GM Holden’s 1 Millionth HF V-6 Engine Museum-Bound

GM Holden produces the 1 millionth HF (High Feature) V-6 engine at its Holden Engine Operations plant at Fishermans Bend outside Melbourne, Victoria.

The engine will not be used in a vehicle, but will be retained at the plant as a museum piece to a lost industry when the 106-year-old automaker, a General Motors subsidiary since 1931, ends Australian vehicle production in 2017.

It took the plant 11 years to reach the 1 million-unit mark.

The 1 millionth unit, a 3.6L variant, is the engine that powers the Adelaide-built VF Commodore SV6 and Calais V6 models.

Plant Manager Martin Merry says more than a third of the engines built at Fishermans Bend are used in GM Holden’s locally produced vehicles.

“These world-class engines also power vehicles in North America, South America, Europe and Asia, including the Chevrolet Alpheon, Buick GL8 and the Opel Antara,” Merry says in a statement.

The plant builds more than 34 variants of the HF V-6 mill for local and international markets, including 2.8L turbo, 3.0L V-6, 3.6L V-6 gasoline and 3.6L liquefied petroleum gas engines. The facility also built the first preproduction compressed-natural-gas bi-fuel engine tailored for an international market.

In 2009, HEO began building the advanced spark-ignition direct-injection version of the HF V-6 which brought significant performance and fuel-economy benefits to the Commodore range.

GM Holden has operated at the Fishermans Bend site since 1936, with the plant beginning engine production in 1948 with the 6-cyl., 2.15L “grey engine” that powered the first Holden – the iconic 48-215 FX.