Raw Aussie muscle
Welcome to our definition of fun...
Many V8s roaring into the chicane at Monza!
As I expected, most of you in the America/Canada region aren't too familiar with Holden. And fair enough. It's not the biggest car maker, in fact as of just recently it's dead, future Holdens are simply re-badged Vauxhalls. However the Commodore name is one you should definately learn about, as Australia breeds a whole different type of muscle car. If you venture to the deep south, Australia or New Zealand
(which, just to clarify, IS NOT the same thing, and suggesting so within earshot of a local will end very badly for you), you must pick a side. Holden or Ford. Red or Blue. Commodore or Falcon. Ask
@Pete05, he'll tell ya. And it's all thanks to a
particular category of touring cars. Even when Nissan, Volvo and Mercedes came to mix things up, the Ford vs Holden rivalry never diminished. It's one of the staples of trans-tasman motorsports. Two mid sized family sedans with 5L+ V8s and RWD drivetrains, battling together in a never ending feud of pride.
The VZ model (this one we raced) wasn't really all that popular when it debuted. It was the last update to the third gen Commodore, and everyone was greatly anticipating its successor, the VE (Australia's first billion dollar car program) Combine that with the rising fuel prices at the time, and the VZ slumped in sales, with everyone holding their horses for the new VE and cheaper petrol. That doesn't mean it was a bad car, people just wanted the fourth gen so much. But in GT6, the VZ is the only model we get, so how does it fare up?
Holden is a part of GM. And thanks to its GM ties, the top of the line SS Commodore manages to inherit a 5.7L Chevrolet LS1 V8. It's good for 335bhp, which isn't much by Corvette standards, but this isn't a Corvette, is it? Remember the demographic this car is targeting. Anyone Australian. That means anyone. Housewifes, business executives, restricted-license teenagers, the lot. And the thing about Commodores and Falcons is they boast strong torque, so while it might not be as
flame spitting as its racing counterpart, it's made up for with a generous helping of torque and a great sense of speed. It is gifted with SH tyres, so it's able to unleash all it's performance with ease, in fact even off the line it's very pleasant and you're off on your way without too much tyre shredding fuss.
Rinsky attempting to evade his pursuer...
As far as handling, well it clings to corners very well considering it's a fully fledged family car with air conditioning, a 6 disc stereo and other extras you'd expect in a daily driver, all of which add weight to the old girl. Having said that, though the weight no doubt hinders the acceleration, it adds a degree of stability to the car, I was chasing
@Rinsky at Bathurst and really pushing to get by him, and not once did the Commodore feel like it was going to under or oversteer.
The weight combined with the V8 may be a bit of a difficulty for some, but if you spend a bit of time in some other heavy FR cars, like for example the Maserati GranTurismo, the modern Chevrolet Camaro, or the SLR McLaren, then you should be able to figure your way around a Commy. On Tuesday's meet up it even demonstrated capability on both wet and dirt surfaces, without too much trouble. The brakes are of course nothing particularly amazing, but given the weight it does well to pull up in the space it does. Basically, give it plenty of room, pull up in as straight a line as you can, and you'll have no worries!
Tuesday night's racing was the best I've had in ages. I'd forgotten just how good the Commodore sounds in GT6, it's beautiful! The Discord server was also up, and myself,
@Rinsky,
@Draggon,
@Vic Reign93 and
@Racer283 spent the night discussing the car and bantering during the races, which was awesome!!! Can't wait to do that again this Tuesday!
Verdict: I love this car. End of story. It's big, it's loud, it's Australian and it's just a glimpse as to what the car culture's like here in NZ and Aussie. The only real downside to it is the lack of Australian rivals to pit it against, even if we got back the FPV models that were in GT4, although I'd expect some more modern and classic variants on top of that... Sleeper and keeper for any true Aussie or Kiwi!!!
..anyway, here's some vids!
And while you watch those, I'll write up details of the next car...
. The car handles like a dream at high speeds on straights without that sway feeling. My only complaint is this car didn't like turning tight corners for me. Far as looks go, it's a Ferrari. They are sexy, and elegant beauties, even in race car form. This car is a SLEEPER and a KEEPER! 
.
👍
. He tells me that sleeper means good, so it a SLEEPER.
