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We know it these days as the Walkinshaw. But back in the day, it was called some terrible names. Plastic Pig, Batmobile, and there were other, less printable names for the first fair-dinkum HSV.
Fact is, the Walky was the homologation car needed for Holden to go racing and, with the move to Group A a few years earlier, you couldn’t just go and build a `roided V8 Commo with boxed guards and a killer wing.
Nope, if you wanted to race that on the alleged level playing field of Group A, you had to homologate it first. And that’s where the Walkinshaw’s mad body-kit came in.
The spirit of the rule was to force the race-cars to use stock headers. HSV had a better idea: It made a set of headers that was essentially just the flange and a few millimetres of pipe. Run what you like from there, fellas.
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Still, it was the body-kit that was grabbing headlines and holding the car back, both in the showroom and at Bathurst as it turned out.
That said, the body-kit was way too extreme for the street and most dealers supplied the very lowest skirts and lips in a box, allowing the new owner to choose whether he or she wanted to full Group A look OR to be able to enter a service station. ‘Cos you really couldn’t have it both ways.
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HSV Group A SS
At just 1340kg, it was a good 400 or 500 kegs lighter than the current stuff. Throw in gear ratios in the five-speed that were realistic and you had a car that felt fast and fun. And still does.
Oh, and here’s another thing: Even though it was relatively low-tech with a live rear axle and such, the Walkinshaw was streets ahead of the standard VL Commodore on which it was based. Where the latter could be relied upon to fall over in corners and spin an inside-rear in the Maccas drive-through, the VL Group A SS was a much tidier, responsive thing.
In fact – and it’s a big statement – the Walky might just be the HSV that represents the biggest improvement over the donor dunger in the brand’s history.
Engine:4987cc, V8, OHV, 16-valve Power: 180kW @ 5200rpm Torque: 380Nm @ 4000rpm 0-100km/h: 6.5sec (claimed) Weight: 1340kg Price when new: $45,000 Years on sale: 1988-1989
