Craig Corliss’s R8 drives like a stocker. Until you press the accelerator and unleash the power of a PWR supercharger.

It was yet another pristine Auckland evening, and there I was enjoying a quiet beer with flatmates, taking in the sights and sounds of our fair city. Sirens blared and dogs barked as a police helicopter circled above, slowly closing in on its quarry. As I sat and dreamed of a quieter country life, I was brought back to reality with the cold, shrill ring of my cell phone. With a deep sigh, I brought the phone up to my ear and greeted the caller in what must have been a somewhat melancholic, wistful tone. “Jesus mate, cheer up,” chuckled the Ed. “You sound like one of those Emo kids!”

Snapping out of it, I enquired as to the purpose of this late night call, as usually it means I’ve done something stupid, like missed a deadline, written about a ‘GM Windsor’ motor or something to that effect.

Todd merely laughed. “No, no, this could be your lucky day. I’m supposed to be heading down to Eastern Automotive in the morning to check out a 510kW (700hp) supercharged R8, but I can’t make it, do you want to do it?”

Now, normally this would just be like any other work assignment, but I knew that Paul Manuell, the mastermind behind Eastern Automotive, was not shy in handing over the keys of cars like this to trustworthy people such as myself. Suffice it to say, I agreed to take on the assignment and was soon on my way to East Tamaki, where Paul’s shop is based. I tell you, there are a certain few sounds in life that truly get me excited. It’s probably unwise to tell you all of them, so I’ll just let you in on a couple of relevant ones. First, there’s whirr of a supercharger being tuned on a dyno as I pull into a workshop; and second, the sound of a set of 2006 Holden Commodore R8 keys being dropped into my hot little hand.

I talked to Paul before taking the R8 out for a spin and a photo shoot, and it turns out that the owner of this awesome machine, and proprietor of Precision Sheet and Coil, Craig Corliss, knew exactly what he wanted in a company car.

Upon purchasing the brand new, top-of-the-line Holden off the showroom floor eight months ago, Craig took the virginal 297-kilowatt machine directly to Paul Manuell and his experienced team at Eastern Automotive. You may have seen Paul on TV advertising what seem like very good deals when it comes to getting more power out of your Holden motor.

Although a stock standard R8 puts out a whole lot of power, Craig needed more. Much more. As the car was to be used as a marketing tool for his company, it would need to get a lot of attention and be competitive at events all across the country. This meant only one thing: big, supercharged grunt.

Craig left the car with Paul for a mere three weeks while work was being completed. During this time, a PWR supercharger kit was purchased and installed. The positive displacement-style blower runs at 11psi, while the charge of air is kept cool by way of a front-mounted air-to-air intercooler. As the stock intake would no longer be of any use, Paul installed a custom system. Built in-house, the efficient new setup runs over the radiator and uses a hard-working K&N filter. The massive volume of air provided by the new blower unit is matched with the right amount of fuel thanks to a pair of 700hp fuel pumps, a surge tank in the boot and a set of injectors vaguely described as “oversized”. The air and fuel mix together in all-new Eastern Performance billet CNC heads, again designed and built by Paul himself. Paul also made up a custom performance road cam to match the new induction system.

As for the rest of the motor, it remains completely stock, only releasing its waste gasses via a bigger exhaust system comprising Tri-Y extractors dumping into twin 2.5-inch pipes, and then into a single three-inch pipe out to the rear of the car.

Come pick-up day, the Holden was sporting some serious dyno figures thanks to a re-chipped ECU. Remember that the stock-issue HSV packs 297kW at the flywheel. The supercharged R8 now punches out a massive 510kW at the flywheel. Now that’s surely more than any daily driven street car actually needs!

So, what is it like to drive? Well, I sure got to find out. Slipping into the ultra comfortable and body-hugging leather seats, I found the ignition. Turning the key, the only idea you get that something may be a little different with this Holden is the quiet buzz of the up-rated fuel pumps as power is turned on. Then, as the starter motor cranks over, a slightly louder, angrier exhaust note emanates from the rear of the car.

Although beautiful to listen to as it quietly purrs away, on idle the car doesn’t sound that much different from a stock machine. Once on the road though, well, that’s a different story altogether…

Pulling out of the driveway onto the streets of East Tamaki I was awestruck. I’d had the pleasure of possessing a stock standard R8 in my garage for a few weeks last year. Judging from the build numbers the two cars were constructed mere days apart, so I knew exactly what the original car was like to drive, and expected this one to be nothing like it. How wrong I was.
Cruising down the road, Craig’s R8 felt identical to a factory spec machine: comfortable, smooth and pleasant to drive. Hell, after checking the on-board computer, the car was even using less gas on Paul’s custom tune. That shows just how much room for error Holden builds into its standard ECU maps.

Cruising along, I decided to give the hefty machine a quick squirt on the throttle, and in doing so almost ruined Craig’s nice new leather interior. Where I was accustomed to the 297kW of the standard R8, the Precision Sheet and Coil machine gave me nearly twice that, setting the rear 19-inch HSV wheels alight and my heart pounding. Luckily the well tuned chassis of the Holden and its 3:9:1 differential kept me in check, more than making up for my lack of driving abilities.

After a good bout of schoolgirl-like giggling from myself and photographer Quinn, another, slightly longer stab of the throttle was given. This time the Pirelli P-Zero tyres gave purchase and the big-bodied Holden surged forward towards the red-line, pinning us to our seats, accompanied by the loud whine of the PWR supercharger. Being more used to turbocharged set-ups, the instant power of a supercharger was a revelation, and a highly enjoyable one at that. With grins on our faces, we reluctantly got back to shooting the very smart-looking car, complete with custom graphics that ensure it sticks out on the race track. On that subject, Craig has run a best time of 11.6 so far at the strip in full street trim, making it one seriously quick daily-driven machine. With a few subtle suspension mods, like lowered springs, Nolathane bushes and a strut bar, Craig is keen to see what it will do around Pukekohe race track, and is hoping for somewhere around the 1.05 mark. After a few minutes in the driver’s seat, I don’t doubt the car’s ability. What a brutally fast, yet impeccably mannered machine. I think it is fairly safe to say that if I had an LS1 or LS2-powered car, I know where I would be taking it for a little tickle…

2006 Holden Commodore R8 – Specifications

Engine: 6.0 litre LS2, Eastern Automotive performance cam, Paul Manuell Racing CNC billet heads, Eastern Automotive custom air intake system, K&N filter, PWR supercharger at 11psi, PWR intercooler, twin 700hp fuel pumps, surge tank, oversized injectors, Tri-Y extractors, twin 2.5-inch into single three-inch exhaust, PWR radiator, reprogrammed factory ECU, electric water pump
Driveline: Stock auto transmission, 3:9:1 differential
Suspension: Lowered springs, strut bar, Nolathane bushes
Brakes: Stock HSV vented discs
Wheels/tyres: Stock 19-inch HSV wheels, Pirelli P Zero tyres
Exterior: Custom graphics, custom wing
Interior: Stock
Performance: 408kW at the wheels, 1488Nm at the wheels

Craig Corliss – Driver Profile

Age: 46
Occupation: Steel importer
Build time: Six weeks
Owned: Eight months
Gareth thanks: Paul, Sean, Mark and all the boys at Eastern Automotive Performance Centre.

Words: Peter Kelly Photos: Quinn Hamill