Tuesday, June 8, 2010

HSV Celebrating 20 Years Of ClubSport With Limited Edition Model


HSV has unveiled a special edition ClubSport sedan to celebrate the car’s 20th anniversary. The HSV 20 Years Of Clubsport will be equipped with the company's performance suspension, 20 inch Pentagon wheels in Millennium silver and leather seats as standard. The HSV 20 Years Of Clubsport will also wear a unique decal on the rear window showing a modern iteration of the original VN CS ClubSport badge.

The CS ClubSport features HSV performance suspension, 20in millennium silver Pentagon alloys and leather seats, as well as a “CS ClubSport” decal on the rear window in a modern take on the original VN badge.

The 100 limited edition 20 Years of ClubSport models will start appearing in HSV Dealers show rooms across Australia from late June. The vehicle will come with an RRP of $66,690 for manual and $68,690 for automatic.


HSV 20 Years Of Clubsport HSV 20 Years Of Clubsport HSV 20 Years Of Clubsport HSV 20 Years Of Clubsport




Press release

Australia’s high performance car manufacturer, Holden Special Vehicles, has launched a limited edition model to help celebrate 20 years of its most successful and enduring nameplate – the ClubSport.

The ClubSport brand first appeared as a permanent fixture within the HSV range back in June of 1990 as a VN HSV ClubSport. Featuring a 5.0 litre engine boasting 180kW and 400Nm only 410 VN series ClubSports were built. The model has evolved today to become the highest selling vehicle in the HSV line-up.

General Manager of Marketing and Communications, Tim Jackson, said this milestone was worthy of celebration for the company.

”If we step back 20 years to 1990, this really was a watershed year for the HSV brand. Not only did we introduce our first ClubSport model in June but 1990 also represented our first Bathurst victory with the Holden Racing Team, who are also celebrating 20 years of success this year.

”The ClubSport has such great history and meaning within our business, and it has always been our purists vehicle - bringing track focused performance and handling to a road vehicle,” Tim Jackson said.

For that reason HSV has taken a ‘back-to-basics’ approach with the 20 years of Clubsport model producing a feature packed high performance vehicle for the true HSV collector.

The 20 Years of ClubSport model will receive as standard HSV’s performance suspension, 20 inch Pentagon wheels in Millennium silver and leather seats for no additional cost. It will be identifiable by a unique decal on the rear window, which the HSV enthusiast will recognise as a modern iteration of the original VN “CS ClubSport” badge, to commemorate the anniversary of the model.

General Manager of Sales, Darren Bowler, said he expected the car to be well received within the HSV Dealer network and amongst HSV’s strong customer base. “With this level of value add at no additional cost we anticipate the 100 vehicles will move very quickly and good luck to the person who manages to grab No.1 in the model build.

“City Motors HSV in Perth recorded the highest HSV vehicle sales in 2009 and have been rewarded with the privilege of retailing the No. 1 vehicle to the lucky HSV buyer,” Darren Bowler said.

The 100 limited edition 20 Years of ClubSport models will start appearing in HSV Dealers show rooms across Australia from late June. The vehicle will come with an RRP of $66,690 for manual and $68,690 for automatic.

HSV ClubSport Fast Facts:

- The ClubSport model has been exported to both the UK and the Middle East markets.
- The best build year for ClubSport was 2003 with over 2200 being built.
- When the first ClubSport went on sale (VN), its RRP was $33,320 (man) and $34,140 (auto), and a total of 410 were built. Its engine was a 4987cc V8 producing 180kw ' 400Nm.
- The ClubSport model has had four different engine variants over its lifespan including the original 5.0 litre then the 5.7 litre LS1, 6.0 litre LS2 and the current 6.2 litre LS3.

2011 Panoz Abruzzi Spirit of Le Mans


Entrepreneur Don Panoz, founder of the American Le Mans Series, has unveiled his latest automotive creation, a limited-edition 600-horsepower exotic car called the Abruzzi Spirit of Le Mans. The first of a limited run of 81 cars is slated to be delivered in 2013.

The hand-built Panoz Abruzzi Spirit of Le Mans will be built with an engine that produces over 600 horsepower (447 kW / 608 PS) and up to 590 ft-lb (799 Nm) of torque.  Developed by American niche manufacturer Panoz, the car will be limited to 81 vehicles, and is guaranteed to be street legal in Asia, Europe, Middle East and South America.

Only 81 Panoz Abruzzi Spirit of Le Mans will see the daylight, for which production will stretch on the next three years and all of the future customers will get their cars delivers at the Le Mans circuit where the automaker is also throwing in a free driving course.

The 2011 Panoz Abruzzi Spirit of Le Mans will introduce the a three-stage TRIFECTA COOLING technology that improves engine performance and efficiency. The body of the 2011 Panoz Abruzzi Spirit of Le Mans is built using the REAMS material technology - or Recyclable Energy
Absorbing Matrix System - that promises to offer environmental, performance and structural advantages.


Abruzzi Spirit of Le Mans Abruzzi Spirit of Le Mans Abruzzi Spirit of Le Mans


Press Release

PANOZ MAKES HISTORY WITH ABRUZZI 'SPIRIT OF LE MANS'

New supercar quite appropriately unveiled at Le Mans

LE MANS, France - Don Panoz again has captured the Spirit of Le Mans. This time, one of the world's most forward-thinking entrepreneurs is pairing his newest automotive masterpiece with the legacy of the world's greatest auto race. The Panoz Abruzzi "Spirit of Le Mans" broke cover today at the Circuit de La Sarthe, an appropriate venue for the world debut of a ground-breaking automobile with a very appropriate delivery and acquisition program for its customers.

"This is culmination of equal parts time, effort and dreams," said Panoz, founder of the Panoz Motor Sports Group. "The Panoz brand always has prided itself on hand-building and delivering an exotic automobile and experience to our customers. Our new offering takes this to a completely new level."

The Abruzzi "Spirit of Le Mans" is more than a technological masterpiece from Panoz Auto Development (PAD), based in Hoschton, Ga. It represents a new chapter in automotive production and delivery, tied into the world's most demanding auto race.

The super sports car will be offered as a strictly limited edition. Only 81 Abruzzi "Spirit of Le Mans" vehicles will ever be produced, corresponding to the number of Le Mans 24 Hour contests between the inception of the race in 1923 and the race to be held in 2013.

Abruzzi: The Car
The hand-built Abruzzi "Spirit of Le Mans" is a unique, front-engine, rear-transaxle and rear-radiator super sports car - road-legal in Europe and many countries of Asia, the Middle East and South America. The powertrain will deliver 600-plus HP with 590 ft.-lbs. of torque. Advanced design and aerodynamics offer astounding downforce and road-holding.

Performance is just one facet that sets the Abruzzi apart from other exotics. It also breaks new ground in environmental design and construction starting with the unprecedented implementation of the R.E.A.M.S.® - Recyclable Energy Absorbing Matrix System - body system that offers environmental, performance and structural advantages like no other automobile body system on the planet. Never used before on any road-going automobile, the multi-layer composite system is lighter than carbon fiber yet equally strong. Unlike carbon fiber however, it is dent-resistant, shatter-proof and recyclable.

Abruzzi also introduces TRIFECTACOOLING® technology. In addition to a normal high-efficiency radiator, there are stage two and stage three systems that lower coolant temperature on both the inflow to and the outflow from the radiator.

"These are advancements that will open up a new era of automotive design," Panoz said. "Dating back to our first road car - the AIV Roadster - PAD has been a believer in efficient construction and design. This philosophy continues with our Abruzzi."

Abruzzi: The Experience
The Panoz Abruzzi harkens back to a day where drivers would pilot their cars to Le Mans, race it twice around the clock then drive back home. It essentially captures the "Spirit of Le Mans" with a never-before-seen acquisition program that sets a new standard for personalization and delivery.

Given the roots of Panoz's automotive dreams, it is only appropriate that the Abruzzi "Spirit of Le Mans" will be delivered to its owners at the famed Circuit de la Sarthe, shipped directly there from the Panoz factory. Each automobile will be linked to a specific Le Mans 24 Hour race, with the chassis number also containing that specific race date and the initials of the winning drivers and the history of that year.

Professional drivers will instruct owners in driving the car on the Bugatti Circuit at Le Mans. Service and repairs also will be attended to at the ACO facilities of the Circuit 24 Hours of Le Mans.

New vehicle owners also will be invited to the 24 Hours of Le Mans as guests of the ACO and Panoz at the ACO's hospitality facilities in the "Model Sportif" at the circuit. New owners also will have the unique opportunity to drive a parade lap of the full 8.3-mile circuit at that year's event.

During the Le Mans race week a "Spirit of Le Mans" reception will be held at the clubhouse of the famed Golf Des 24 Heuers in the historic town of Arnage. The new owners for that year will be the guests of the ACO officials and past "Spirit of Le Mans" award winners such as Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell.

"Being associated with the ACO and Le Mans is something very special to me," Panoz said. "Being able to stand side-by-side with the heroes and legends of Le Mans gives me a sense of appreciation and passion for this grand event. I felt it was important to give our customers the same experience, and I am grateful to our partners at the ACO for helping make this happen."

Panoz Auto Development produces leading-edge, fully certified automobiles and is best known for the first US-manufactured AIV (Aluminum Intensive Vehicle) - the Panoz AIV Roadster. The Panoz Esperante body and chassis also extensively employs aluminum for performance, safety and efficiency. The Panoz Esperante GTLM earned world-famous stature as a race car by winning the GT2 category at both the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a single year - 2006.