As the only HDT specialist in Western Australia, and renowned for transforming Holden V8s into truly potent performance machines, he has also acquired a reputation for adding unexpected little differences to the HDT packages.

Which all makes his latest project that little more unexpected.

With the Bill Lee Automotives workshops equipped with the best available technology (no guesswork on power output - he relies on a Bosch chassis dyno), and a far-better-than-average understanding of the new `black art' of engine management programming (that's `power chips' to the rest of us), it was almost inevitable that Lee would turn his attention to the first 4-cylinder Holden with real performance potential - the Vectra.

Currently imported from Europe, where it has already made a name for itself in the British and German Touring Car Championships, and slated for Australian production this year, Vectra's DOHC 2.0 litre engine was a prime candidate for Bill Lee's tender touch. (The fact that the engine is actually Australian-made probably didn't escape him, either.)

HDT had also recognised Vectra's potential, and developed an appealing bodykit package called the Veloce Sport - front bib spoiler, side and rear skirts and a neat rear wing, plus HDT 17 x 7.5 inch alloy rims.

At this point, Bill Lee began `doing things' to this first prototype,
a top-drawer CD Vectra sedan.

Standard springs and shock absorbers were replaced by Lovells springs and adjustable Koni shocks, but the rest of the standard setup was found to be admirably suited to what Lee had in mind so was left in place. Vectra's multi-link rear suspension is a good design to begin with, and all the 4-wheel disc brakes needed was the fitment of `sport' brake pads.

Then Lee opened the hood - and things began to get really interesting!

Serious power output
Holden claims 100kW from the 2.0 litre twin-cam engine, but Bill Lee has grown accustomed to debunking such claims on the dyno. So he was more than a little surprised to find it pumping out 105kW, in stock trim.

First move was to re-programme the engine management computer, fit an HDT air intake box and replace the standard exhaust with a 2-1/2 inch diameter system. Oh, did I forget to mention the supercharger ?

Spending several weeks figuring out just how - and where - to put it, Lee fitted the Vectra with an Eaton M45 blower which is designed for compact spaces. Certainly not obvious, it sits down snugly next to the cabin firewall, feeding the original fitment manifold and injectors.

Needless to say, at this point the electronics needed further adjustment to cope with the added fuel that arrives when the supercharger wakes up - and it's an early riser !

Development work is still proceeding, but the Bosch dyno has already revealed 126kW and Lee believes 150kW at the flywheel is realistically attainable.

At the wheel
CD Vectra's cabin is a nice place to spend time, being rather plushly appointed to start with, and this prototype Veloce Sport is finished off with custom seat trim and woodgrain panels on the dash/console, plus a CD stacker in the boot.

But what matters most is how it drives. A little jaunt with Bill Lee in the passenger seat, understandably watching that this one-of-a-kind Vectra was not abused, had me feeling confused at the start.

I say that because the car's overall feel, coupled with its subtly sporting appearance, constantly brought to mind something from the BMW stable. The tyres chosen by Lee for the proto, incidentally, are Dunlop Formula W, 215/40-17, so it has a firmish but comfortable ride and feels like it is superglued to the road.

Steering response and cornering stability came across as pin-sharp on our lamentably short drive (though I managed to extend it by getting us lost - clever of me, hmm?), that BMW-like feel being allied with a bit of front wheel drive understeer. See why I was feeling confused ?

Also impressive is the subdued level of road noise that makes it through the revised suspension to the cabin.

An initial stab on the accelerator laid me back in the seat, the automatic transmission reaching change-up time far sooner than a standard Vectra could dream of, and the compact sedan proved capable of reaching astonishing velocity. (Vectra…Veloce. Aha !)

All too soon, we worked out where we were and I managed to get a harassed Bill Lee back to his workshop, where a gaggle of Holden V8s waited patiently for him to `do things' to them, too.