Chevrolet Camaro Tapped As Holden Special Vehicles’ Halo Car, Will Be Right-Hand Drive
Sponsored Links
The year 2017 marks the end of the road for the Australian engineered and built Holden Commodore, and it will leave a void for Holden fans yearning for V8 performance. Now, that will be remedied, thanks to Holden Special Vehicles (HSV).
A new report from Wheels confirms the current sixth-generation Chevrolet Camaro will head to Australia in right-hand drive, and buyers can expect to see the car in 2018. However, GM itself won’t be building a right-hand-drive Camaro—that will be HSV’s second task. The Camaro won’t be offered at Holden dealers, instead, it will be HSV’s new halo car, and the Walkinshaw-backed company will complete the right-hand drive conversion for GM. HSV currently converts left-hand-drive Ram pickup trucks for Fiat-Chrysler.
As for what Camaro is headed to Australia, it’s reportedly a standard Camaro SS with the 6.2-liter LT1 V8 engine. The engine makes 455 horsepower and an identical torque figure. However, HSV will wait for GM to reveal the refreshed and updated 2019 Chevrolet Camaro before the program begins.
Although it’s a cause for celebration, many may be priced out of an HSV Camaro. According to the report, HSV targets a $90,000 ($70,500 USD) price for the American pony car after various taxes are factored in. In comparison, a Ford Mustang GT costs $57,490 ($45,000 USD).
With the success of the Ford Mustang down under, the RHD Camaro program via HSV is likely a stop-gap measure. HSV and Holden plan to sell 1,000 units of converted Camaro per year until the seventh-generation Camaro arrives. That car will likely boast a factory RHD program on GM’s A2 platform, the second generation of Alpha.
- Sweepstakes Of The Month: Win a 2021 C8 Corvette Z51 Convertible. Details here.
Sponsored Links
This is just to buy time till they update the Alpha to RHD.
Till then the price with the conversion will be difficult to expect many sales.
That price is ‘about right’ for a halo HSV vehicle but out of the range of most V8 petrolhead’s wallet.
The diehard contingent will just keep driving their existing VF2 Holden SS and Calais V8s and HSV V8s rather than moving to a Ford. Roll on 2019.
But I’m sure there’s a customer somewhere ‘in the middle’ who want new V8s and are not too concerned over flag colour, especially with the Mustang being $33K cheaper.
Motor, a magazine I rate highly, state that the Corvette will be imported to Oz in 2020, in RHD. In the meantime Ford, with the Mustang, are laughing all the way to the bank. Add to that the Kia Stinger bound for our shores, no matter what spin GM put on it, they’ve left a very big void, that others will gladly fill. That hasn’t happened in decades
The HSV/Walkinshaw Camaro will be sold through the HSV network, located within many Holden dealers.
Someone must have really wanted this.. because converting a car to hand hand steering is supposed to be very expensive and is reason why no Cadillac models have right hand steering because they weren’t designed for it; but you’ve got to wonder how many favors this might have cost especially when sales volume will be low although once right hand steering is available, the Camaro should be more popular around the world.
This was mostly about presence and to buy time till the new platform arrives. No one is buying favors. GM just have to wait on cycles of platforms to make up for the decision not to make the Alpha RHD.
A lot has taken place from the time the Alpha was started to now and they just did not anticipate the changes at Holden and Europe.
What is interesting is a Corvette by 2020? That could be our hint of the C8 release as that is when the RHD is expected to be available.
I hope the platform (ALPHA2 or Y2 or new MR platform ??) for the new C8 (FR/MR config) has a RHD variant for the 2020 model. No Holden badge PLEASE! Chevrolet Corvette badging ONLY.
AU & NZ markets still have a strong contingent of V8 buyers, but lack the competitively priced V8 models. The options after the death of Holden and HSV V8s are European V8s (for mega-bucks) and a Ford Mustang (as has been pointed out both here and in the media, Ford are making a killing and taking the lion’s share of V8 coupe sales).
There is a gaping market niche that GM is not addressing, except for this “stop gap” RHD Camaro-HSV conversion.
A good thing they are not relying on me for sales, neither the Mustang or Camaro do it for me !!
No way would I pay over $25,000 more for the camaro. Even if the price were the same I think I would choose the Mustang and I am a Chevy fan.
Holden and GM have really dropped the ball on this one….. The commodore SS V8 could be had for less than 50k AUD. After October, there is no V8 available until the 90k AUD Camaro coupe arrives in limited numbers, meanwhile FORD keep racking up mustang sales. Surely someone at GM must have known about the popularity of the Holden V8 models, and decided that the Aussie market isn’t big enough to worth caring about….used V8 Holden’s and HSV’s will become the only affordable choice, and hold their value for years to come. Very disappointed with the way GM have handled the Holden closure.The new European commodore…..V6, front wheel drive, only available in Auto, doesn’t excite any true Holden die hard. As a result, GM sales in AUS will nose dive…..but do GM really care?
The new Opeldore will also be available in All Wheel Drive. My jury’s out until I have a look at it. But, still, it will have a Holden name on it.