There's little chance they'll ever make the long journey from Australia to the U.S., but the muscle-car divisions of Detroit-heavyweights General Motors and Ford Down Under continue to churn out new, high-performance vehicles that we can only envy. The latest update from GM Holden's performance division, Holden Special Vehicles (HSV), is that the company will be launching a range of updates on its current E-Series lineup of high-performance sedans and utility vehicles.

The news was announced by Holden itself, and like other manufacturers it will be using a countdown to the final revealing of the details to help build anticipation and hype for the newly updated products. Known as the E-Series '2' range of vehicles, the final details will be revealed on September 9 this year (that's 09/09/09 for those not paying attention) but the company has given away some clues as to what the updates will involve.

Speaking at a press conference for the announcement of an update to the basic Holden Commodore sedan, HSV managing director Phil Harding hinted that the updates to the E-Series 2 cars will deliver improved economy, more power and some distinctive design themes. The updates will cover the entire HSV range include the Clubsport R8, GTS, Maloo ute, W427 super-sedan and the more luxury-focused Grange and Senator models.

The current range of E-Series models all feature GM's stunning LS3 engine with around 425hp, except for the W427 which uses the more potent LS7 engine from the Corvette Z06. Following the updates, however, we can expect the LS3-engined models to get a modest bump in power up to around 435hp, as well as some cosmetic changes to keep the range looking fresh.