GM Foreign-Exchange Program: Holden Special Vehicles Getting the Corvette LS3 Engine
MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia’s Holden Special Vehicles E Series and WM Grange vehicles will be available with the 6.2-liter LS3 engine from the Chevrolet Corvette starting in April.
The engine will be standard on the ClubSport R8, GTS, Senator Signature, Maloo R8 Ute and WM Grange, with power increasing to 425 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque.
HSV Managing Director Scott Grant called the new engine “a welcome upgrade for HSV customers who wanted the latest and greatest technology in their cars.”
The General Motors LS3 engine is built by General Motors Powertrain in North America and is available in the current Chevrolet Corvette. It will also be the engine used in the new Pontiac G8 GXP, to be built by Holden in Elizabeth, South Australia, starting at the end of 2008 and exported to the United States.
Vauxhall’s VXR8 and CSV R8, sold in the United Kingdom and Middle East respectively, will also receive the LS3 engine in 2008. New Zealand launches the LS3 engine with a limited-edition ClubSport R8 and Maloo R8.
HSV has released a new color palette to coincide with the engine upgrade. Automatic transmission coolers are standard across the upgraded range. A new 20-inch wheel option is also available across the HSV fleet. Average prices of the upgraded HSV range have increased slightly, from 1.3 to 2.8 percent.
What this means to you: This international exchange program that GM is running is benefiting people on both sides now. — Mike Jarvis, Correspondent