2004 HSV Avalanche Reviews

Joshua Dowling tests the world's fastest ute, the HSV GTS Maloo.

Big power, big looks, black wheels - everything you need in HSV's high-performance GTS Maloo ute.Though Holden, sadly, is pulling out of local manufacturing in 2017, its high-performance HSV division is certainly not lying down and waiting for the end. Indeed, HSV has given us details of a new limited edition model in the hottest market segment in Australia - which these days is the sports ute. A limited edition, the HSV GTS Maloo ute gets the big 6.2-litre supercharged V8 LSA engine with 430kW of power and a stirring 740Nm of torque. It's not just about grunt, the GTS Maloo also shares many of GTS's safety and high-performance technologies.From a styling point of view, the GTS Maloo uses the GTS sedan's front fascia design. This not only provides an aggressive stance, but also uses large, aero designed air-intake surface area to deliver the required engine cooling.Says the managing director of HSV, Tim Jackson, "We have been working on this project for a couple of years now. There are a number of unique elements required to integrate the LSA into the Maloo platform, and significant time in getting all the safety and performance technologies to operate effectively."Every time we launch a vehicle is an exciting time, but we believe the GTS Maloo is something special and sets a new benchmark in the performance market," Jackson said.The big-power LSA powered vehicle needs to be able to stop as well as go. HSV's premium braking package with lightweight AP radical forged six-piston brake calipers are huge, 390mm diameter at the front and 372mm at the rear.What HSV thinks is a global first for a utility, sees the GTS Maloo will be fitted with the traction advantages of torque vectoring. The vehicle's Electronic Stability Control (ESC) system detects an understeer event, applies braking to the inside rear wheel and transfers torque to the outside rear wheel.The GTS Maloo will be available with either a TR6060 (MG9 spec) six-speed manual gearbox with an oil cooler and twin plate clutch, or a 6L90E six-speed heavy-duty automatic transmission, again with an oil cooler.Styling is further beefed up by HSV's Daytime Running Lamps (DRLs), side skirts, a twin-hump hard tonneau and performance sail-plane. There are lightweight 20-inch 'Blade' forged-alloy wheels in what HSV calls 'Dark Stainless' finish.Shadow-chrome quad exhaust tips and a number plate surround paint-out combine to strengthen the rear-end look with. There are LSA and GTS badges on the tailgate.Concurrent with the launch of the GTS Maloo is the introduction of two new colours to the HSV range: Some Like It Hot, a rich bronze/red, and Jungle Green, an iridescent olive green.HSV performance seats are finished in Onyx leather trim, or the optional "Red Hot" leather trim.The GTS Maloo will feature HSV's Driver Preference Dial which alters the adjustment of the vehicle's ESC, Traction Control, Launch Control (manual transmission), Torque Vectoring, Electric Power Steering and new electric Bi-Modal Exhaust according to three distinct pre-set modes – Touring, Sport and Performance.The Enhanced Driver Interface(EDI) system provides the driver with all the performance data.Safety features include Head-up Display, Forward Collision Alert, Lane Departure Warning and automatic wipers.Production is due to begin early in November with vehicles expected to be available in dealerships later that month. Each GTS Maloo will be individually numbered on a build plate.Build of the new HSV GTS Maloo ute will be limited to just 250 vehicles, 240 will stay in Australia, 10 will be sent across the ‘dutch' to New Zealand.

World's fastest ute confirmed: Holden Special Vehicles GTS Maloo will get Porsche technology to stop a skid.The world’s fastest Holden ute is poised to go out with a bigger bang than originally planned.Due to overwhelming demand for the pick-up that’s as fast as a Porsche -- it sold out within 24 hours, a month before it officially went on sale -- Holden will increase the number of cars built from 150 to 250.The Holden Special Vehicles GTS Maloo is still expected to become one of the most collectible models of the modern muscle car era because it is exactly half the number of the final Ford Falcon GT sedans built.HSV has confirmed the GTS Maloo powered by a supercharged V8 will go into production in November before arriving in showrooms before the end of the year priced from about $85,000.HSV wanted to restrict the number built to create a collector car but it decided to increase production after it became apparent some of its best customers had missed out on the supercharged V8 ute, powered by the same engine used in a high-performance Chevrolet Camaro in the US.SCOOP: How we broke the storyMORE: Holden Ute hot lap on world's longest trackRELATED: Holden Ute takes on world's best. In addition to being the world’s fastest ute, with an expected 0 to 100km/h time of just 4.5 seconds, the HSV GTS Maloo is also the first ute ever with “torque vectoring”, a high-tech computer-controlled stability control system that can prevent a skid in corners at highway speeds. It’s the same type of system used on the latest Porsche 911.The HSV GTS Maloo also has the most advanced safety features ever fitted to a ute, and the biggest brakes.HSV boss Tim Jackson said: “We have been working on this project for a couple of years now. There are a number of unique elements required to integrate the (supercharged V8) into the Maloo platform, and significant time in getting all the safety and performance technologies to operate effectively.”The arrival of the GTS Maloo is expected to coincide with upgrades to the regular Holden Commodore range due to go into production at the Elizabeth factory in Adelaide in November, with deliveries to customers expected just in time for Christmas.HSV GTS MalooPrice: $85,000 (estimated)Engine: Supercharged 6.2-litre V8Power: 430kW and 740Nm0 to 100km/h: 4.5 seconds 

The supercharged HSV GTS Maloo has sold out before it officially goes on sale, Holden is trying to build more. Holden has sold out of the world's fastest ute even though it is not yet officially on sale -- and not due to go into production until later this year.  As reported exclusively by News Corp Australia last week, Holden Special Vehicles has told dealers it is preparing a supercharged V8 ute so that the Australian icon ends on a high note, and leaves a legacy that will last long after the factory in Adelaide closes in 2017.  Dealers have told News Corp Australia the initial planned allocation of 150 cars is sold out -- despite the $85,000 price, the dearest ute ever to be sold in Australia -- and Holden is now scrambling to find a way to build more.  Following our scoop last week the HSV GTS Maloo also made big news on social media and dealers reportedly sold out within 24 hours. Holden and its performance car division both refuse to confirm publicly that such a car exists. "We don't discuss future model plans," says HSV boss Tim Jackson.But sources within the dealer network say Holden may build 50 to 100 more to keep customers happy -- and still retain the car's exclusivity.  If 250 HSV GTS Maloo utes are built, they will still be more rare than the final Ford Falcon GT, of which 500 will be made, and more rare than the HSV GTS sedan, of which more than 1000 have been sold to date.  One dealer who was allocated five cars says he has 16 signed orders; most other dealers we spoke to say they could have sold twice their allocation of two to four cars each. No dealers would speak on the record because Holden and HSV have instructed them not to talk to media. The previous generation HSV Maloo currently holds the Guinness World Record for the world's fastest ute after Holden racing driver Mark Skaife set an average top speed of 271km/h on the Woomera rocket range in 2006, defeating the previous title holders which were high-powered US pick-ups from Ford (237kmh) and Dodge (248km/h).

Holden could be without a V8 in its showrooms in 2018 as Camaro still not confirmed.  Australians still can't get enough of their V8s. There was so much demand for the first and the last of the "final" edition Falcon GT that Ford had to auction them off for charity to avoid a backlash among buyers -- and dealers.If you want to make a sizeable donation to a worthy cause, the National Breast Cancer Foundation, and end up with either car 001 or car 500 of the GT-F, get onto e-Bay between August 17 and 24.Meanwhile, following our exclusive story last week about the epic new HSV GTS Maloo, our dealer sources tell us the initial allocation of 150 cars are sold out and Holden and HSV are scrambling to see if the factory can squeeze in another 50 to 100 cars.One dealer had an allocation of five cars but has 16 signed deposits. Other dealers we spoke to said they could sell twice as many as they were allotted.Collectors fear not, however. HSV and Holden are unlikely to flood the market. We suspect they will cap it at 250 maximum, if they can indeed get enough of the extra bits to put them together.Most of the heavy-duty parts (and, of course, the supercharged V8 engine) are carryover from the GTS sedan. But the lengthened tail-shaft is unique, as are some interior bits and pieces, we hear.Keep in mind that HSV and Holden have not even publicly confirmed the GTS Maloo even exists yet, which it makes it all the more remarkable that it's already a sellout.I hope Holden is watching this love of V8s closely (our guess is that Holden at least has some idea, given that it will introduce a Craig Lowndes special edition at Bathurst to mark 20 years since the V8 Supercar driver debuted in a Holden).Even though Holden's sales and marketing boss Philip Brook told dealers late last year there were plans to introduce a Camaro in 2018, we now hear that was not necessarily true.Apparently the comments were made to pump the dealers with confidence after last year's announcement about the factory closure in 2017.Reliable sources in Detroit say there is still no plan to build a right-hand-drive version of the Camaro.As incredible as it seems, Holden dealers could be without a V8 in their showrooms in 2018 for the first time since 1967.For the sake of Holden fans, here's hoping the arrival of the Ford Mustang next year will give General Motors all the incentive it needs to approve the Camaro for Australia.

HSV is set to build the world's fastest ute, the LSA supercharged V8 GTS Maloo.

Graham Smith road tests and reviews the used 1997-2000 HSV Clubsport VT/VT II.

Goodwood. There is nothing remotely like it, anywhere in the world.It's a combination of a British summer garden party, the world's most upmarket motor show, a classic car event and a high-speed hill climb. Then there is the air show, a rally stage and so, so, much more.Officially it's called the Festival of Speed and it's held each June on the driveway and front lawn — yes, really — at the stately home of the Earl of March, about 90 minutes into the green British countryside from London.The difference is that Charles March has a driveway that is ferocious fun at 250km/h in a retired Formula One car. His front lawn hosts more than 120,000 people over four days.He also knows some very special people, from F1 heroes Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen to rock gods and movie stars. And they like to show their collectable cars and cut loose in the speed trials."This is just amazing. It is unique," Bentley Motors chairman Wolfgang Durheim tells me. He's prowling like a regular punter, taking a close look at the new Jaguar F-Type Project 7 as thousands check the new arrivals in giant temporary showrooms and the Moving Motor Show.And that's what has changed at Goodwood. The event began as a fun run for classic cars and old-timer drivers but the collapse of the last surviving British motor show means the car companies now put all their effort into "The Festival".If you added the investment from all the brands, you would quickly run beyond $50 million. But even that doesn't sound like much when there are classic Ferraris on display that would cost more than $5 million each to put in your garage.The Festival now runs for a full four days and there are regular demonstration runs up The Hill by the most desirable cars on the planet, including the latest LaFerrari, Porsche 919 hybrid and McLaren P1. If you want to see how a Mercedes SLS AMG Black Series looks in action, this is the place, and it's the same for Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Maserati, Lotus and Bentley and more.There's an everyday side, too. Peugeot and Citroen and Toyota and Nissan have giant displays and Ford shows the new Mustang that's coming to Australia in 2015.Ford also uses the Festival to reveal its new Focus ST hot hatch, as Land Rover teases a hot rod Range Rover from its new Special Vehicles division, and Aston Martin and Nissan display concept cars created to debut digitally in theVisiting the show is an automotive overload. It takes a full day just to appreciate the size of The Festival. My weekend passes in a blur because Goodwood blurs dreams with reality, the past with the future, and unspeakably exotic cars with road-going runabouts. Goodwood is much more immersive than a regular motor show. And the cars move, which brings the whole thing to life.It helps immensely that the classic race cars, which truly provide something for everyone from the Dakar to Le Mans, fire up all the senses. How can you not smile as a Blitzen Benz from the dawn of motoring chugs up the same piece of bitumen that Kimi Raikkonen tears apart with a near-new F1 Ferrari?This is passion, and excitement, and a smile-a-second reflection of everything that is good about cars. "Why am I here? Where else would I be?" laughs Martine Walkinshaw, widow of Tom and now the driving force behind Holden Special Vehicles and the Holden Racing Team. She has driven to the event in an HSV Commodore and is watching son Sean driving classic Jaguar racers.It should come as no surprise that the death of the Australian International Motor Show has sparked a lot of interest in Goodwood, and how it can be copied and adapted down under. A couple of attempts are already under way and we'll see in 2015 whether the headline act in Melbourne, combining the resources of the VACC and RACV, can get somewhere close to The Festival.But that's still in the future and, despite all the glorious cars from the past and the sight of so many of the motorsport heroes even from my childhood, I'm still deeply immersed in Goodwood 2014.If you have a Bucket List, and you're remotely interested in cars, add the Festival of Speed. At the top.

Australia's final performance car heroes pay their respects at the high temple of horsepower: Bathurst

We pit the HSV GTS against the Ford Falcon GT with a die-hard fanatic and collector of each brand.