HSV GTS R W1 prices stall

Only months ago the swansong to Australian-made performance cars was beginning to leave owner-investors dancing all the way to the bank, but now it seems potential buyers of the HSV GTS R W1 have changed their tune as used examples grow but sales stall.

HSV production stopped at 275 examples of the GTS R W1 for local buyers who quickly snapped them up – except the final example retained by the brand and the press vehicle that sold at auction for an undisclosed sum – at $169,900 plus on-road costs.

As reported by MOTOR, in August last year the first known GTS R W1 available for public auction passed in at Manheim Melbourne for $257,500 after falling well shy of the $300K expected selling price.

In September last year, however, it was reported that a white GTS R W1 sold for $280,000 at the Grays Online auction house, while this was followed in March 2018 when the hammer fell at $269,000 for a red example at Lloyds Auction Queensland.

More recently, however, the number of W1 examples on sale – complete with a 474kW/815Nm, LS9 6.2-litre supercharged V8 and six-speed manual – has soared to 17 at the time of publication, with only one missing an official sticker price (‘enquire within’ is the word).

The claimed combined value of the fittest, finest HSV finale totals 4.34 million with an average price of $271,250 – almost a neat $100K over the recommended retail pricetag.

But now even the cheapest example, painted white and with 17km on the odometer, isn’t selling despite being priced at $229,999 for a total decrease of around $50K versus the GTS R W1 examples that actually sold at auction late last year.

With a further five examples priced at $240,000 or less, another six vehicles priced between $270,000 and $280,000, and a quartet topping out at $300,000, it would seem that the market is saturated enough to create a buyer’s market. The question now is how long it will take the top HSV to fall below $200K?

History plays a guide here. The Porsche Cayman GT4 launched locally from $190K and very soon examples were moving to $250K-plus. But they have now numbered below the original retail price with few kilometres as the numbers on the market increase, and hype decreases.

Perhaps the best indicator for potential HSV owners, though, is FPV. With a 351kW power output that was never again touched, 2014’s GT F 351 cost $77,990 plus on-road costs new and just 550 were produced.

Although not in the same league as the demonstrably pricier and more powerful GTS R W1, they nonetheless remain the most expensive FPVs on the used market – with 10 examples online at the time of publication, the most expensive with 49km showing for $110,000 and the cheapest with 61,000km on the clock for $86,000.

The average? $102,688 or around 30 per cent above the purchase price. Equate that to a GTS R W1 and the result comes out at … $220K. Maybe that’s where the HSV will stay, then.