The State Of The V8

[LoudPipes]

Something most V8 lovers in Australia have been dreading, the possible loss of affordable V8's.

The state of the V8

Date: 27 February, 2015
David McCowen
Motoring Writer

Why Australian car culture is set to become a little bit quieter.

Affordable V8-powered cars could become a rare breed in Australia.

Australia is a rare oasis in the motoring world in that many people can afford to buy and run a V8-powered car as their conveyance of choice.

With average household incomes of around $145,000, average full-time salaries just under $80,000 per year and locally-built V8 models starting under $40,000, Australians are in a better position than British drivers for whom the cheapest V8-powered cars cost well more than the average annual salary.

But that is set to change as the death of Australian manufacturing will cull relatively affordable V8-powered models from Ford and Holden, leaving more expensive imported vehicles as the only option for people with a thirst for V8 grunt.

Australian motoring culture is shifting as affordable muscle cars fall away and foreign manufacturers move away from the traditional V8.

The local car market has around 150 V8 powered models today, with exotic cars from the likes of Ferrari, Porsche and Bentley joining four-wheel-drives from brands such as Toyota and Nissan and family sedans from Holden, Ford and Chrysler under the eight-cylinder flag.

V8 power is available to buyers across a broad section of the new car market, though the cost of entry is set to irreversibly increase.

Australia and the V8

Holden is unchallenged as the purveyor of Australia's cheapest V8, with the $39,490 Holden SS Ute leading the charge as the most affordable bent-eight model on sale.

V8 models such as the Calais V and SS represented just over 30 per cent of Commodore sales in 2014. That number has increased in the first weeks of 2015, as buyers grab upgraded models such as the relatively recent Craig Lowndes Edition SS-V Redline.

Ford told journalists at the launch of its final FG-X Falcon that demand for the last V8-powered XR8 model had taken it by surprise.

Company spokesman Wes Sherwood says the brand will continue its heritage with the 5.0-litre V8-powered Mustang GT.

"We have built a strong reputation for decades around V8 performance in Australia and will continue this heritage with the new Mustang GT later this year," he says

"We expect the early Mustang mix to be skewed toward V8s but, as we generally see in North America, this will become more balanced over time with the EcoBoost (four-cylinder) model."

Dr Glen Fuller, automotive culture specialist for the University of Canberra, says V8 engines are ingrained in Australian car culture.

"The cultural mythology surrounding the V8 began in the Australian muscle-car era of the 1960s and 1970s," Fuller says.

"A lot of young people grew up wanting a V8, and once you've been in a car with a V8 that lopes along... It makes you feel good.

"It's not really to do with performance, its aesthetics, the way they feel and sound.

"It's a little bit like the way people buy a Harley-Davidson instead of Japanese motorcycles. It's the whole package."

When V8 Supercars chair James Warburton announced in 2014 that the category was set to consider other power plants, the move reflected what has happened in the broader car industry.

"It was obvious that the landscape was changing," Warburton said.

"From 2017 we're opening the engine configurations so V8s can race alongside any other engine configuration ... whatever anyone wants to bring."

While Ford disappointed race fans by announcing that it would no longer compete in local racing, Holden seems more open to retaining ties to its strong history of competition.

Holden says it will continue to sell a V8-powered performance car when it stops building the Commodore, and Ford has confirmed that a V8-powered Mustang will succeed the supercharged Falcon XR8.

The Chevrolet-sourced model could help Holden retain its place as the best-selling V8 in Australia, or that title could go to rival models such as the new Mustang, Chrysler 300C SRT8 or Mercedes-AMG C63.

Mercedes-Benz expects around 700 people each year to buy the C63 AMG, well less than the thousands of customers Holden finds for V8-powered Commodores each year, but that may be enough to put it on pole position for the eight-cylinder sales race.

Substitutes

So long the default choice for performance, luxury and large cars thanks to proven designs, relatively compact packaging and the potential for effortless outputs, the V8 has fallen out of favour in recent years as technology threatens to render it obsolete.

Modern four- and six-cylinder diesel engines offer V8-like torque and with the added benefit of improved fuel efficiency. Audi and BMW both offer high-performance six cylinder diesels that put many V8s to shame, particularly when paired with full-sized sedan or SUV bodies.

The instant torque and green credibility of electric motors bring an additional challenge to V8s, as cars such as the Tesla Model S redefine performance and efficiency expectations from luxury sedans.

Full-sized Mercedes-Benz sedans were traditionally powered by large V8 engines, but models such as the E500 are no longer on sale. Naturally aspirated V8s in some models have been replaced by smaller, twin-turbocharged V6 engines that offer similar performance coupled with improved fuel use.

Mercedes brand will drive a further nail into the V8's coffin by introducing its S500 Plug-In hybrid before the end of the year, an electrified V6 model blending average consumption of around 2.8L/100km with muscular 325kW and 650Nm outputs.

Mercedes-Benz is not alone in its drive to downsize engines. Volvo have dropped V8 models in favour of high-performance four-cylinder engines augmented by electric motors, BMW chose a turbocharged six-cylinder engine as a successor to the renowned M3 performance car's thrilling V8, while Jaguar, Porsche and Audi have swapped naturally aspirated V8s for supercharged V6 motors in some performance-oriented models.

Saviours

While turbocharging brought the death of many V8 engines, the technology has encouraged manufacturers to invest in more efficient eight-cylinder models.

Mercedes-Benz dropped its AMG-fettled 6.2-litre naturally aspirated V8 in favour of a twin-turbocharged 5.5-litre model for most of its V8-powered performance cars, and a new 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 under the bonnet of the Mercedes-AMG GT sports car and latest C63 AMG could find its way into other models.

Similarly, BMW killed off a high-revving 5.0-litre V10 in its M5 and M6 performance flagships in favour of a more tractable and efficient 4.4-litre V8 with forced induction.

Ferrari knew the previous-generation naturally aspirated motor of the 458 Italia would struggle to meet future demands for power and efficiency, so it replaced that 4.5-litre unit with a twin-turbocharged 3.9-litre unit for the upcoming 488 GTB coupe that brought benefits in both of those areas.

As with the turbocharger, hybrid power and V8 layouts were once polar opposites. Yet McLaren and Porsche replaced V12 and V10 powered hypercars with V8 models supplanted by strong hybrid motors that allow cars to cruise around town without using a drop of fuel before providing V8-led thrills on the open road.

Culture change

The sheer visceral appeal of a rumbling, roaring V8 seems unlikely to go away, though the engine layout looks as though it may be restricted to people on a luxury car budget rather than presenting in relatively affordable Australian sedans.

Fuller says the demise of Australian manufacturing "will change performance car culture".

"It will go closer to the European model. In Europe only really large, expensive luxury cars have big engines," he says.

"It looks like we're moving to that kind of European version of automotive enthusiasm."

Mercedes-Benz spokesman David McCarthy agrees.

"I do think there is a healthy market for V8s," he says.

"I think there will always be a demand for V8, what level it is at, I don't know.

"They will become increasingly expensive and niche."

Highs and lows: V8s in the marketplace today

Biggest engine: 6.8 litres: Bentley Mulsanne

Smallest engine: 3.8 litres: McLaren 650S

Most expensive $708,234: Bentley Mulsanne

Least expensive: $39,490: Holden SS Ute

Most powerful: 478kW: McLaren 650S

Least powerful: 250kW: Range Rover TDV8

Most efficient: 7.4L/100km: Audi A8 4.2 TDI

Least efficient: 14.9L/100km: Mercedes-Benz G500

http://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/the-state-of-the-v8-20150225-13o43z.html

[CQB-241]

Hand in hand with the impending death of the Australian-made new car.

Hence I'm putting the hand in the pocket for a '15 XR8.

[Moby Vic]

Mustang GT won't be affordable?

[P6LTD351]

Originally Posted by Moby Vic

Mustang GT won't be affordable?

It should be....but it won't be.

Should be $50 - $55000.

Expect it to be towards $70000.

[mik]

i like the bold sentence in the first paragraph,

"Why Australian car culture is set to become a little bit quieter".

I`m seeing more korean buzz boxes with canon exhausts that easily drown out the majority of V8s around town, way louder in the noise department, and my crystal ball sees more of this in the future.

quieter in car culture he says ???

[Moby Vic]

Originally Posted by P6LTD351

It should be....but it won't be.

Should be $50 - $55000.

Expect it to be towards $70000.

How much is XR8?

[XR5]

Blah blah blah. Journo's have been sprouting this junk since the late sixties and early seventies and here we are thirty years later and so are the V8's. I can't see much changing myself.

Of course Ford are going to try and gouge the price on the Mustang but if sales are no good then watch them quickly lower prices for the next model year. A company makes money by moving stock not sitting on it or having too much of it.

Holden did it with the introduction of the VF to make up for no mechanical improvements from the VE and AMG did it last year dropping almost 70k on one of their S class models here I think it was.

Affordable V8's will be around for a long time to come I think. Ford and GM will be offering something despite stopping manufacture and Fiat Chrysler Australia's new boss has stated that he wants to get the charger,challenger and ram out here, all of which can come with a V8, in order to bolster the dodge brand out here and tap into more of the performance market alongside the SRT 8 chryslers and jeep.

Things may actually just be getting better.

[Maka]

If Mustang is a good seller in Australia don't be surprised to see a 4 door luxury V8 Ford land here priced over $100k eventually.

cheer's, Maka

[zipping]

What's wrong with forced induction anyway these days?

[timeout]

what he shoukd have said was that car culture in Australia will now be less affordable.

once the falcon goes, followed by the commodore. it doesn't leave much scope to buy a decent performance car for sensible dollars.

for a v8 its going to be a minimum 60k+ plus buy in.

[b0son]

Plenty of non-V8 performance cars on offer... we've never had more choice.

V8s may be cheap now, but that hasn't always been the case. If you wanted a V8 at the height of Commodore/Falcon sales, you paid substantially more than the 6cyl variant, which itself was substantially more than a buzz box.

[V8 6I]

Originally Posted by Moby Vic

How much is XR8?

Round figures $60 K.

[Moby Vic]

Originally Posted by V8 6I

Round figures $60 K.

Then the Mustang GT shouldn't be unreasonable at the same price. Yes, it has two fewer doors, but everything else about it is newer than anything in the XR8.

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by ford man xf

It's for gay people. I'm suprised Homo Sexual Vehicles (HSV) took this long to crack this segment of the market.

interesting idea. I'd like to hear more about how you have come to this conclusion. I'd especially like to hear how there is a correlation between FI cars and gay people.

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by ford man xf

It's for gay people. I'm suprised Homo Sexual Vehicles (HSV) took this long to crack this segment of the market.

You moron.

Lucky the XR6T/F6 and now GS/GT are also for gays too.

[commonrails]

Originally Posted by ford man xf

It's for gay people. I'm suprised Homo Sexual Vehicles (HSV) took this long to crack this segment of the market.

Woohoo I'm gay. No more women, thats one less expensive hobby now!

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Wretched

interesting idea. I'd like to hear more about how you have come to this conclusion. I'd especially like to hear how there is a correlation between FI cars and gay people.

Don't let the truth get in the way of a good story It'd probably make a good conspiracy theory.

Originally Posted by commonrails

Woohoo I'm gay. No more women, thats one less expensive hobby now!

At least you might be able to split the occasional bill

[blackf6]

Ford man xf gets the dh of the month award.

[aussie muscle]

Ford told journalists at the launch of its final FG-X Falcon that demand for the last V8-powered XR8 model had taken it by surprise.

that would be mostly speculators, hoping it'll be a "future-classic".

[chookaradley]

My SRT8 Core was $48k. Id say thats an affordable V8

[Blue Roo]

LOL! The State Of The V8 Article, is nothing more than the usual media bet up (B.S).