Cruze missile ready to launch?

Australia's first locally bred hot hatch for more than two decades may well be stillborn... Indeed speculation is building that HSV has killed off its own version of Holden's new Adelaide-built Cruze.

For some time now there have been rumours that HSV is preparing a 'special' version of Holden's Holden's yet-to-be-released Cruze hatch, rumours the Carsales Network team can now verify, recently spotting a sedan mule version of the hi-po hatch on a hoist at the firm's Clayton facility.

While cameras were strictly off limits, the computer-generated images hereabouts theorise what the final production version of an HSV Cruze hatch may look like. But the bad news is there may be no news.

Following in much the same vein as the most recent HSV hot hatch -- the Opel Astra-based VXR -- the enhanced Cruze was to sport a boosted version of Holden's new iTi (turbocharged and intercooled) 1.4-litre four-cylinder mill. It was to slot in above Holden's SRi-V spec derivative which outputs 103kW/200Nm. 

Now it seems that HSV will not launch the car. Insiders say that though the company is keen to do so the numbers don't add up -- dollars or kW.

HSV insiders say getting extra horsepower out of the engine hasn't been child's play. And without competitive horsepower the hot hatch would be dead in the water in showrooms.

It's unlikely that a makeover that championed improved dynamics and brakes only would be a sales success, they opine. And cost pressures in the small car segment kill any potential leveraging of the high-spec onboard telemetry that features in the hot-shop's top-end Commodore based models.

Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at the carsales mobile site