ANOTHER GREAT EIGHT

WITH A ROLLER cam, increased compression, sequential injection and a twin-cat exhaust, the 5.0-litre V8 used in the VT was a lovely last blast for the then two-decade old all-iron design. However, even before the VT had been launched, Holden was working on its replacement, GM’s LS-series V8 announced in 1996 for the C5 Corvette. Developed by GM in the USA with iron and alloy blocks and several capacities, for Australia (and Middle East export) Holden chose the alloy 5.7-litre version closely related to that used in the Corvette. In Holdens it had 220kW; HSV had an internally identical version with 250kW thanks to breathing and PCM tweaks. Shock, horror, the engine has only two valves per cylinder and used pushrods in an era of multi-valve over-head cam screamers but its real-world output, economy and durability has endeared it to fast car fans as one of the world’s great engines.