GM hot-car unit chopped in Detroit

HOLDEN Special Vehicles’ supply of American-made go-fast parts is secure, despite the closure of General Motors’ High Performance Vehicle Operations (HPVO) in the US.

HSV says it gets its flagship LS7 7.0-litre V8 for the limited-edition HSV W427 from the GM Performance Build Centre, in Michigan, which is unaffected by the axing of the niche GM HPVO engineering centre in Detroit.

And it says supplies of its standard 317kW LS2 6.2-litre V8 – as fitted to the ClubSport R8, GTS, Grange and other models – are also unaffected, as production of the donor model, the Chevrolet Corvette, is unchanged.

HPVO, which engineered hot-rodded vehicles such as the Chev Cobalt SS, Cadillac CTS-V, Chev HHR SS and Chev Colorado ZQ8, has been disbanded by GM to save money in the economic crisis.

From Top: Cadilac CTS-V, Chevrolet Colbalt SS, and HHR SS.

However, GM says models already in production will continue for their regular lifecycles.

GM spokesman Vince Muniga dismissed fears that mainstream muscle cars such as the Chevrolet Camaro SS, Corvette ZR1 and Corvette Z06 were under threat, saying they were “regularly engineered” and did not go through HPVO.

HSV spokesman Simon Frost said it was business as usual at the Australian high-performance car-maker, which is preparing for this year’s Melbourne motor show.

He said engine supply was unaffected, as were supplies of ancillary items such as high-performance gearboxes.

These six-speed gearboxes – fitted to Commodore-based high-performance vehicles including the HSV range, export Pontiac GXP and Vauxhall VXR8 – were modified for locally-made cars in a joint HSV-Holden engineering project.

In the US, about 60 GM engineers worked for HPVO at GM's Warren Tech Centre. All of them have been transferred to other areas of GM.

"We're not going to let those talents go to waste," Mr Muniga said.

But, Mr Muniga emphasised that "all high-performance projects are on indefinite hold.""Due to economic circumstances, we are focusing on core products — passenger cars and crossover vehicles," he said. "Those are vehicles we are putting all of our resources behind."Referring to HPVO's crosstown rival in Detroit, Ford's SVT team, Mr Muniga noted that the Dearborn automaker had put SVT on hiatus for a time.

"Ford SVT did the same thing a few years ago and they are back," he said, holding out the prospect that HPVO may be revived at some point. "This is an indefinite hiatus.”

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HSV slashes W427 production