The last-ever Holden V8 isn't what you think it is
Friday, 10 December 2021
The final V8-powered Holden is going under the hammer. It’ll probably fetch big money but it’s actually a lot more interesting than you might think. Partly because it isn’t a Commodore.
It’s actually a prototype V8 Colorado ute that Holden was tantalisingly close to revealing in full before GM called curtains on the brand, the last engineering vehicle ever built and plated by HSV.
The ute was hand-built in 2019, fitted with the 6.2-litre V8 and ten-speed automatic from the Chevrolet Camaro, to be a true competitor to the Ford Ranger Raptor. And, as we know, Ford also came very close to building its own V8-powered superute.
In Camaro trim, the engine produced 340kW of power and 617Nm of torque, which would have easily eclipsed the 157kW/500Nm of the diesel-powered Ranger Raptor.
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Apparently, there were four versions of the Colorado V8 circulating during development, as engineers fiddled with different engine and transmission configurations, but this one went the whole distance, according to drive.com.au.
One of those other versions was an off-road-centric ZR2 Colorado, with spec taken from the North American Chevrolet Colorado ZR2. That project didn’t make it as far as this one, though.
“We did debate whether or not to keep it, but we already have a collection, and we wanted a HSV fan to be able to enjoy this car,” Chris Polites, commercial director of the Walkinshaw Group, told drive.
“We know how much fun our engineers had while developing this car, and we really want others to be able to sample what was possible and how far that program had developed.”
Turns out, it was really far along in development. HSV had the green light from Holden’s big bosses to sell the V8 Colorado, and was reportedly just “months” away from ramping production and sending press releases detailing its awesome new creation before Holden was axed.
To keep costs down, the V8 engine and transmission would have been fitted on the production line in Thailand before HSV fitted other go-fast bits at its Melbourne facility.
Would it have saved Holden? Probably not, even though it was to be priced around the $80,000 to $90,000 mark and bring back Panorama Silver, which covered the first HSV vehicles. But it would have been one hell of a send-off.
“This is the last car to be plated by HSV, the last car to carry a HSV badge, and the last HSV through our engineering centre. This is genuinely the last HSV-built car, and it was completed after the last of the GTSR W1s,” added Polites.
Lloyds Auctions is offering the V8 Colorado, with bidding currently sitting at AU$109,000. Being a test mule, the ute has got more than 23,000km on the clock, but it looks like it is still road legal, which is good news for those hoping to catch a glimpse of it out and about.
It reports the engine has custom prop shafts, headers and a four-inch exhaust, as well as a new airbox, fuel system and retuned ECU. The build plate under the bonnet has been engraved with “The Real Last HSV”.