New car news

11 February 2009 - 11:00

Bat' mobile

Is Australia's most powerful production car ever, the HSV W427, too wimpy for you? No problem, cos Vauxhall has just released this limited-edition Bathurst S model, with a dirty great supercharger bolted onto its V8. Now that's what we call manly.

Sadly, this Holy Grail of super sedans, this epitome of all things Aussie V8s, this, frankly, scary-as-hell monster has been released by Vauxhall in the UK. And they don't even know what a Bathurst is, but whatever it is, they don't trust it because it's got the word bath in it.

As is often the case with quick Vauxhalls, Walkinshaw Performance have chipped in, this time with a power upgrade to take the power up to a stonking 417kW, helped obviously by that supercharger - a combo that'll unleash havoc on your ears as you let it rip.

Talking of noise, you can also spec a ‘bi-model' exhaust, which gives you two noise settings: ‘Street', which sounds like hoodie-speak, but is actually the neighbour-friendly choice, for when you arrive home after a late-night thrash, and ‘Optimum' if you feel like creating aural carnage in your neck of suburbia. Noise police take note - this thing needs an ASBO.

We want one just for that exhaust alone, but must admit, we're a little crushed England gets a Bathurst edition that leaves the W427 for dead...