Holden’s millionth HF V6

Holden has celebrated a significant milestone with the 1,000,000th HF (High Feature) V6 engine built at Holden’s Engine Operations (HEO) plant at Fishermans Bend, Port Melbourne, Victoria.

This also marks 11 years since the first HFV6 engine came off the HEO production line in 2003.

The 1,000,000th engine – a 3.6-litre variant – is the engine that powers the Adelaide-built, VF Commodore SV6 and Calais V6 models.

Holden engine operations plant manager Martin Merry said the millionth engine milestone is a testament to the skills of the employees who work at Holden’s engine operations facility.

“Our mission is to build the ‘World Best Engines’ and we believe we do. Over one third of the engines built at Fishermans Bend are fitted into Holden’s locally-produced VF Commodore and Calais vehicles,” he said.

“These world-class engines also power vehicles in North America, South America, Europe and Asia, including the Chevrolet Alpheon, Buick GL8, and the Opel Antara.”

Currently, HEO builds more than 34 variants of the High Feature V6 engine for local and international markets. These variants include 2.8-litre Turbo, 3-litre V6, 3.6-litre V6 petrol and 3.6-litre LPG. HEO also built the first preproduction CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) bi-fuel engine tailored for an international market.

In 2009, HEO began building the advanced SIDI (Spark Ignition Direct Injection) version of the HFV6 which brought significant performance and fuel economy benefits to the Commodore range.

The VF SV6 Commodore, winner of “Australia’s Best Large Car Under 60,000” by Australia’s Best Cars in 2013 is fitted with a SIDI V6 engine.

Holden has been operating at the Fishermans Bend site since 1936, with HEO beginning engine production in 1948 with the six-cylinder, 2.15-litre “Grey Engine” that powered the first Holden – the iconic 48-215 FX.

Over the decades, some of the bestknown engines built at HEO include the Holden L6 engine in 1963, the first Australian V8 Engines (the 253 and 308 V8s for the Holden HT in 1969) and more than 4.7 million Family II fourcylinder engines.

The 1,000,000th HFV6 engine will be retained at the Holden Engine Operations Plant.