of the twin turbo V8 Euro muscle cars.
The Camaro and Commodore are siblings and share many vital components, including engines, gearboxes and computer technology and it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that the Clayton factory is cooking up something really mouth watering! It is fair to say that HSVs exported to Holdens’ sister company Vauxhall in England, do have a rebadged Walkinshaw developed supercharged version of the GTS called the VXR8 Bathurst S (570 Bhp/ 425Kw and 528 lb-ft / 715Nm).
To make more sense of the situation, HSV has invited the HSV owners club to a information night late September 2011 and this only happens when there is a new hot model in the air! The current HSV range is powered by a naturally aspirated 307Kw to 325Kw 6.2 litre V8 also used in the Corvette and Camaro. Because Holden warrants the engines and drive-trains fitted to HSV cars, it must approve any performance upgrades and ensure they meet Holden’s durability standards.No-one at Holden or its performance car division is confirming or denying anything regarding the future applications of the supercharged 6.2 litre engine or any other engine in the General Motors inventory.