2011 AIMS: New HSV Black Edition Versions of Commodore Based Sedan, Station and Ute Models

General Motor’s Holden Special Vehicles unit in Australia is following in the footsteps of Mercedes-Benz’s AMG division as well as more recently, Porsche, with the presentation of a black-themed and named special edition series based on the E Series 3 range launched last September.

Making its world debut at the 2011 Australian motorshow in Melbourne, the SV Black Edition package is offered in the ClubSport R8, Maloo R8 and ClubSport R8 Tourer, which are the sports versions of the Commodore sedan, ute, and station wagon models respectively.

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Sport Truck Redux: New Rumors About the Holden Ute Heading to the U.S.A.

It’s a poorly kept secret that many Americans are quite fond of the Australian-made and Commodore-derived, Holden Ute, which we recently drove in Queensland. It’s big, brutish and comfortable with a bevy of engine and equipment options to suit virtually any budget or taste - so long as those tastes only extend to, “Big, brutish V6 or V8 engined utes”.

Before the Global Financial Crisis of 2009, the subsequent bankruptcy GM and the disillusion of the Pontiac brand, as many as half of the Holden Commodores built in Australia were destined for the U.S. and the world in the form of the Pontiac G8. A thinly disguised Holden Ute even made a showing at the 2008 New York Auto Show as the Pontiac G8 Sport Truck.

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Holden Ute Series II SS V8 Arrives in Carscoop’s Garage

Our man Tristan has snagged the keys to a Holden Ute Series II SS V8 model for a first drive in Queensland, Australia this week, and just to make it a bit more interesting, he’ll be driving the Down Under-flavored El Camino to a classic car gathering in Brisbane.

Blurring the line between cars and trucks, the Holden Commodore-based sport pickup comes from a long line of Utes dating back to the middle of the previous century. The Ute almost made it to North America when Pontiac revealed the G8 Sport Truck at the 2008 New York Auto Show, but GM’s growing financial troubles at the time put a stop to that plan, and eventually the brand itself which was discontinued in 2009, and finally shut down in 2010.

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New Rumors of the Pontiac G8 Returning to North America as a Chevrolet

The demise of the Pontiac brand in 2009 also brought about the death of the G8, the Americanized derivative of the Australian-built Holden Commodore SS. It was a sad day for Pontiac and Holden fans alike, the loss of the G8 export contract costing Holden millions of dollars and putting the future of its Elizabeth, South Australia plant - and the brand itself - in jeopardy.

When the Holden-derived Chevy Caprice Police Car was revealed for the North American market twelve months ago, rumors of a reborn G8 in the form of a Chevrolet were rife. Now, Aussie motoring website Drive is reporting that U.S. exports of the Holden Commodore SS are "imminent", with a launch expected before the end of the current model's lifespan.

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LupiniPower's Chevrolet SportUte is a wild one; Packs 535HP from Supercharged V8

The Holden Commodore Ute may not have been given the chance for a career in the States as the G8 ST sport truck after the demise of Pontiac, but GM's modern-day El-Camino from Down-Under continues to be offered in markets outside Australia including South Africa were it is sold as the Chevy Ute SS.

LupiniPower, a local tuner from South Africa, has taken upon itself to introduce a hotted-up version sporting a 6.0-liter supercharged V8 with 535-hp and a massive 590 lb-ft (799 Nm) of torque. That's an increase of 173-hp and 200 lb-ft over the stock Ute with the naturally aspirated V8 engine.

Thanks to the added power, LupiniPower's SportUte completes the 0 to 60 mph (96km/h) sprint in 4.4 seconds instead of 6.0 seconds, while 0-100 mph (160km/h) goes by in 9.9 seconds, close to 4 seconds faster than the standard Ute.

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Walkinshaw Performance Series II Commodore eats Ferraris for Breakfast

For the Australian car buff, Tom Walkinshaw needs no introduction. Here is the man who founded HSV and was responsible for the epic VL Commodore based HSV SS Group A in late '80s. Though no longer working for Holden, 'Walky' continues to turn out some of the most powerful and ballsiest vehicles Australia has ever seen through the performance company named after him.

At the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney, Walkinshaw Performance took the wraps off its latest model: the WP Series II Supercar. The Holden Commodore Series II SS derived super saloon is fitted with an Edelbrock WP 230 supercharger, boosting power to 617-horsepower (460 kw) and torque to 780 Nm (575 lb ft).

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