HSV looks to attack prestige

HOLDEN Special Vehicles is planning to more significantly differentiate its vehicles in styling terms into performance and prestige streams.

The all-paw HSV Coupe 4 launched later this month is the strongest sign yet of this styling plan being championed by the company’s new head of design, Julian Quincey.

His vision is that Coupe 4, the Senator models and long wheelbase Grange would be in the prestige group, while models such as ClubSport and its R8 derivative, Maloo and GTS would fall into HSV’s traditional performance persona.

The high-riding all-wheel drives such as the Avalanche wagon will be skewed toward prestige as well.

The move by HSV to attack prestige and luxury harder is no doubt linked in to its new 10-year business plan, which has been developed with the aid of former Holden executive Rob McEniry.

Apart from styling, technical features such as adjustable Ohlins suspension, tyre pressure monitoring and other yet to be revealed advances will play an increasingly important role in HSV’s model definition.

Following on from Coupe 4, the next step in this separation is likely to come when the VZ range is revealed in the third quarter of 2004.

But the really big steps probably will not start happening until HSV models derived from the all-new Holden Commodore VE range appear in the second half of 2006.

“We are doing a lot of that thinking with VE coming, we are already hard at work on VE,” said Mr Quincey (left), who replaced Neil Simpson at HSV this year.

Significantly, Mr Quincey is the first HSV head designer to be based at HQ in Clayton, rather than working out of now defunct TWR in the UK.

“I think we are very much trying to capture two bites of the cherry the traditional Aussie muscle car for the performance car market and then we are after developing a clear role for the Australian prestige market, which is something we have not really had a fair go at until now.

“Hopefully with Coupe 4 you can start to see some of the visual identities we are starting to establish in that kind of market.

“So we have the traditional out-there performance statement that would be your ClubSport, R8, GTS - and then you would have your little more discreet or understated European look that you’ll start to see on Coupe 4.

“I think you’ll see that established as we go forward in time.” Styling highlights of the Coupe 4 include its mesh grille, HID driving lights and two lots of dual exhaust pipes, made possible by using the US Pontiac GTO ‘under the seat’ fuel tank.

But most significant are the sheetmetal changes made online at Holden’s Elizabeth plant in Adelaide. These are necessitated by the installation of the traction control-based AWD system, in particular the 60mm wider track.

“Don’t underestimate the impact of that,” said Mr Quincey. “That says that for the first time we are able to do unique metal work, and we are after that stretch.

“Holden is lifting the bar and they are creating great style and what we have to do is create that additional excitement that justifies the guy that wants to spend his money on a HSV … That comes with more visual presence, more drama - and we would love to get into more visual differentiation.” Mr Quincey identified the luxury Senator models – based on the short-wheelbase Holden Calais luxury car – as the HSV model that could benefit the most from streaming the range into two groups.

“If you are really intent on getting someone out of an Audi or a BMW, we are too much in your face,” Mr Quincey said.

“I think Senator could be backed off a lot. With a tasteful use of colour and trim inside we could have a good product out there and that’s quite a big chunk in our armoury for the future.

“This year that (luxury) segment of the market has been expanding rapidly, so there is hopefully good opportunity for us in all of that.” Senator retails as a 285kW V8 in either six-speed manual or four-speed auto form at $75,500, or in more highly-specced Senator Signature form at $81,050.

By comparison, the Holden Calais 235kW V8 is only available as an auto for $54,610. But with the last VY II update it received a more sporting persona and tune.

* HSV will open a brand new design studio this year.

“We have had a design facility there but it has been crammed in and we have worked around it, but from this year we will have a brand new place open, a fantastic state of the art studio,” Mr Quincey said.

“We do have our own CAD design people there, so we do all our own surface development there, we do all the clay modelling in-house, so we are almost a self-contained identity within the overall organisation.”