KEY POINTS:
A go-fast supercharger kit put together by Australian tuning house Walkinshaw Performance is breathing new fire into the 6-litre family of V8 engines used by Holden.
The Stage 2 unit has just arrived in New Zealand and is available through WP's Hamilton-based agents Ebbetts Holden.
The dealership has already fitted out cars with the less powerful Stage 1 kit.
Stage 2 will be fitted first to the LS2 V8 under the bonnet of dealer principal Walter van den Engl's drive car, an HSV R8.
WP says it extracts 422kW (565bhp) at 6000rpm and a whopping 728Nm at 4250rpm of torque from the LS2 V8 with 9.5 to 10psi of boost.
The Stage 2 supercharger can also be fitted to Holden's 6-litre L98 V8, the engine found in the Calais and SSV sedans and top-range Ute.
"It will produce similar sort of output in the L98 engine," says Ebbetts parts manager Warren Martin.
"It might be down slightly on overall kilowatts compared with the LS2 engine but one thing about the L98 remains its torque range - it is very strong."
The Stage 2 kit features a HH122 Walkinshaw housing wrapped around Eaton internals, a WP supercharger inlet manifold and drive system, high-flow fuel injectors and an optional air-to-water intercooler.
"We built a couple of cars with the Stage 1 superchargers," said Van den Engl. "We didn't get to demonstrate the first car we prepared because a customer walked in and bought it straight away.
"We have just received the first Stage 2 kit and it will be going into my drive car. That way we can demonstrate its performance to customers."
Overall cost of fitting the supercharger is around $17,500.
