No Korean HSVs

HOLDEN Special Vehicles (HSV) has moved to dispel suggestions it could follow Holden's lead in sourcing vehicles from GM Daewoo in South Korea.

HSV chairman John Crennan said last week there would not be HSV-branded high-performance versions of models such as the Epica medium-sized sedan, the Viva small car and the light-sized Barina hatchback.

"We haven't got plans for the Epica," said Mr Crennan, adding that there was not a large enough market to justify the means for developing such a project.

"If you are going to do something at a local level, the costs of doing the recalibration on an Epica – and to design the body packages – is exactly the same as it is on a Commodore, and we can't sustain it."Even if consumers started to demand high-performance versions of Holden's budget-focused models from South Korea, Mr Crennan doubted there would be much money to be made from the experience in Australia.

Left: Holden Epica.

"You're not getting any change out of five million dollars, and the clawback on that on 500 cars or 300 cars is basically impossible unless there is an export opportunity," he said.

As a result, Mr Crennan is adamant the only HSV vehicles that are not Commodore-based must already have been developed and devised by one of General Motors' overseas high-performance affiliates – namely Opel's OPC (Opel Performance Centre) operations.

"The best opportunity is along the similar lines of the VXR... have somebody else doing it for you, and you end up bringing it in, and it is reaching your standards that you wanted.

"Our bread and butter will always be the V-car (Commodore) and the W-car (Statesman/Caprice)," he said.

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