in , ,

2017 HOLDEN HSV GTSR W1 MALOO UTE SELLS FOR NEARLY $1 MILLION

Making It The Most Expensive Ute Ever Sold At Auction

2017 Holden HSV GTSR W1 Maloo Ute Holden Maloo Ute
Image Via Lloyds Auctioneers and Valuers.

If there’s any country that shares a love of muscle cars at a similar level to us in the United States, it’s Australia. For decades, Ford and General Motors‘ Australian divisions put out some rather fantastic muscle cars, especially the half pickup, half sedan utes. But that all changed when Ford stopped Australian production in 2016 and General Motors followed suit in 2017. For GM, this meant canceling the entire Holden brand. This leaves the final Holden vehicles as extremely collectable examples of a much loved and historic brand, and values show it for performance HSV versions.

Recently, Llyods Auctions featured a 2017 Holden HSV GTSR W1 Maloo Ute, and its sale price was almost as long as its name: $1,128,750 AUD including a 7.5 percent buyers fee, which converts to $855,655 USD. That’s a huge amount of money, but it’s a huge amount of car for the lucky owner.

Image Via Lloyds Auctioneers and Valuers.

Under the hood of this special Holden HSV Maloo Ute is the little-used LS9 motor, a 6.2 liter supercharged V8. It was first put under the hood of the C6 generation Corvette ZR1, on full display in its signature plexiglass hood window. From here, it found itself in the final Holden models bearing the GTSR W1 badge, and that’s it. The LS9 is one of a handful of hand built GM engines, and it’s rated at 474 kilowatts in the Holden HSV GTSR W1 Maloo Ute, which converts to a whopping 635 hp.

The GTSR W1 models came in sedan and ute form, and built as a final hurrah for the Holden and HSV brands, sitting above the LSA powered GTSR. While HSV made 300 sedans, this orange example is one of only four GTSR W1 utes built, making it exceptionally rare. Best of all, they were all hooked up to a  Tremec six speed manual.

2017 Holden HSV GTSR W1 Maloo Ute Holden Maloo Ute
Image Via Lloyds Auctioneers and Valuers.

As with all Holden HSV Maloo Utes, the GTSR W1 is more than a straight-line speed machine, although it’s obviously quite competent in that department. It has a mechanical limited slip differential at the rear, six piston AP Racing brakes, and sticky Pirelli Trofeo R tires. The suspension is most impressive, however, as it uses Suprashock components that were derived from V8 supercar race cars.

It also looks the business, with aggressive air intakes and vents all around. The blacked out bumpers and wheels make this Maloo look truly sinister.

While the US loves off-road performance pickups, Australians are all about their utes, and this sale proves that people in Australia are willing to pay big money for the best of the best.

2017 Holden HSV GTSR W1 Maloo Ute Holden Maloo Ute
Image Via Lloyds Auctioneers and Valuers.

Written by Sam Krahn

Sam graduated with a communications Degree from Wayne State University, where he was also a member of the swim team. He's interested to see how new technology will affect the American performance vehicle landscape.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

GMC Sierra 3500 HD

GMC SIERRA 3500 HD TRIUMPHANTLY TOWS SEMI TRUCK UP SNOWY HILL

CALLAWAY TEASES SUPERCHARGED T1 CHEVROLET SILVERADO