So we'll get through the smack about cricket from the Aussies and just drive the car. At least the Aussies like beer, so we should get along when the driving is all done.
The Sun Never Sets on the (GM) Empire
GM's Bob Lutz promised everyone at the 2007 Chicago Auto Show that a version of this Australian-built car is coming to the States next year as the 2008 Pontiac G8, and we're betting that the Vauxhall version meant for Britain might give us some clues about the way GM will refine the package for America.
The final car is the Holden Commodore SS, a product of Holden Special Vehicles (HSV), the Aussie firm's version of BMW's M Division or Mercedes-Benz AMG. Visually, the front end gets flared wheel arches with distinctive vents stuck to the trailing edges, an Opel styling device we've seen lately on the Saturn Vue. At the back, the VXR8 has ultrabright LED rings for the brake lights. There's also a rear aero diffuser and a big rear wing, although these are more style statements than technology honed in the wind tunnel. (What do you expect from the Aussies?)
Although the VXR8 looks a bit narrow like so many Aussie big sedans of the past, you get inside and you've got as much elbow- and legroom as a 7 Series or S-Class. The interior has clearly stolen some "inspiration" from Audi in the design of its switchgear, and this extends right down to the ignition key. And yet the VXR8 still doesn't give you the tactile quality of its German competitors, although the flat-bottomed steering wheel is very nice to hold and feels just the right size.
Everything Seems Bigger in Australia
The VXR8 gets GM's 6.0-liter LS2 V8 and that's a very good thing. It's a splendidly bullish engine, big and powerful by nature and utterly different from the lean, toned, European-built V8s. You can't help but like it. This V8 pumps out 411 hp at 6,000 rpm and 405 pound-feet of torque at 4,400 rpm.
Despite the abundance of big, V8-powered super saloons in Australia, they seem largely pointless because the speed limits are tighter than Dame Edna's undercrackers. (She's on Aussie TV, you know.) The test route takes us down the Great Ocean Road, the most fabulous stretch of swooping, cambered tarmac. It rises and falls behind the beaches (one of them Bells Beach, where they filmed the last scene of surfing in Point Break), and along the cliffs of Victoria's coastline.
After one particularly fantastic stretch, we decide that enough is enough. We haven't seen a cop for the last 10 miles and caution seems due for throwing to the wind, so we duck out of our place in the middle of the queue, make a swift U-turn and head back along the empty road.
Shrink To Fit
As you begin to attack a road rather than just cruise, the VXR8 instantly does a very impressive trick; it seems to shed half its bulk and shrink around you.
The steering is key to this. It's wonderfully precise and accurate, giving you real confidence in the front end, which tacks into corners with remarkably little inertia given that there's a whacking great bent-8 in front of you. The steering effort feels a touch light once you dial in some lock, but there's plenty of feel for what the 19-inch Bridgestone RE050s are doing. You've got big, black 245/40R19s in front and big, black 275/35R19s in the rear. (More money brings you optional 245/R3520s in front and 275/30R20s in the rear.)
No Cliff Diving, Please
Cliffs are a constant presence on the Great Ocean Road, either as a huge, unyielding red barrier against which to wipe out, or as a huge, vertical precipice from which to drop off. Confidence-inspiring brakes are a must. Happily, the VXR8's vented, grooved discs are big, with 14.4-inch rotors in front and 14.2-inch rotors in the rear. The four-piston calipers come from AP Racing.
The brakes need a little heat in them to do their best, but they never once grumbled in 20 minutes of wiping chunks of speed from 4,037 pounds of hard-charging Vauxhall. They look good, too, amply filling the 19-inch cast-alloy wheels. Given the somewhat narrow parameters of the road, it's also amazing how friendly the VXR8 is. It eats straights alarmingly quickly, but when you arrive at the corners you never worry about the fact that you're hustling and sliding nearly 2 tons of car.
Barrel into a corner on the limit and the front will push a little to let you know where you are, but after that it's up to you. You can make the car flow, shimmying across the surface through direction changes. Or if the chance is there, you can light up the rear tires and indulge in a chassis that's wonderfully easy to powerslide. It's fluid, poised and predictable, reminiscent of BMW's best, and gives you the confidence to really grab it by the scruff of the neck.
Even Better With Magna-Ride
The only time the VXR8 starts to struggle is when you really load up its suspension. On some wickedly cambered corners, the progressive-rate springs can start to feel overwhelmed as the suspension travel is used up. Also, small imperfections in the pavement make you think there's more of a party going on under the wheel arches than there should be.
Coming Soon to Pontiac
GM's Bob Lutz first let the world know that Australia's Holden Commodore SS will be transformed into the 2008 Pontiac G8 back in January. We gathered more details at the 2007 Chicago Auto Show and confirmed that the Holden-developed, rear-drive Zeta chassis that underpins the Commodore will become the core of not only the Pontiac G8 but also the 2009 Chevy Camaro.
Now that we've had a chance to drive two versions of the new car — the Holden Commodore SS and the Vauxhall VXR8 — we're even more convinced that the 2008 Pontiac G8 will prove to be worth waking for.
We'll let those Aussies get away with anything as long as they build cars like this.
[source: Edmunds]
