The most powerful standard engine ever offered by Holden will be installed in all 2006 model year Holden V8 vehicles.

A new 6.0-litre alloy engine will deliver 260kW of peak power at 5,600 rpm and 510Nm of peak torque at 4,400 rpm across all V8 variants in the Holden range.

Torque delivery is significantly increased at lower revs offering improved acceleration, low speed engine response and improved ease of towing than the previous 5.7-litre engine.

Codenamed L76, the new engine is a member of GM’s fourth generation small block V8 family. The 2006 Holden range is the first application of L76 within General Motors around the world.

The L76 will be available in SV8, SS, Calais and Berlina sedans, Statesman and Caprice prestige vehicles, Berlina wagon, Ute SS, Crewman SS and Crewman Cross8. This offers power increases in all new vehicles compared with the 2005 variants.

Commodore SS sedan and SS Ute receive front and rear performance brakes standard whilst SS Crewman adopts performance front brakes. The front rotor is 320mm x 32mm vented compared with 296mm x 28mm vented on the previous standard system. The rear rotor is 286mm x 18mm vented compared with 286mm x 16mm solid.

The extra performance will be managed with better breathing sports exhaust and significant improvements to automatic transmission characteristics. From an environmental perspective, all new variants meet strict ADR79/01 emission regulations which came into effect on 1st January 2006.

GM Holden Chairman and Managing Director, Denny Mooney, said the new powertrain continued Holden’s evolution as the leader in affordable V8 performance. He said low end torque and responsiveness took the V8 models to a new level which delivered performance and economy to owners.

“The extra power is mainly noticeable where it’s most useable down low in the rev cycle,” Mr Mooney said.

“We’ve heard what our customers have been saying about useable torque and the new L76 engine delivers that well. The cars deliver excellent power-to-weight ratio and we’ve also managed to retain the impressive fuel economy which the Holden V8s can deliver.”

Details of the L76 engine, which will be manufactured in Mexico, were announced in North America in late 2005. The powertrain will also be installed in 2007 model year sports utility vehicles for the US market.

The L76 incorporates several significant changes to improve performance compared with the 5.7L LS1 third generation engine it replaces as the heartbeat of Holden’s V8 fleet.

Key changes include -

• All-new aluminium cylinder block casting
• Cylinder bores measuring 101.6 mm in diameter, combined with stroke of 92.0 mm
• Revised high-flow cylinder heads deliver the airflow necessary to complement the engine’s larger displacement
• 55mm inlet valve and 40.4mm exhaust valve diameter
• Flat-top piston design
• Compression ratio raised to 10.4:1 from 10.1:1
• More efficient ignition coils require less energy to provide a comparable spark
• Larger, 90-mm single-blade throttle body
• Revised and more powerful engine controller incorporates electronic throttle control
• External knock sensors

Significant testing and calibration development requirements mean Holden has not initiated cylinder deactivation technology.

The V8s will be mated to the reliable 4L65-E four-speed automatic transmission which has been revised with an input shaft speed sensor. The speed sensor noticeably improves shift quality and consistency under varied conditions, particularly low throttle.

The Tremec T56 six-speed manual transmission has a revised clutch plate and pressure plate for transmission of increased engine torque.

Start of production of MY06 variants starts in February at the Elizabeth, South Australia facility following $35 million of upgrade works during the Christmas and New Year break. More than $400 million has been spent on the SA manufacturing operations in the past three years.

Model year 2006 changes – V8 variants

Gen 4 L76 6.0L engine – key data

Gen 4 L76 6.0L engine – fuel economy (litres/100 kms)