Road v Race - HSV W427

You could have 'his & hers' GTSs for the $155K price of the W427. But the top-gun HSV model catapults you considerably closer to V8 Supercar performance ... with none of the extreme race-car compromises. It's an affordable supercar.

It not only matched, but beat, the average deceleration of the HRT ride car into turn one (0.66G for the W427 versus 0.61G for HRT).

The W427 almost matches the HRT car on peak deceleration as well - 1.10G (W427) versus 1.11G (HRT). Impressive ... but not as impressive as it first seems, since the HRT car is pulling 1.11G at almost 235km/h while the W427 is doing its 1.10 at 'just' 208km/h. Mass, speed and deceleration combined determine braking power - so the HRT car is making 994kW of braking power at its peak (almost a megawatt) while the W427 is managing 'just' 944kW under maximum braking.

Interesting to note, too, that while the decelerations are very similar, it takes the W427 240 metres of track to slow from 220km/h to about 70. The HRT car requires 65 metres more to slow from 246km/h to 67km/h. The difference in speed lost is just 30km/h. Makes you think about the relationship between speed and stopping distances in the real world...

Braking performance is similar off the back straight. The W427 manages 1.08G maximum versus the HRT car's 1.12G, with the averages at 0.59G (W427) and 0.64G (HRT). Crucially, however, the HRT car is managing it at 210km/h, while the W427's speed at peak braking off the back straight is 170km/h.

The W427's performance simply eclipses that of the other three road cars. On lap time, cornering speeds and maximum speeds on the straights, only the V8 Supercars were faster. Amidst all these stellar performances, one really stood out: its ability to get the power down. It managed a peak of 0.72G straight-line acceleration (FPR: 0.73G) in not one but two places on the track - coming out of turn one and out of dogleg one. A brilliant result for a 1874kg car (compared with a 1355kg V8 Supercar) running on road tyres and hamstrung by nearly 100kW.

The W427 couldn't match the V8 Supercars for straight-line acceleration elsewhere on the track, however. Just before belting the brakes into turn two, the W427 is managing to accelerate towards the turn at 0.4G (at 106km/h). Both race cars are all over it - the FPR car is still accelerating towards turn two at 0.67G and 119km/h, while the HRT car is pulling 0.5G and 120km/h.

The difference is, of course, that the W427 is about $350,000 cheaper than either race car. You don't need a half-million-dollar transporter and five technicians to get it to the track and give it a damn good go, either.
Price $155,500
Engine V8 (900), ohv, 16v
Capacity 7.008 litres
Bore/stroke 104.8/101.6mm
Compression 11.0:1
Power 375kW@7000rpm
Torque 640Nm@5000rpm
Transmission 6-speed manual
Kerb weight 1874kg
Power-to-weight 200kW/tonne
Tyres Bridgestone Potenza RE050, 245/35R20 (f); 275/30R20 (r)