Holden Sets New Nürburgring Record for Trucks with VF SS V Redline Ute at 8:19.47 [w/Video]

If a tuned diesel VW T5 set a lap record for vans on the Nürburgring, it should be a walk in the park for a V8-powered pickup truck like the Holden VF SS V Redline Ute, right? This seems to be the reasoning behind Holden’s decision to  ship one of its new VF SS V Redline Utes to the famous German circuit.

As expected, the Australians didn’t return home empty handed, with their Ute setting a world record for a commercial and utility vehicle – a category that didn’t exist before, it has to be said.

Read more »

GM Prices New Commodore-Based 2014 Chevrolet SS V8 from $44,470

Do you miss the Pontiac G8 and can't find a decent used example? GM has you covered as it has re-introduced the revised version of the Holden Commodore-based sports sedan in the States in the guise of the new 2014 Chevrolet SS, pricing of which was announced today before it goes on sale in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Available exclusively in the United States (sorry Canada) with a 6.2-liter V8 paired to a 6-speed automatic (sorry manual gearbox fans), the SS carries an MSRP of $44,470, including a $995 destination charge, which makes it cheaper than a similarly powered BMW 5-Series model, but on the same level as the smaller and less powerful 300hp 335i sedan ($44,075 with destination).

Read more »

Vauxhall Launches New VXR8 GTS with 576BHP Supercharged V8 in the UK, Eyes BMW M5

Vauxhall has announced that the new VXR8 GTS model, based on Holden’s new GEN-F GTS, is available for order in the UK beginning from today.

Fitted with a 6.2-liter V8 engine that drives the rear wheels producing 576bhp – a whopping 150bhp more than the outgoing model, the new Vauxhall VXR8 GTS will be an interesting alternative to more expensive cars like the BMW M5 or the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG.

Read more »

Holden Says It will Continue to Build Cars in Australia despite Ford’s Exit

Following Ford’s announcement that it will stop making cars in Australia in 2016, the country’s other major car manufacturer, GM-owned Holden, said it remains committed to making cars in the country.

Holden CEO Mike Devereux said in a statement that Ford’s announcement is a reminder of “just how tough it is for manufacturers in Australia, even the most committed, like Holden, which is bringing out the most technologically advanced car ever made in Australia.”

Read more »

New HSV GEN-F Range Includes Australia's Fastest Production Car Ever

The presentation of the redesigned 2014 Holden Commodore VF Series (offered as the new Chevrolet SS in the States) earlier this year has been followed up with the release of the Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) flavored editions of the car known as the GEN-F range.

HSV touts the GEN-F as one of its most important updates ever as it features "the most significant exterior styling makeover since E-series" and includes the most powerful performance production car ever built in Australia, a country known for its muscles cars, the 577hp (585PS / 430kW) GTS. Unfortunately, it may also be the last of its kind as GM is considering a front-wheel drive replacement for the next Commodore due in 2017.

Read more »

Watch the New 2014 Camaro Z28 and Holden Ute SSV Howl Their V8's on the 'Ring

To the delight of General Motors' engineering teams, the company's love with the Nürburgring Nordschleife is only getting bigger and stronger with all performance and performance-orientated models being tested on the famed German circuit. Read more »

New 2014 Holden Ute SSV Wags its Tail on the Nürburgring

Yes, yes, we know that GM's troubled Australian arm Holden has already given us a taste of the redesigned 2014 Ute along with its Commodore saloon sibling, but how often do you have the opportunity to see a two-door, pickup truck version of a mid-size model doing the rounds on the Nürburgring's Nordschleife track? We thought so. Read more »

425HP Vauxhall VXR8 Tourer Is the Brand’s Most Powerful Estate Ever

Vauxhall has introduced the estate version of its VXR8 performance sedan to the UK market. With 431 PS (425 HP) from a 6.2 liter V8 engine, the VXR8 Tourer is the most powerful estate car in Vauxhall’s 110-year history.

The V8 engine is the same used by the VXR8 saloon and Maloo ute, with all three models being based on the soon-to-be replaced Holden Commodore. The eight-cylinder is mated to a six-speed manual gearbox or a six-speed automatic transmission. In either case, there’s a mechanical limited slip differential offered as standard, as this is a rear-wheel drive car.

Read more »

Holden's New Commodore VF Sportwagon and Ute, One of Them Could Join the SS in the U.S…

Instead of bringing all members of the new Commodore VF family out in the open at once, Holden has chosen to release the separate models in stages.

GM's Australian subsidiary began with the regular sedan and the more luxurious Calais, which were followed by the SS V and its American counterpart, the 2014 Chevrolet SS, and now, we have the Sportwagon and Ute models.

Read more »

Holden Unwraps New Commodore SS V, Previews 2014 Chevrolet SS [w/Video]

It looks like Holden is trying to grab as much attention as it can with the new generation Commodore VF by spreading out the presentations for each different model of the range.

After the unveiling of the regular Commodore this past weekend, GM's Australian subsidiary announced the performance SS V , which is the closest thing we've seen to the 2014 Chevrolet SS Sports Sedan, which is scheduled to debut this Saturday, February 16 at the Daytona International Speedway.

Read more »

Meet the 2014 Holden Commodore VF and Consequently, the Chevrolet SS [70 Pics & Videos]

What GM's Holden unit declares as the "most technologically-advanced car ever created in Australia", and we'll add to that, perhaps one of the better-looking to come out from the Land Down Under, the new Commodore VF, was finally unveiled today during an exclusive event in the city of Melbourne.

Ironically, it may also be the last Australian-designed and engineered rear-wheel drive, Commodore as Holden itself has announced that it will replace the car with a new model in 2017.

The good news is that Holden Chairman and Managing Director Mike Devereux confirmed the Commodore's replacement would keep the same name with production continuing to take place in Australia; the bad news is that, according to Drive, he said it would be based on a new global design from GM, meaning it will switch to a front-wheel drive platform.

Nevertheless, for the next four years, the last true-blue Australian Commodore brings a fresh design both inside and out along with new luxury appointments.

From a North American perspective, the Commodore VF is important as it spearheads a new export campaign in the form of the Chevrolet SS Sports Sedan that will be officially unveiled in the USA next week on February 16. As you may have already noticed from our own rendering of the SS, the cosmetic changes over the VF Commodore are expected to be subtle.

Read more »

Save the Date: GM to Unveil New Chevrolet SS on February 16

Following yesterday's news that Holden will blow the covers off the next generation of its Commodore sedan in Australia on February 10, today we learn that the car's American sibling, the limited production 2014 Chevrolet SS, will be revealed just before the Sprint Unlimited race on February 16 in Daytona International Speedway’s fan zone. Read more »

New Holden Commodore VF to be Unveiled on February 10, Previews New Chevy SS

Dubbed by General Motors' Australian subsidiary Holden as the "most advanced vehicle created in this country", the new VF-series Commodore sedan will be officially revealed this Sunday, February 10, though, the automaker will use social media and a new microsite at 'buildthecommodore' to tease bits and pieces of the new model beginning on Wednesday, February 6.

The next generation of the Commodore sedan also forms the base for GM's new North American market 2014 Chevrolet SS, which is scheduled for launch towards the end of the year as a limited production model. As some of you may recall, CarScoop's Josh Byrnes recently rendered the new SS.

Read more »

Future Cars: We Dream up Chevrolet's 2014 SS in a ZL1 Costume

As many of our readers are probably already aware, Chevrolet is entering next year's NASCAR championship with an entirely new model aptly called the SS, which was previewed in Las Vegas just last month.

The Super Sport racer will be unique to the championship as the production-going road car has yet to be revealed and won't even built in the United States; to find it's country of origin you'll have to get an atlas and turn it upside down; yes that's right, it will be built in the backyard that Crocodile Dundee calls home - Australia.

Based on the Zeta architecture, the new SS won't be entirely new to the market when it goes on sale next year as a 2014 model. In fact, it's GM's second attempt to get the Holden-based Commodore on US shores - with the last try drying up after the Pontiac division was dissolved.

GM realizes that they still have a good product with the Commodore down under, so coinciding with the upcoming Aussie redesign they have given it another chance. This update is expected to bring substantial technological and interior quality advances over the previous G8 / current Commodore.

Read more »

2013 Chevrolet SS NASCAR Racer Hints at Production SS and Possibly Even Next Commodore

As promised, Chevrolet lifted the wraps off its 2013 NASCAR Chevrolet SS racecar today during a special event in Las Vegas. Even if you're not a fan of NASCAR racing, you'll be interested to know that the competition SS incorporates design cues from the upcoming production 2014 Chevrolet SS.

We'll remind you that all NASCAR racers feature a generic body with some minor modifications that include the funny looking decals that resemble the head- and tail-lights. To understand the relationship between a production model and its NASCAR sibling, check out Ford's Fusion racer in our previous post here.

"As a passionate race fan, the debut of the SS NASCAR race car is a genuinely exciting moment for me,” said GM North America President Mark Reuss during the presentation of the car in Las Vegas.

Read more »

Holden Special Vehicles Turns 25 and Celebrates with Special Edition GTS

Australia's high-performance car manufacturer Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) continues the yearlong festivities for its 25th anniversary with the presentation of a special edition version of the GTS ahead of a world premiere at the 2012 Sydney auto show later in October.

"From day one, our mission at HSV has been to build Australia's finest performance cars. Every year, for the past 25, we have refined and evolved on what has gone before. And now, we present the newest HSV flag bearer – our 25th Anniversary GTS," said Holden's subsidiary in a statement.

In essence, the new 25th Anniversary GTS is a cosmetic and equipment package as there's no extra oomph for the special edition, which keeps the regular model's 6.2-litre V8 LS3 engine with 436Hp (325kW) and 550Nm (405.6 lb-ft).

Read more »

This Lamborghini Aventador Replica is Based on a Pontiac GTO / Holden Monaro [w/Videos]

From the magical land of eBay comes our next tale of replicas. This newly found example is pretending to be a Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4, though even an untrained eye can see that there something is wrong with car's proportions.

The seller and builder of the replica is "Z and M Customs", which is located in the city of Eagle in Ada County, Idaho.

The company informs us that the Aventador lookalike is built on the chassis and mechanical components of a "GM Holden" with power coming from a "LS1 V8 Corvette with approximately 400HP".

Read more »

HSV Brings Back ClubSport and Maloo, Updates the Rest of the Range

Holden Special Vehicles, or HSV for short, is the high-performance arm of the GM-owned Holden brand in Australia. This week, HSV released details on its updated MY12.5 range that coincides with the company's year-long 25th anniversary celebrations.

The big story for the new model year is the re-introduction of the most affordable Commodore based V8 models, the ClubSport saloon and the Maloo ute, which is Aussie talk for a car-based utility vehicle (think Chevrolet El Camino).

Both models sit below their respective R8 level variants in terms of equipment missing out on HSV’s Enhanced Driver Interface (EDI) and in the case of the Maloo, the remote locking hard tonneau and performance sailplane as well, but do keep other goods such as the 20-inch wheels, performance seats, satellite navigation and Rear Park Assist with reversing camera.

Read more »

1979 Holden Kingswood HZ SL Owner Lists Garage Find for AU$40,000

Remember the 1979 Holden Kingswood HZ SL that was unearthed after being tucked away in a garage in Adelaide for the past 27 years having clocked a mere 998 kilometers (620 miles) since it was bought brand new?

The daughter of the car's original owner has listed the classic Australian model on Carsales for AU$40,000 (about US$40,200 or €32,200).

Read more »

New 1979 Holden Kingswood HZ Steps Out of its Time Capsule

Just when you think that all barn, garage and let's not forget, dealer lot finds, have been unearthed, along comes another story to prove you wrong.

This past Sunday saw the unearthing of a 1979 Holden Kingswood HZ saloon in Adelaide, Australia. Warren Edwards, a photographer from Adelaide and a family friend of the car's current owners, was on hand to snap the pictures you see posted here.

The mid-size Aussie sedan, which is powered by a 4.2-liter V8 rated at 120kW/161hp, had been bought brand new but due to the owner's sudden illness at the time, it was parked in his garage after covering a little over 900km (~560 miles).

It had been taken out only once in 1985 to replace its alternator before heading back to its resting place where it remained until a few days ago.

Edwards tells us:

Read more »