FPV hangs tough

John Mellor’s
GoAuto News
SUBSCRIBE FREE: www.GoAutoMedia.com
Walkin’ the talk on Cruze
Latest WP conversion kit
turns up wick on 1.4-litre
local small car to 180kW
By HAITHAM RAZAGUI
AUSTRALIAN hot-shop Walkinshaw
Performance (WP) has turned up the wick
on the Holden Cruze’s standard 1.4-litre
turbo-petrol engine to 180kW and
310Nm, creating a true-blue hot hatch.
Those engine output fi gures put
the WP Cruze up there among hothatch
royalty, with just a handful of
kilowatts separating it from biggerengined
production models such as
the Volkswagen Scirocco R, Renault
Megane RS250, Ford Focus ST and
Subaru Impreza WRX.
The aftermarket conversion of the
Cruze fi lls the void left by the absence
of an offi cial hot Holden small car from
WP’s sister company, Holden Special
Vehicles (HSV).
HSV looked at building such a
model to replace the Astra VXR that it
previously imported from Vauxhall, but
opted instead to develop the car by its
arms-length subsidiary WP, which has
no offi cial ties with Holden.
Aug 15, 2012 Page 5
Work with beautiful
models every day. APPRENTICESHIPS
Apprenticeships Commencing January 2013
Automotive Mechanical Technology (Light Vehicle)
Automotive Mechanical Technology (Motorcycle)
Automotive Sales (Parts Interpreting)
WP achieved the high specifi c power
output of 129kW per litre by bolting on
an upgraded turbo and exhaust manifold
linked to an upgraded stainless-steel
exhaust system bolted to the back of
the catalytic converter, along with the
necessary engine management tweaks.
The performance boost was
engineered with the help of tuning house
HPF and, according to HPF owner Rob
Vickery, has been achieved with a linear
power curve that does not reduce the
standard Cruze’s driveability.
“Upgrading to a bigger turbo sounds
like a simple way to get big horsepower,
but in a front-wheel-drive, without the
right engineering behind it, you could
easily make it unmanageable and
unfriendly,” he said.
Harnessing the extra performance
– representing an 80 per cent power
increase and 50 per cent torque boost
over the 103kW/200Nm donor car – is
revamped suspension including front
and rear sway bars, uprated Bilstein
dampers and lowered Irmscher springs.
FULL STORY: CLICK HERE
If you’re not afraid to get your hands dirty, jack up an engine or
put your head under the hood, then get your toolbox ready to
start a career with Trivett, Australia’s Largest Prestige Automotive
Group.
FOR MORE INFORMATION & TO APPLY: trivett.com.au/apprenticeships Applications close 16 September 2012