Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Automotive |
Founded | 1987 |
Founder | Tom Walkinshaw |
Headquarters | Melbourne, Australia |
Area served | Australia |
Key people | Ryan Walkinshaw (CEO) |
Products | Performance vehicles, automotive engineering, caravans, sports goods |
Services | Design, engineering, manufacturing, marketing |
Number of employees | Over 1200 |
Walkinshaw Group is an Australian company involved in the design, engineering, development, and marketing of performance vehicles, based in Melbourne, Australia.
Walkinshaw Group was established in 1987 in Clayton, Victoria. [1] It was born from Tom Walkinshaw Racing, owned and operated by Scottish racing driver and entrepreneur Tom Walkinshaw, opening operations in Australia. In 1987 Holden Special Vehicles entered the market in a joint-venture with Holden.
The first car developed by HSV was the Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV in 1988 [2] – which went on to win the 1990 Bathurst 1000, and is responsible for some of the most well-renowned performance vehicles in Australian motoring history.
After Tom Walkinshaw passed away in 2010, his eldest son Ryan Walkinshaw [3] took over as the Walkinshaw Group CEO and owner, with Tom's wife Martine Walkinshaw, and youngest son Sean Walkinshaw also involved in the operations today.
In 2021, with General Motors discontinuing Holden, which subsequently meant the end of new Holden Special Vehicles available to the market, the Walkinshaw Group transformed their operations to encompass five key areas, [4] Walkinshaw Automotive Group, its automotive manufacturing arm, which also offers manufacturing and engineering options outside of the automotive industry, Walkinshaw Performance, its high-performance department, New Age Caravans, the second largest caravan business in Australia, Walkinshaw Sports, a key golf and sporting goods distribution company that works with some of the biggest brands in the industry, along with the racing team, Walkinshaw Andretti United who compete in the Supercars Championship. [5]
Walkinshaw Andretti United is a partnership between Walkinshaw Racing, Andretti Autosport, and United Autosports, owned by Zak Brown.
The company now works directly with a number of OEM's such as General Motors, Toyota, [6] RAM, and Volkswagen Australia. [7]
It employs over 1200 people across the business.
Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. Founded in Adelaide, South Australia, it was an automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter that sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last three years, it switched entirely to importing cars. It was headquartered in Port Melbourne, with major industrial operations in the states of South Australia and Victoria. The 164-year-old company ceased trading at the end of 2020.
Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) was the officially designated performance vehicle division for Holden. Established in 1987 and based in Clayton, Victoria, the privately owned company modified Holden models such as the standard wheelbase Commodore, long wheelbase Caprice and Statesman, and commercial Ute for domestic and export sale. HSV also modified other non-Holden cars within the General Motors lineup in low volumes.
Thomas Dobbie Thomson Walkinshaw was a British racing car driver from Scotland and the founder of the racing team Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR). He was also involved in professional rugby union, as owner of Gloucester Rugby, and chairman of the team owners organisation for the Aviva Premiership.
Walkinshaw Andretti United is an Australian motor racing team based in the Melbourne suburb of Clayton. The team, initially branded as the Holden Racing Team, used to field Holden Commodores in the Supercars Championship before making the switch to Ford Mustangs for the 2023 season. The two cars are currently driven by Ryan Wood and Chaz Mostert.
Mobil 1 is a brand of synthetic motor oil and other automotive lubrication products. Originally developed by the Mobil oil company, it is now globally marketed and sold by ExxonMobil.
Elfin Sports Cars Pty Ltd is an Australian car manufacturer company that was founded by Garrie Cooper. It has been an Australian manufacturer of sports cars and motor racing cars since 1959.
The HSV Dealer Team, previously known as Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia and John Kelly Racing, was an Australian V8 Supercar team. The team ceased operations at the end of 2008, with Walkinshaw Racing and Kelly Racing being formed by owners and staff of the former team. The team is best known for winning the Bathurst 1000 in 2003 and 2004 and the V8 Supercars Drivers & Teams Championships in 2006 and 2007.
A ute, originally an abbreviation for "utility" or "coupé utility", is a term used in Australia and New Zealand to describe vehicles with a tonneau behind the passenger compartment, that can be driven with a regular driver's licence.
The Holden Commodore (VN) is a full-size car that was produced by Holden from 1988 to 1991. It was the first iteration of the second generation of this Australian made model, which was previously a mid-size car, as well as the first Commodore available as a coupé utility. The new range included the luxury variants, Holden Berlina (VN) and Holden Calais (VN) and, from 1990, introduced the commercial Holden Utility (VG).
The Holden Commodore (VL) is a mid-size car that was produced by Holden from 1986 to 1988. It was the final iteration of the first generation of the Holden Commodore and included the luxury variant, Holden Calais (VL). Between February 1986 and August 1988, 151,801 VL model Commodores were built.
Winston Walter Frederick Percy is a British former motor racing driver from England. Percy was British Touring Car Champion three times, and at the time of his retirement was the most successful non-Antipodean driver ever to compete in Australia's premier national motorsport event, the Bathurst 1000km. Joe Saward of Autosport magazine said he was "often regarded as the World's Number One Touring Car Driver".
The 1988 Tooheys 1000 was a 1000 km endurance motor race for Group A Touring Cars. It was held on 2 October 1988 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia. The race was the opening round of the 1988 Asia-Pacific Touring Car Championship and was the 29th running of the Bathurst 1000.
The Holden V8 engine, also known colloquially as the Iron Lion engine, is an overhead valve (OHV) V8 engine that was produced by the Australian General Motors subsidiary, Holden (GMH), between 1969 and 2000.
Walkinshaw Performance is an automotive company involved in motor racing and the production of high performance sporting cars for regular road use. The company was founded by former racing driver, Scottish businessman, Tom Walkinshaw and is essentially a successor organisation to his previous automotive concern, Tom Walkinshaw Racing which was driven into bankruptcy by the failure of the Arrows Formula One team, then a part of TWR. Walkinshaw Performance is now operated by Walkinshaw's son, Ryan.
Scott Robert Pye is an Australian professional racing driver. He currently co-drives in the Repco Supercars Championship, and co-drivers in the No. 87 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Triple Eight Race Engineering.
A substantial car industry was created in Australia in the 20th century through the opening of Australian plants by international manufacturers. The first major carmaker was Ford Australia and the first Australian-designed mass production car was manufactured by Holden in 1948. Australian manufacture of cars rose to a maximum of almost half a million in the 1970s and still exceeded 400,000 in 2004. Australia was best known for the design and production of 'large' sized passenger vehicles. By 2009 total production had fallen to around 175,000 and the Australian market was dominated by cars imported from Asia and Europe.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to auto racing:
Chaz Michael Mostert is an Australian professional racing driver competing in the Repco Supercars Championship. He currently drives the No. 25 Ford Mustang GT for Walkinshaw Andretti United. Mostert was the winner of the 2021 Bathurst 1000 with Lee Holdsworth and has also previously won the 2014 Bathurst 1000 with Paul Morris and the 2010 Australian Formula Ford Championship.
The 2018 Supercars Championship was an FIA-sanctioned international motor racing series for Supercars. It was the twentieth running of the Supercars Championship and the twenty-second series in which Supercars have contested the premier Australian touring car title. Teams and drivers competed in thirty-one races at sixteen venues across Australia and New Zealand for the championship titles. Scott McLaughlin won his maiden title at the final race in Newcastle, while Red Bull Holden Racing Team won the Teams Championship at Pukekohe.
The 2023 Dunlop Series was an Australian motor racing competition for Supercars as a support series. It was the twenty-fourth running of the Supercars Development Series, the second tier of competition in Supercars racing. Since joining as a class in 2021 this marks at the same time as the sixteenth running of the Super3 Series, the third tier of competition in Supercars racing.
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