HSV's New Bush Lion

A SPORTSCAT NOW PROWLS THE COUNTRYSIDE, AFTER HOLDEN SPECIAL VEHICLES LET LOOSE ON

- Fraser Stronach

HOLDEN Special Vehicles (HSV) was founded in 1987 as a joint venture between Holden and Scottish racing driver and race-team owner, the late Tom Walkinshaw. Better known for its expertise in tweaking Commodore V8s, HSV has now turned its hand to Holden’s bestseller, the Colorado ute.

You might think that being an HSV the SportsCat would run a tuned engine, but the 2.8-litre four-cylinder diesel, essentially a VM Motori design, is stock and claims an unchanged 147kW and 500Nm. Still, these are healthy numbers among the current crop of dual-cab utes, with the Colorado’s 500Nm bettered only by the Volkswagen Amarok V6’s 550Nm. The Colorado’s two gearboxes – a sixspeed manual and a six-speed automatic – are also unchanged.

HSV may have left the powertrain alone, but engineers seriously tinkered with the chassis to improve the Colorado both on and off the road. Starting with a Colorado Z71 as the donor car, the upgrades start with 18x10-inch alloys with a 15mm off-set (for a 30mm wider track) carrying Cooper Zeon LTZ Pro 285/60 all-terrains, which give a 20mm increase in ride height over the stock 265/60R18s.