A Holden Commodore ute (shorty for utility) is coming up for sale at a Mecum auction taking place in Chattanooga in mid-October, giving U.S. residents a chance to own Australia's version of the pickup truck.
However, the version up for sale is the rarer still Maloo built by HSV, a company that for decades built high-performance Holden cars until the General Motors-owned brand was retired in 2020.
The Maloo up for sale is a 2016 HSV Maloo R8 LSA, meaning it's powered by GM's LSA V-8 engine. The supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 was tuned to deliver 550 hp in the Maloo R8 LSA, but according to the auction listing the car up for sale has been tuned to deliver 625 hp.
Modifications listed include a cold air intake, new headers, and a larger pulley for the supercharger. Drive goes to the rear wheels via a 6-speed automatic transmission.
2016 HSV Maloo R8 LSA with left-hand drive - Photo credit: Mecum
A photo of the odometer shows less than 20,000 miles on the clock.
To make it suitable for driving on U.S. roads, the car has also been converted to left-hand drive (Australians drive on the left side of the road) by Denver, Colorado-based Left Hand Utes. The conversion required the ute to be stripped of its right-hand-drive components, and be replaced using OEM parts designed for the related Chevrolet SS, which was a rebadged Holden Commodore sedan.
GM actually came close to importing the Commodore ute as a Pontiac G8 Sport Truck in the late 2000s but was hampered by emissions regulations and its own bankruptcy. The bankruptcy also led to a handful of GM brands being cut, including Pontiac.
The Maloo isn't the only HSV headed to Mecum's Chattanooga auction. A 2011 HSV Clubsport R8 Tourer wagon is also set to cross the auction block. The auction is scheduled for Oct. 13-14 at the Chattanooga Convention Center.
