HSV's V8 Colorado concept sells at auction - UPDATE

UPDATE, December 22: The one-off HSV Colorado prototype has sold at auction for AU$205,000 (before buyers fees) via Lloyds to a private buyer.

HSV had said they intended to fully comply the unique piece of Australian motoring history with its LT1 V8 and 10-speed auto from a 2SS Camaro before putting it up for sale.

The Colorado carries the last ever HSV build plate before the migration to GMSV branding at the end of Holden's life last year.

The story to here

November 18: To this point the V8 dual-cab has occupied a similar spot in history as Big Foot, the Loch Ness Monster or the bunyip. Plenty of tales tell of their existence, but without any concrete evidence. Until now.

The HSV Colorado SportsCat V8 not only proves the V8 dual-cab is not a myth, but also how close it came to landing in Australian showrooms – and thanks to Walkinshaw Performance, we recently had the opportunity for a good poke around it.

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Before covering off what exactly a SportsCat V8 is, let’s answer the main question: why didn’t it make production? The very simple answer is that when Holden closed its operations in February 2020, the plant that made the Colorado went with it, killing the project instantly.

The idea began with a “what if?” brainstorm between Walkinshaw Senior Engineer David Kermond and a handful of others.

“It started with myself and a couple of technicians and another engineer wanting to put an engine out of a crashed Camaro into [the Colorado] to build a skunkworks project out the back," Kermond said.

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“It grew and eventually turned out to be a project that was greenlit by our side of the business and we were working quite closely with GM to secure engine pricing, but with GM closing the doors on Thailand it shut the door.”

Just as HSV Commodores used to have their powertrains installed on the production line at Elizabeth before being transported to Clayton for completion, the SportsCat V8 would have received its Camaro heart in Thailand before being shipped to Australia.

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Final specifications weren’t finalised, Kermond describing the development work as “probably 70 per cent complete”, but 20-inch wheels and a bespoke bodykit would have featured, with the AP Racing brakes – 362mm front rotors with four-piston calipers – and SupaShock dampers from the SportsCat SV also likely to carry over, albeit with a suspension retune.

Powertrain work was largely complete, the 339kW/617Nm 6.2-litre LT1 V8 – rather than the Silverado’s L87 unit – being left largely untouched, but with plenty of calibration and cooling development to ensure its towing capacity remained. GM’s 10-speed automatic was likely to be the only available transmission.

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Exact pricing would have depended on the engine pricing negotiated with GM, but the target range was $75-85,000, a relatively small premium over the $68,990 that was charged for a SportsCat SV.

While sadly the program never came to fruition, the Panorama Silver example you see here – the same colour as the original VL Walkinshaw – will be completed, complied and sold as the final ever HSV.