Aussies have something to celebrate this year and it’s not about winning the fight against the likes of Ford, but rather it’s the 25th anniversary of their much-loved V8 contender – the Holden HSV GTS 25 Years (HSV for Holden Special Vehicles), where only 140 examples will be made with their individual numbers and New Zealand only gets 15 of them.
Based on the Holden Commodore and powered by a the 6.2L LS3 Generation 4 alloy V8 engine that churns out 436bhp (instead of 425bhp) at 6,200rpm and 550Nm of torque at 4,600rpm; only to be managed by a 6-speed manual or optional auto transmission before heading to the rear. It’s also able to gulp down RON95 rather than its usual RON98 preference as long as you’re alright with lower performance and higher fuel consumption from its 71L fuel tank.
But what stands out for this celebratory GTS is how outstandingly it’s been draped in bright yellow paint that can’t be had on the standard HSVs, and get accented by black side-vents, the distinctive Vector hood scoops and light-weight 20” forged alloy rims that save you 22kg of unsprung weight.
The rims get wrapped by 245/35 (front) and 275/30 (rear) sticky treads, which houses the 365mm and 350mm vented discs both with 6-piston calipers; instead of the usual 4, at the front and rear respectively.
The ‘25 Years’ badges can be found at the rear that happens to be the place where a rather unique looking high-flow spoiler resides. Even the interior’s centre console, just beneath the LCD touch-screen 7” head-unit, gets an aluminium plaque.
Embedded within the car are host of goodies as well with what Volvo calls BLIS, Holden calls Blind Zone Alert (BZA), as well as tyre pressure monitors, HSV Oracle Instrument Cluster, Sat Nav, Dual Zone Climate Control, Rear Park Assist, Magnetic Ride Control (controls ride stiffness) with Performance/Track Modes, Daytime Running Lamps, Hi-flow intermediate with Bi-Modal exhaust, ABS, TCS, ESC calibrations and a reverse camera.
Included is also Holden’s Enhanced Driver Interface (EDI) that connects with the on-board computer to constantly stream real-time vehicle dynamics and performance data to the touch screen to display G-forces, Power & Torque, and Lap-times. Even the Bi-Modal exhaust and BZA system can be accessed.
If that’s not enough, track day data can be downloaded and analysed using the MOTEC i2 software that’s been provided and if its performance you’re looking for then you’d best be in Competition Mode with a manual transmission, because its only in this particular setup that allows you to have Launch Control!
I just want one…
