nikivee
04-01-2004, 03:06 PM
Posted on ls1gto
In todays' Melbourne Age (April 1 but I think this is fair dinkum) Holden's director of Sales and Marketing is quoted as saying the 6.0 litre LS2 is awaited for installation in the upgraded and slightly restyled next model, which will see the current chassis out. It will eventually replace the 5.7 litre Gen III within 12 months. It would not be practical to continue building it once the VE Commodore arrives in 2006.
The LS2 Monaro sports 'more than 250Kw (350hp) in standard guise'. Up until now, the car has been designed 'as a unique fashion statement for people who wanted to look good', but 'from here to the end of this car it has got to be about performance'.
'Holden design boss Mike Simcoe said the next Monaro - the design has already been signed off on - is being engineered to take a convertible if a market can be found'.
Reading between the lines, the new car will have 350+hp as a Monaro, possibly with more low-end power (a complaint here of the Gen III compared to the Ford quad-cam 32-valve 5.4) to leave some tuning room for HSV and probably 400 as a GTO.
The '05 will only be touched up. The big changes will happen during '06 - smart move not to wait for '05 IMO. I suspect the next chassis will be slightly smaller, lighter and sportier and possibly aimed fairly and squarely at outperforming both Euro V8 coupes and quasi-musclecars like Mustang variants, but that's my read only. They will fix the trunk/fueltank problem, engineer it for anyhand-drive, ragtop and better weight distribution.
The Holden Omega-platform was engineered for bigger cars, including commercials and stretched versions (Ute, Wagon, Caprice) - now they have the option to re-engineer to allow for a shorter sports chassis.
In todays' Melbourne Age (April 1 but I think this is fair dinkum) Holden's director of Sales and Marketing is quoted as saying the 6.0 litre LS2 is awaited for installation in the upgraded and slightly restyled next model, which will see the current chassis out. It will eventually replace the 5.7 litre Gen III within 12 months. It would not be practical to continue building it once the VE Commodore arrives in 2006.
The LS2 Monaro sports 'more than 250Kw (350hp) in standard guise'. Up until now, the car has been designed 'as a unique fashion statement for people who wanted to look good', but 'from here to the end of this car it has got to be about performance'.
'Holden design boss Mike Simcoe said the next Monaro - the design has already been signed off on - is being engineered to take a convertible if a market can be found'.
Reading between the lines, the new car will have 350+hp as a Monaro, possibly with more low-end power (a complaint here of the Gen III compared to the Ford quad-cam 32-valve 5.4) to leave some tuning room for HSV and probably 400 as a GTO.
The '05 will only be touched up. The big changes will happen during '06 - smart move not to wait for '05 IMO. I suspect the next chassis will be slightly smaller, lighter and sportier and possibly aimed fairly and squarely at outperforming both Euro V8 coupes and quasi-musclecars like Mustang variants, but that's my read only. They will fix the trunk/fueltank problem, engineer it for anyhand-drive, ragtop and better weight distribution.
The Holden Omega-platform was engineered for bigger cars, including commercials and stretched versions (Ute, Wagon, Caprice) - now they have the option to re-engineer to allow for a shorter sports chassis.