HSV gets more grunt in mid-winter update

HSV Clubsport MY12.5. Photo / Supplied

When it looks like the next model year is just a bit too far away, make one up. That's what Holden's performance arm Holden Special Vehicles has done, giving the range more power, flasher goodies and a spruce-up to create the MY12.5 range.

It coincides with the company's 25th anniversary and sees the 12.5 range widened to offer a cheaper start-point for HSV wannabes, as well as a lower ticket price on freshened-up versions of the current selection.

ClubSport and the Maloo ute return to the range, sitting just below the R8 models, both toting the current R8 mill, the 317kW 6.2L V8. Everything except the range-topping GTS has been changed. It will be too, but HSV is keeping hushed about it. Driven understands there's likely to be an announcement closer to the Australian Motor Show in October.

The GTS' fire-breathing 325kW version of the 6.2-litre has found its way across the HSV range, and vehicles previously fitted with the 317kW tune will be getting the extra grunt.
HSV New Zealand boss Andrew Lamb is excited about the range update - especially the entry-level sedan and utes that are now on offer.

"It's nice to be able to offer a lower-priced entry level and a good opportunity to get more people into HSVs - both the Clubsport and the Maloo offer some pretty good value for money," says Lamb.

He says the first cars will arrive in dealerships late next month.

The Clubsport will kick off the range with an $86,990 price tag on the manual version, and the Maloo starts at $80,990. Lamb says key models in the range will be priced lower than their predecessors, despite higher specifications.

As with all HSV product, the option list is extensive, ranging from add-ons like side blind warnings, through to go-fast goodies such as propane injection and the company's clever bi-modal exhaust system which makes the big six-pot brake callipers a $4890 box worth ticking.

But it's what's coming standard on other models that'll get HSV nuts most excited - the R8s will have the 325kW engine, 20-inch forged alloys and leather seats, plus the stylish hard tonneau cover for the Maloo R8, and the Senator Signature will have side blind alerts and 20-inch forged alloys in dark stainless.

The MY12.5 range will wear 25th Anniversary bling - including build plate, dash ID plate and sills. Even HSV's excellent driver interface, which includes the cool ability to time laps at major race circuits in Australia and New Zealand, will have an anniversary start-up screen.

"Twenty-five years is an important milestone for our company," said HSV managing director Phil Harding. "From a customer perspective, however, it is the product that matters so we have been working hard to deliver even more value across our range."