Holden Special Vehicles marked a milestone on Wednesday. The official importer, and re-engineering partner to Holden, for Chevrolet vehicles, shared it’s built the 1,000th Chevrolet Camaro locally.
HSV announced plans to convert the Chevrolet Camaro to right-hand drive back in 2017, and since then, the factory has been busy churning out the pony cars for local roads. HSV puts the steering wheel on the opposite side of the cabin for Australian locals and ensures all the essential gear sits in the right place for the driver.
Aside from the re-engineering, HSV doesn’t touch the Camaro’s performance. The nameplate is offered exclusively in 2SS guise, though the Camaro ZL1 was announced for the country earlier this year. The Camaro ZL1 is the most powerful model ever from the factory with 640 horsepower. Note, the figure is 650 ponies in the U.S., but due to the fact the ZL1 is measured with European units and models, there’s a 10 horsepower discrepancy. It’s still the same 650 horsepower on display, however.
Other highlights include Magnetic Ride Control, an eLSD, 6-piston Brembo brakes, a bi-modal exhaust system, and Recaro seats—all features common to the U.S.-spec pony car. What isn’t available to Aussies is the ZL1 1LE package, which turns the Camaro ZL1 into a real force to be reckoned with on the track.
Marking the milestone was a Red Hot Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 with a specific HSV build plate to note the car’s significance. The car will also come with a personalized letter of authenticity from the factory. The lucky owner will have all the documentation to back up the fact this is a very special car.
The Camaro ZL1 will go it alone in Australia. Ford previously confirmed its ZL1 rival, the Mustang Shelby GT500, will not be exported to right-hand-drive markets.
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Comments
Thats pretty good considering this is sort of a niche in a small market and its limited to only the SS in addition to it being expensive is Australia. We should ship HSV some Cadillacs and let them convert them to RHD, God know GM somehow can’t seem to be bothered to engineer that.
Now all we need is GM to import some Holden ute SSV and make them LHD that way we could have a Elcamino becouse as it stands the only way i could get one was from MATCHBOX for 1.09 USD
They bailed on the HSV imports with G8 and I am still pissed.
They bailed on the HSV imports with G8 and I am still pissed.
Unfortunately here in Australia they are way overpriced so I still a niche market.
HSV can sell the camaro in much higher numbers than other company’s for two reasons.
first they only offer SS2 and ZL1 with options on colour/trans, where other operators allow you to choose your car from the USA dealer options list at a higher price.
Second a HSV car is supplied direct from the factory and sold “new” with factory backing and a supporting dealer network, other operators will purchase the car at a USA dealer then ship it to AUS for a non factory approved conversion and then it’s sold “used” to the purchaser.
New vs used makes a difference in how a car is financed.
Arrive in Australia as a left hand drive, then get converted and at that price.. NO THANKS
The price for the SS does get a small hit with LCT but the ZL1 cops it hard with a drive away price of $180k (au$) in Vic & Qld, a big chunk of the price is tax, Mercedes is currently taking the mafia (government) to court over their thieving behaviour.