Every now and again, Vauxhall introduces a bona fide oddball. Few car manufacturers have products whose breadth matches those of General Motors, and fewer still allow little pockets of entertaining brilliance like Holden Special Vehicles to thrive. Yet thrive it does.
HSV was established by Tom Walkinshaw in the late 1980s as a joint venture with Holden, with the remit of modifying Holdens for the road and racing them in Australia’s touring car series.
And 24 years on, HSV is still doing precisely that, releasing many hundreds of breathed-upon Holdens a year from its Melbourne factory. HSV’s core product is the Clubsport R8, which is based on the Holden Commodore and known in the UK as the Vauxhall VXR8. But HSV also offers the longer Senator and Grange performance luxury saloons and this, the Maloo, which is based on the Holden Ute.
While the 4x4 pick-up is becoming increasingly popular in Britain, the Australian-style utility vehicle has never held quite the same draw. Let’s see if sticking a 6.2-litre V8 in the front of one can increase the appeal.
