The ECOTEC V6 is an american design engine, sourced through GM for Holden
With it's design based off the old 3.5L Aluminium Buick V6 back in 1962, you can see it's quite an old engine
GM kept this same engine in production up until 2008, it had gone through some pretty big changes in it's life, it had proven to be one of GM's most reliable V6 engines
Here in Australia it's marketed as the "ECOTEC" engine, based off the GM 3800 Series 2
For those who are wondering, ECOTEC actually stands for
E - Emissions
C - Control
O - Optimisation
TEC - Technology
At first from the VS - VTII, on paper they produced 147kw (199.8hp) @ 5200rpm, and a pretty adequate 304nm @ 3600rpm
All naturally aspirated engines ran a 9.4:1 Compression Ratio
There was an optional Supercharged version which produced 165kw (224hp) @ 5200rpm, and a much more healthy 370nm @ 3200rpm
The Supercharged variant ran an 8.5:1 Compression Ratio
All engines had a 5900rpm cutout/limiter, were also paired with GM's 4L60-E Electronically Controled 4-Speed Automatic
Dual Mode, Normal & Power
When the VT was introduced, power & torque on the Supercharged variant was raised to 171kw (232hp) @ 5200rpm & 375nm @ 3000rpm
Compression was still at 8.5:1 for the Supercharged variant
Power & Torque remained unchanged in the Naturally Aspirated variant
The new VX brought updates to the naturally aspirated variant, which raised power slightly, improved fuel ecconomy, lowered emissions & improved transmission programming, the VY was the last series to feature the 3.8L EcoTec V6
Final years of use in Australia, they made 152kw (206hp) @ 5200rpm & 305nm @ 3600rpm
Still running a 9.4:1 Compression Ratio