DIRTY WORK

AFTER A LONG ON-AND-OFF GESTATION, SIMON WHITE'S NITROUS-HUFFING HQ FINALLY DEBUTED AT MOTORVATION 36 AND WAS ONE OF THE STARS OF THE SHOW

-  BORIS VISKOVIC

WE'RE LOOKING AT PUNCHING A 200-SHOT THROUGH IT, SO THAT SHOULD TAKE IT OVER 700HP EASY. THE AIM IS A NINE-SECOND PASS

SIMON White's killer HQ Monaro GTS was a massive hit when it was unveiled at Motorvation 36 earlier this year. The crowd loved it and the judges thought it was pretty cool too, awarding it 2nd Top Paint, 2nd Top Bodywork and a spot in the Top 10. The car even made the Grand Champ Top 5 after some pretty impressive results in the driving events.

What made the HQ stand out from your regular unveiled car was how well it was sorted and how hard Simon was willing to push it. It probably helps that Simon is a bit of a tragic when it comes to Queys, having owned quite a few over the years - most recently a stunning blue four-door that ran mid-10s, which got sold off as a roller to help fund the coupe build.

Part of that four-door lives on in the coupe in the form of the small-block Chev, which has copped a bit of a freshen-up and top-end upgrades like a bigger manifold, carby and cam - not to mention some nitrous. The previous combo made 513hp at the tyres naturally aspirated, but Simon expects this one to make closer to 550. "We're looking at punching a 200-shot through it, so that should take it over 700 easy," he says. "The aim of the build is to run a nine-second quarter." With more power and less weight, that looks like a pretty reachable target.