HOLDEN Special Vehicles has finally bitten the bullet and put a 7.0-litre Chevrolet V8 in one of its Commodore-based cars. Holden's performance arm had built a racer-for-the-road Monaro with a similar 7.0-litre engine as a concept back in 2002 and even started taking cash deposits for the car it called the HRT 427. Unfortunately, the business case didn’t make sense and HSV pulled the pin on the mighty coupe. Its second attempt, the W427, is not a road racer, but a luxury sedan with a race-bred Chevrolet engine. HSV upgraded the W427 with a new manual transmission, improved brakes, unique interior trim and details, special wheels and unique styling. It doesn’t come cheap, with the W427 attracting a sticker price of $155,500.
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2002 HSV HRT 427 Coupe
Released: Family Tree: W427ONLY two road-going examples of the HRT 427 were ever built, one of which is owned by an enthusiast, while the other has long resided in the foyer of GM Holden’s Port Melbourne HQ. Named after the Holden Racing Team and based on the two-door Monaro, the ultra-expensive car had a unique front suspension, a carbon-fibre bonnet and lightweight magnesium wheels. Power came from a 7.0-litre Chevrolet Corvette engine that reportedly developed 420kW/780Nm and pushed it to a top speed of 299km/h. The car was unveiled at the 2002 Sydney motor show and won two Bathurst 24 Hour races, but the production program was canned because the business case was deemed unworkable.
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