Holden HSV coming to Singapore!

Forget about German uber sedans. The ultimate man's muscle car, a very hairy chested brawns more than brains type, is Australian. Word is out that plans to market souped up HSV badged Holdens will materialize in Singapore by November 2010. HSV (Holden Special Vehicles) is what Holden is to BMW's M or Mercedes-Benz's AMG or Audi's RS-line cars. Models planned for sale in Singapore is a 435bhp 6.2-litre LS3 V8 powered GTS four door sedan. The Maloo ute, powered by the same power corrupting engine is also rumored to be in the plans. Prices are rumored to be in the region of SGD 250,000. If word on the street is correct, the Singaporean distributor will be Harvest Automobile Pte. Ltd., the current distributor for Skoda in Singapore.

The range of Holden HSV models will be based on the recently facelifted VE generation E3-series Commodore sedans. The HSV Maloo is one of the fastest pick-up trucks in the world. But it is not a pick-up truck in a conventional sense. In fact, the Aussies call it a ute rather than a truck. A ute, is defined by the Aussies as a truck that is based on a passenger car, has a monocoque body rather than a ladder frame chassis. Not sure if the Maloo HSV still holds the fastest truck title as I think the Ford SVT F-150 Lightning is one of the contenders to the title.

Maloo HSV ute

The LS3 V8 that powers Holden's HSV models is the same engine under the hood of the Chevy Camaro (which by the way whose GM-Zeta platform was engineered by Australians at GM-Holden) and Chevy Corvette.

But Holden is keen to point out that the while their HSV models are targeted at the ballsy crowd, it is not exactly an all brawn and no brains of a car. It stays true to the muscle philosophy but where necessary, some pretty advanced technology were incorporated into the HSV. The headline grabber will be a Nissan GT-R style data logging interface that the driver can record and download performance related data like G-force, lap times (using GPS), throttle opening etc etc, should you fancy to play the role of a race engineer at the weekend. Holden calls it EDI, short for Enhanced Driver Interface. It was developed in partnership with motorsports specialist MoTec. The recorded telemetry data can then be downloaded via USB.






The other is a blind spot indication warning system which Holden calls it SBZA, short for Side Blind Zone Alert. However the system is not as fancy as the BLIS used by Volvo, as that is a far more sophisticated radar based system while SBZA is an ultrasonic based system. Basically a reverse sensor adapted for side use.

In this time of eco-consciousness, it would not be politically correct for some to be seen in such cars. Holden offers a LPG-petrol bi-fuel variant of the HSV which the company calls it LPI, short for liquid propane injection. The Holden HSV LPI system has very little in common with the NGV / CNG kits used by taxis or fleet cars. This is a performance oriented system whose trump card is a set of 8 injectors in the inlet manifold to deliver LPG in liquid form (rather than conventional gas form).

So near yet so far, the HSV is a tempting bruiser of an option. Doubt if any of these will end up on this side of the causeway as prices will be exorbitant after you load in the taxes from Singapore AND Malaysia. Australia's strict vehicle export regulations make it an unlikely source for parallel imported cars. If you are rich enough, there is nothing to stop you from buying one and keeping it across the causeway.


The HSV range - GTS in red, Maloo ute in green, R8 Tourer estate, entry level ClubSport R8 in white, Senator Signature in the middle and the long wheel base luxo-cruiser muscle Grange in the background.