First drive: HSV's E-Series is all class

1 Jul 1999

By THE GOAUTO TEAM

The VTII facelift changed everything for HSV, which now had a Chevrolet-sourced 5.7-litre V8, dubbed the LS1 Gen III, to play with.

While the Holden version pumped out a relatively timid 220kW, HSV’s iteration offered a more satisfying 250kW of peak power and 473Nm of torque – which was still only around the same output offered by the third-generation small-block Chev V8 in the US.

Visually, aside from a Gen III badge, there was little to differentiate the VTII HSV cars’ extra grunt, which came at only a small price premium.