Road Test: HSV Clubsport R8

By Feann Torr - 7/Feb/2007

You could almost taste the sharp tang of excitement in the air when Holden finally unveiled its new VE Commodore in late 2006, but I have to tell you, there were a lot of people out there who were excited about the new billion dollar make over for three far more barbaric reasons.

H, S, and V.

These three letters stand for Holden Special Vehicles, and for those who are unaware - this is a company that has been running since 1987, when they fiddled with a 1988 model VL Commodore and made it much cooler, and more powerful. Simply put, HSV is a tuning firm that takes the humble Commodore - a popular Australian-made large car - rips out its cardio vascular system, cuts off its legs, and then gives it a frontal lobotomy.

But rather than just leaving the car's bleeding and battered body in the gutter of some light industrial South Eastern suburb, HSV surgically alters the car to make it bigger, better, and of course faster. 

It replaces the car's heart with an enhanced and even more powerful version, it grafts on bionic limbs that can bench more than double its own bodyweight, and it's brain is replaced with a sinister cybernetic artificial intelligence, one with a penchant for disturbing the peace.

Indeed, these fettled V8 muscle cars are big, burly, brash, and very quick. 

But with all this inflated muscle comes an inflated price, and I feel it is necessary to see whether such elective surgery is worth the money. The vehicle on test is the HSV Clubsport R8, which is currently the entry-level model priced at just under sixty-three thousand clams. There are no options, no extra gadgets, no magnetic ride functionality - just the core sports sedan given the HSV treatment. So, without further ado, let's see if this 6,000cc sports car stirs the soul:

Drive: 4/5

Arriving at the HSV headquarters in the heart of V8 Supercar territory in Clayton's light industrial district in Victoria, it was hard not to be awestruck at the bright orange paint job of a very nice looking Clubsport parked out front. There were also a number of other cars in view; a couple of Senators, and a big red GTS.

But I was booked into a Clubbie, and seeing as there was only one in the parking lot, I knew the orange beast would be responding to the input my hands and feet for a week. And it was a manual - very nice.

After getting over the initial "It looks way better in the flesh" aspect of the car, I greedily grabbed the keys and soon after found myself marvelling at how the 6.0-litre LS2 engine shakes the entire car at idle, hinting at the ludicrously large V8 power core hidden away beneath the sleek bonnet. Prius owners would be disgusted...

First things first, and I had to get it home without unnecessarily immolating the clutch. Which is sometimes easier said than done.

At civil speeds, the HSV Clubsport R8 is very easy car to pilot. It inherits the VE Commodore's placid attitude - upon which the car is based. The steering is very light and makes manoeuvering the car's long 4.94 metre body through traffic effortless.

The brake pedal has more feel than the SS Commodore and that's because the brakes pack more serious hardware in the form of large (and sexier) cross-drilled discs and APS brake callipers.

As well as the responsive steering and stronger brakes, the clutch was a lot lighter to pump in and out than I was expecting, and particularly for something that has to manage a truly colossal 550Nm flow of torque. The only aspect of the car that isn't quite so suited to commuting and everyday travel duties is the gear shift, which is quite stiff and sometimes needs to be forcibly mashed into gear.

That said, I'd imagine that the average HSV buyer is probably a fairly burly bloke, so this won't be an issue -- and if it is an problem, then there's always the 6-speed automatic on offer.

Parking the car would be rather difficult if it wasn't for the rear parking sensors, because the Clubsport R8 features a decent-sized rear wing that reduces rearward vision, and with all the extra body cladding you'll want to be especially careful around kerbs.

Highway cruising in this big bruiser is remarkably easy - just slot the stubby gear shifter into the sixth slot, hit cruise control and at 100km/h the engine gets to slack off, sitting on about 1500rpm. At this speed the car feels like it's almost sleeping, and when you consider that this engine can rev out to more than 6000rpm, you begin to realise the extent of the HSV Clubsport's abilities.

I've got to say this is my first HSV review, so I was just a little bit excited about driving the Clubsport. I've tested a number of FPV cars and I'm a big fan, but Ford Performance Vehicles is a relative newcomer compared to these guys. 

HSV has a long and proud history of tuning Australia's most popular large car that goes back about 20 years (just after Peter Brock was gently persuaded to move on after putting crystals in the engine bay) and has a huge cult following.

So, with 20 years of tuning experience to its name, how do the chassis and engine fair when pushed?

At first I was a bit skeptical of the cars claimed 0-100km/h times, stated at under 5.0 seconds, and my initial thoughts were that the car had too much body roll to be of any great use in tight corners. But this was coming off the back of testing an Audi RS 4, so the bar was set precariously high. 

Furthermore, it had been a while since I'd driven a performance Aussie sedan, and I reckon you have to be in a somewhat brutish mindset to get the most out of them. If you drive this thing like a Camry, you'll be bored stiff. But drive them like they want to be abused, and you'll have a far more enjoyable experience.

So, with scant regard to my own safety, I set about probing the Clubsport's limits, and the further I pushed the more I was rewarded.

Sitting on large 19-inch rims, this car has some seriously fat tyres that read more like the spec list of a Porsche 911, with significant 245/40 R19s on the front wheels and very wide 275/35 R19 profile tyres on the rear, all of which are Bridgestone Potenzas, developed especially for the car. 

Even with the Clubsport's heavy kerb weight of around 1800kg, the suspension and the tyres are such that car can maintain very good corner speeds, and though at times it feels a little ponderous (often when accelerating hard out of corners, as the rear end gets very twitchy) the car has impressive levels of grip.

Initial turn-in - when you first begin tip the car's nose into the start of a corner - feels quite good and though I'm not 100% happy with the new power steering ratio in the E-Series Clubsport (it's a bit too light, and sometimes feels too loose) it doesn't take long to get reacquainted with this style of vehicle and how it needs to be driven. Even with the sometimes artificial steering feel, the chassis is quite communicative allowing you to pre-empt (or provoke) any sideways action.

Getting the best from of the car isn't too hard, but you do need to be smooth with your driving style, especially when throttling out of corners because even with 19-inch rubber measuring 275/35, the rear wheels are want to break free in lower gears and particularly through tight corners.

Thankfully the ESP system on the HSV is rather accommodating, and gives the rear end a certain level of give before it gently cuts in and brings everything back into line with minimal fuss. And unlike the basic traction control system of the previous generation Commodore/HSV safety package, this thing is far more subtle and won't upset your rhythm quite as much.

Being a rear-wheel drive car, with huge reserves of torque, the car has a tendency to oversteer under part and full throttle applications through corners, which is fine in my book. It gives the Clubbie a certain aggressive feel when cornering and though it's heavy weight is a real problem when hitting flip-flops that necessitate rapid changes of direction, in general it's a very capable sports sedan.

I did experience a level of bodyroll, but nothing that undermines the chassis' otherwise tight feel. It can hold pretty good mid-corner speeds thanks to the extra-wide rubber, and the frame feels more rigid than past Commodore's which makes everything respond just that little bit quicker: steering, brakes, throttle. 

Speaking of the brakes, they are on par with the engine for sheer power, and that's saying something. This car is quite heavy, and weight is the one things you need less of in a car to increase performance, but even with the HSV Clubsport's inability to lose weight, the brakes feel very strong. Measuring 365mm up front and 350mm at the rear with quad piston callipers all round, all four brake rotors are obviously quite huge but are slotted too (channels carved into the brake discs surface) which helps keep dust and brake residues from building up - and it also looks pretty trick, too.

Electronic features such as ABS, EBD and ESC are reassuring, and though we didn't get to use the Clubsport on a race track we gave it plenty of prolonged abuse to see how it held up. The clutch and gearbox were fine, and other than the oil temp rising to high levels, the engine always felt raring to go. We did experience brake fade due to rising calliper, piston, and disc temperatures (after repeated heavy braking), but they always had a strong enough feel that meant you didn't have to handicap yourself and, considering the weight they've got to anchor, they did a remarkable job during out test.

If going fast on straight roads is something you a) enjoy, or b) have to do on a regular basis, there are few cars that can match this. With a shocking 550Nm of torque on tap @ 4400rpm and no pesky electronic speed restricters that are common to almost all German sports sedans, the Clubsport has an uncanny knack of pouring on speed with such effortlessness it's sometimes dizzying. More often than not, the speedometre needle winds around the dial quicker than the tach.

Though smaller/lighter cars may be able to hold tighter lines through some corners - sweepers not included - the HSV gains lots of ground on the straights, able to put a crushing amount of power to the road without even braking a sweat. Except for first, sticking gears all the way to the redline takes courage, but there is a small beeps that sounds off to inform you to change up a gear so you don't have to take your eyes from the road.

If, for example, you decided to do a 'test' and conduct full throttle application to each of the first three gears in the 6-speed vehicle, you would probably be sent straight to jail if spotted by the plod. In other words, this thing is has some serious legs, and it's shame we couldn't take it to the airstrip to see how quick it went, though I'd be wagering about 290km/h. And though it mightn't be as quick off the line as some cars (the Audi RS 4 for one), it's mid-range punch and mid-gear roll ons are highlight just how strong the engine can be.

The quickest lap times are only ever going to come about when you turn the ESP off, which can be a harrowing experience, particularly if the tyres are cold or there has been rain. But when it's turned off you get a much purer Clubsport experience, one where you can steer the car with the throttle and gives you a better feel for how much power the engine can deliver.

At the end of this seven day test, I grew quite fond of the HSV Clubsport. It never feels unsophisticated or cheap - the new VE Commodore underpinnings make sure of that - but it's heavy weight is a problem and the ludicrous amount of torque the 6.0-litre engine develops can take some getting used to. But after a few days the car really comes alive, and in the right hands is capable of tearing up the tarmac with cars twice its price.

As well as an in-your-face street brawler, this car is also very practical, with heaps of room for all five passengers, a huge boot and plenty of decent standard features, such as the audio/visual reverse parking sensors, and 6-stack CD stereo with 11 speakers. The ride doesn't suffer too much because of the sports suspension, though if you're used to cushy cars this may come across as a bit too rigid so it could be best to stick to a Calais or a similar.

Engine: 4/5

If you subscribe to the 'bigger is better' theory, then you're going to love the 6.0-litre engine in this car. With 2-valves per cylinder (most cars have 4) that are operated by overhead valves (or pushrods), the engine is fairly low-tech by todays standards, but when you have 364 cubic inches of old-school muscle, there's really no need to innovate.

So rather than improve the technology of its traditional push-rod engines, whether through direct injecting the fuel, or using forced induction, or perhaps even an electric hybrid system, GM Holden just said "sod it" and upgraded the already huge 5.7-litre V8 to an ever larger 6.0-litre V8.

The extra 0.3-litres of capacity means that this car doesn't have to work as hard to make the same power as its predecessor. But the best part is that it does work as hard, and there's a greater capacity for increased power generation as a result.

With an odd firing order that shakes the entire car at idle - and this car weighs more than 1.8 tonnes - the engine has scads of presence. One thing that didn't sit well with me however, was the engine's acoustic tone. 

I'm not lying to you when I say the 5.4-litre Boss V8 from the FPVs is a louder car - inside and out - and has a more sonorous, soul-stirring tone. Don't get me wrong, this thing sounds plenty evil, but it's just not quite as crisp and as voluminous as its direct rival. It's nothing a mandrel-bent stainless aftermarket exhaust system couldn't remedy, but I guess I was just expecting more decibels.

When it comes to the question of torque however, the HSV surges ahead of its FPV rivals, and this can be measured in a number of methods: some legal, some not.

We'll go with the legal ones today.

Measured on a dyno, HSV claims the 6.0-litre all alloy engine develops 307kW @ 6000rpm, which is shite load of power no matter how you look at it. Stainless steel 4 into 2 into 1 tubular headers were used to increase power over the Z Series HSV's LS2 V8 engine. 

And how about this - the ultimate in bragging rights: there's a power and torque graph on the plastic engine cover in the engine bay so you can prove to your mates that your car is better and more powerful than theirs.

In the old money, this engine cranks out about 412 horsepower, so in theory you'd have to breed more than 400 horses, then train them to fit inside the engine bay of a Holden sedan, and get them to all gallop at the same time and then you'd have the power level about right.

HSV reckons the manual Clubsport can accelerate from 0-100km/h in 4.96 seconds, which I find hard to believe. Do the power to weight ratio maths and this equation begins to smack of marketing hyperbole. Don't get me wrong, this thing is insanely quick and will light up the rear end quicker than you can say "It's a new clutch, officer", and could probably pull mid 13 second quarter mile runs when it gets to really stretch its legs. But from zero kilometres an hour it's not the quickest vehicle off the mark; if you can manage to avoid spinning the rear wheels while retaining high revs, the car feels as though it'd do about 5.7 seconds - give or take a tenth - from whoa to go.

In practice, the engine has a very strong presence, but doesn't have the crisp bark nor the volume of the 5.4-litre V8s in the Ford Performance Vehicle range. That said, the Clubsport's 6.0-litre pushrod engine sounds awesome inside the cabin, which means the driver is well catered for, but from outside it sounds too quiet for something of this pedigree, and as such doesn't have as much of that muscle car mystique (but it's nothing an aftermarket exhaust system couldn't remedy).

Driven around town under the Australian sun the engine can get a bit hot, and won't perform quite as crisply when things heat up, and particularly when you're stuck in queues of traffic. We also noticed that the oil temperature rose to uncomfortable levels after the car had been pushed through some tighter sections of road that required braking to really low speeds, followed by decent straights, and repetitions of this.

With a 73 litre fuel tank, the Clubsport can go quite a distance - we managed to record about 330km on our first half tank of fuel, which was split between hardcore, to-the-limit driving and then to the other side of spectrum, going straight for sixth gear on anything 80km/h or above, and even shifting into neutral on declines to conserve fuel. And it worked quite well.

The other half of the tank was used mainly in city driving and it didn't fare as well, as the stop start of the traffic light waltz and the congested lines and traffic snarls proved to be quite distasteful to this big Australian.

At the end of the day, you know what you're getting with an HSV - the most powerful production Australian sports sedan on the market. The 6.0-litre V8 engine has preposterous levels of power and torque, so much so that dropping dirty great sets of elevens outside your in-laws place takes less effort than peeling a banana. And to think that if the HSV powertrain engineers would have given the car more soul in the form of a stronger acoustic presence, this engine would have scored even better...

Exterior: 4/5

If, like me, you love analysing the new and changing styles of the modern motor vehicles, the new HSV will pique your interest. When it's donor car is already a fairly handsome design, featuring flared wheel arches, a European-influenced front end that has just enough Aussie menace to make it recognisable, you know that HSV is going to do something special.

Take the differences between the standard Ford Falcon and the FPV GT. They're different enough, with plenty of go fast features, but to my mind - and this could be simply due to HSV being the elder statesman here - HSV has always managed to create a more unique looking car than its rival, and the E Series Clubsport is no different.

Let's start at the front end of the car, where 2007 model Clubsport gets a more aggressive face than both the outgoing HSV, and indeed its donor car, the Commodore. 

The grille is a simple little twin-nostril thing, but it works well with the new front apron that includes a much larger lower air dam that is split in half with black outlines, and there's also the polarising trapezoidal fog/driving light nacelles.

These angular new fog light fittings have been praised by some, myself included, while others are not quite as impressed - more than one staffer here thinks they are overdone.

The headlight clusters are fairly conservative, but the projector head lamps add a technical touch and even though the bonnet doesn't have any scoops or bulges like some of its rivals, it does have a nice HSV badge.

Instead of power bulges on the bonnet like the FPV models, the HSV get their masculine jewellery in the form the 'E' vents that exist just behind the front wheels. These huge dark cutouts are hard to ignore, and while I think it's pitiful that they are just cosmetic, they do add a good deal of fascination to the new HSV models.

Other big-ticket visual cues include the large 19-inch alloy wheels, and the slotted brake discs that can be seen beneath the alloy rims give the car a certain motor sport look, drawing yet more parallels between the V8 Supercar and the road goingHSV model.

Bold side-skirts make the cut with tasteful silver 'Clubsport' badges, and from the rear is perhaps the best view of all, what with the brushed alloy quad exhaust system, sporty rear wing and my favourite, the new LED brake light clusters.

While four exhaust pipes create a visually powerful image, one that's normally the reserve of exotic European cars, for mine it's the super-bright brake lights that make this all the more fascinating, adding an unmissable technical aspect to the rear of the car. As well as twin intersecting rings of LED bulbs for the brake lights, the indicators are also clusters of LEDs, while the reversing lights are traditional gas light globes.

I reckon this car has been styled with class. Granted, this is an HSV, with plenty of aggression and muscle, but it's also got a lot more sophistication than normal - the LED lights being a good example - and for this reason you'll get a lot more attention.

At a time when the VE Commodore styling is beginning to thaw from "I dunno" to "I get it", the HSV makes a grand entrance, becoming an adventurously striking Ambassador for GM Holden.

Interior: 3.5/5

It's not fair being the entry-level model, and the Clubsport knows the feeling. It misses out on leather seats, gets only basic electric seat adjustment and there are a number of other omissions. 

But the way I look at it is like this: the Clubsport model is potentially the quickest in the HSV range (if only by a few pico seconds), because it's fractionally lighter without the extra electric motors needed to work the luxury seats and so forth. And at the end of the day, the cloth seats in the HSV Clubbie ain't that bad - they have supportive cushions, with slightly stiffer side bolsters that protrude far enough so as be useful when you ratcheting up the G-forces.

The driving position is pretty good, and there's a fair amount of adjustability in the seats anyway, while the location of the 6-speed manual gear shifter is spot on, which makes almost every drive feel a bit sportier, a bit more eventful as you methodically work your way through the gears.

Both front and rear seats feature Clubsport embroidery - a nice touch - and the left and right rear seats get more scalloped cushioning than standard Commodores, which mimic the front bucket seats somewhat and provide more lateral support for the rear passengers.

Generally speaking the interior trim and finishing is quite good, and being based on the Commodore there is so much room it feels criminal to drive this thing without a full complement of passengers -- and even with an extra 300kg of weight from four passengers the car's performance takes only the smallest of dents. That engine is something else...

I did notice a strange low level vibration from the left-hand A-pillar that intensified with the revs (one theory was that the engine is so damn powerful it shook something loose), but other than this fit and finish was quite good.

Despite being the base model HSV, the standard features list isn't too bad, and you get items such as an engine immobiliser and alarm, alloy pedals, electric windows and mirrors, and a load of buttons on the contoured sports steering wheel controlling the stereo and trip computer. As well as the new LCD screen wedged between the speedometer and tachometer, there's also a high resolution information screen above the climate controls, which looks great and brings another level of sophistication to the cabin.

There's also dual-zone climate control air conditioning, rear compartment vents, cloth headlining, special floor carpets, automatic headlights, a rather impressive 11 speaker 6-disc CD stereo and stalk-based cruise control, which exhibited some driveline shunt when being switched on (blame the huge amounts of engine torque for that).

When we get to the standard-issue safety systems, it becomes clear the new E Series HSV models get more goodies than ever before that is largely thanks to its donor car, which passes on the strong safety genes in the form of ESP, or electronic stability program. With this single feature the car becomes accessible to a greater range of drivers. Those who may have viewed the HSV range as too powerful or intimidating will find this vehicle more approachable as the ESP does an amazing job of keeping the car on the straight and narrow, as we experienced when driving the Clubsport in the wet.

The HSV Clubbie also comes as standard with a decent complement of airbags, six in all. There are four airbags covering the driver and front passenger, and a pair of expansive side curtain airbags.

Boot space is huge, along with just about every other interior measurement known to man, while the driver is greeted by a much sportier set of instruments than the standard Commodore range, including highly legible white dials with HSV logos that light up red at night. There's also a troika of 'performance' gauges above the centre console, which detail oil temperature and pressure, and battery voltage.

Overall: 4/5

The wheels are bigger, the suspension more advanced, the tyres wider, the engines more powerful, the body kits even more controversial. But even with all these additions, is the HSV a real contender in today's world of V10 and turbocharged sports cars? As a pure performance car, my first impression wasn't overly positive, but as my understanding of the Clubsport R8 increased, so did the enjoyment levels.

The chassis isn't perfect, there's a touch of bodyroll (something the optional Magnetic Ride Control would help reduce), and the brakes will fade somewhat when repeatedly hammered, but generally speaking this car is decisively quick for what it weighs and does a tremendous job of carving up the corners, with heaps of tyre traction. The huge 275 profile rear tyres deserve a lot of this credit, but with the HSV tweaks and modifications to the suspension and engine, the car becomes a very tidy overall performance package.

And more than anything else, this car is a lot of fun to drive. Any time, any day of the week, you will have fun gunning this bad boy around. If you're not an out-and-out performance nut, there's still a lot to like, from the way the car looks to the way it handles long highway journeys. 

It's not the quickest or flashiest large sports sedan on the global market, but it's also considerably more affordable than an equivalent German super cruiser, and with 6.0-litres of in-your-face power on your side, there's a lot of things you can do with this beast. As an entry-level model, the core sports sedan in the HSV range - and one that misses out on the Magnetic Ride Control (MRC), leather seats and other gadgets - the HSV Clubsport R8 represents good value at around $63k, and moves ahead of its nearest rival, the FPV GT, in terms of performance. 

You'll never be mistaken for driving an SS in one of these fire-breathing sports cars and, at the end of the day, the elective surgery that replaces the car's heart, limbs, and brain with ones that have been tailored for disturbing the peace, I think the Clubsport R8 is indeed worth the cash. It isn't perfect, but it's a hell of a lot of fun.