HSV factory on countdown to Chev Camaro
BY RON HAMMERTON | 12th Jul 2018
EXPECTANT Australian muscle-car customers will have to sit tight for a few more weeks for delivery of right-hand-drive Chevrolet Camaros from Holden Special Vehicles, with production now expected to start in late August.
The Melbourne-based manufacturer has been stretched bringing not one but two Chevrolet models to market in recent weeks, with deliveries of the RHD American Silverado pick-up now trickling from the right-hand-drive production line and out to HSV dealerships.
The 2018 sixth-generation Camaro will be next off the production lines at HSV’s new factory in Clayton South, about a month later than its expected launch date of July.
The Silverado and Camaro – both of which will be sold under Chevrolet’s bow tie badge through HSV dealerships – have been locally engineered by HSV for RHD, bringing quality mass-production materials and methods into the process.
So far, HSV has only a couple of pre-production Camaros on hand for marketing purposes, but the finishing touches are being made to a dedicated Camaro RHD conversion production line at Walkinshaw Park, where separate lines are already turning out the Silverado and Holden Colorado SportsCat.
Nearby, sister company Walkinshaw Automotive Group produces three RHD Ram pick-ups – the 1500, 2500 and 3500 - on behalf of the Ateco-owned American Special Vehicles.
So far, Camaro pricing has been kept under wraps (some pundits guess circa $80,000), but basic specifications for the launch variant – the 6.2-litre V8 2SS – were confirmed in May.
Packing 339kW of power and 617Nm of torque from its direct-injected normally aspirated LT1 engine hooked up to an eight-speed automatic transmission driving the rear wheels, the Camaro will have – surprise – exactly the same power as the recently-enhanced 339kW 5.0-litre V8 Ford Mustang GT, but 61Nm more torque (Mustang 556Nm).
The Camaro and Mustang GT can be expected to have similar straight-line performance. Officially, the latest Mustang GT zips from zero to 100km/h in 4.3 seconds, and while HSV is yet to detail its drag times, American figures suggest a 0-100km/h figure just above 4.0 seconds.
Ford recently raised the price of its Mustang range, lifting the ask for the V8 GT automatic by more than $6000, to $66,259 plus on-road costs.
Ford Australia will raise the stakes a little later this year with a limited-edition Mustang Bullitt bearing 345kW and 556Nm at $73,688 plus on-road costs.
How HSV will respond to that variant is yet to be announced, but HSV managing director Tim Jackson told GoAuto in December that chances of the potent supercharged 480kW Camaro ZL1 making it to Australia in the HSV RHD program were slim.
The HSV-converted Silverado is being offered in five diesel-powered variants, ranging from the workhorse 2500HD WT, at $114,990 plus on-road costs, to the 3500HD LTZ, at $147,990.
