Walkinshaw W507 breaks cover

The GEN-F HSV GTS has been readily recognised as one of the most powerful Australian road cars ever built, since its launch in 2013. And even since the beastly Commodore-based model arrived on its local radar, Walkinshaw Performance Products (WPP) says it has been working on a package that will "suitably complement this magnificently engineered vehicle".

The result is the W507 package – an enhanced 507kW (at 6200rpm) and 850Nm (at 4400rpm) offering available for GTS (sedan) and GTS Maloo (utility) models. It arrives supplied, fitted and dyno-tested for $7990, and encompasses a part sheet its manufacturer says will not only provide excitement, but also reliability.

Based on the figures, the W507 develops peak power 50rpm higher and peak torque 550rpm further up the scale than the GTS. It also pumps out an extra 77kW and 110Nm.

HSV's 6.2-litre LSA V8 is upgraded with WPP's own pulley kit, ceramic coated headers and catalytic converters, cat-back active exhaust and cold-air intake, all specifically calibrated with a model-unique ECU tune.

WPP will also guarantee the balance of the HSV GTS's new vehicle driveline warranty, provide a certificate of authenticity and badge the car accordingly.

The W507 is available for purchase from December 12 (2014) and already has a healthy order list, with "more than 200 orders waiting to be filled" according to the high-performance tuning house.

Although the W507 is the most powerful model from the Australian Walkinshaw garage, the W497 is claimed to develop more torque. It's rated at 497kW and 955Nm, and is based on the HSV ClubSport, that car's LS3 6.2-litre V8 fitted with Walkinshaw's own supercharger kit.

"This is the best engineered package we have ever produced," said WPP general manager, Tony Harris. "It feels incredibly powerful, even more than the 507kW indicated, and that is due to how each component in the package has been designed to complement each other."

"As with everything we do the key objective is to engineer a package that exceeds our customer expectations without compromising the vehicle driveability. Every single component that makes up this package is unique in its design and the pulley is actually manufactured in the Walkinshaw Racing production facility."

"There are over 200 orders waiting to be filled and we are confident we will have every one fitted by the end of February [2015]," added Harris.

We've just acquired the keys to the car and although it's early days, it
certainly feels more powerful and is significantly louder than the GTS.