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An LT1-Powered HSV Colorado Pickup Almost Made It To Production

Holden Special Vehicles was close to producing a performance variant of the Holden Colorado pickup with a 6.2L LT1 V8 engine before General Motors pulled the plug on the brand early last year.

According to Australian automotive publication Drive.com.au, HSV got the idea to give its performance-obsessed customers a more powerful version of the Colorado pickup whilst it was still developing the HSV SportsCat back in 2017. Rather than tinkering with the truck’s factory 2.8L LWN I-4 turbodiesel engine, HSV decided it would be easier and more effective to tap the 6.2L LT1 V8 engine and GM 10-speed automatic transmission from the Chevy Camaro for its new performance pickup.

The company drove an LT1 V8-powered Colorado around for two years as it tinkered with the setup – all the while going unnoticed due to the prototype’s stock outward appearance. It even negotiated for the V8 engines to be installed on the Holden Colorado’s production line in Thailand after it realized that swapping the factory diesel engine out in favor of a V8 at its home base in Australia would have been too costly.

What’s even more interesting is that HSV was allegedly also developing an LT1 V8-powered Chevy Colorado ZR2 for the United States alongside its SportsCat-based prototype. This was apparently an attempt for HSV to break into the U.S. market and expand its horizons beyond Australia and New Zealand.

All this work went down the drain when GM announced last February that it would be axing the Holden brand in Australia and New Zealand – killing Thai production of the Colorado platform and ending HSV’s V8-powered pickup program just months before the vehicle was set to enter production. The company was planning to sell around 2,000 examples of the truck a year at a starting price of $79,990 – which would have made it competitive with the local market Ford Ranger Raptor.

Drive.com.au got the opportunity to test this ill-fated HSV Colorado pickup on track at Sandown Raceway in Melbourne and found it to be unexpectedly well-built, with the writer saying the truck “doesn’t feel like a vehicle that has had a heart transplant,” and that was “surprisingly refined and easy to drive.” They also observed a zero to 60 mph time of about 5.5 seconds.

While a V8-powered Chevy Colorado ZR2 will probably never see the light of day in the U.S., the 2022 Chevy Silverado ZR2 offers a similar (albeit larger) package when equipped with the available 6.2L L87 V8 engine.

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Sam loves to write and has a passion for auto racing, karting and performance driving of all types.

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Comments

  1. now THIS is what the people want.

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    1. I’ll second that. If people like it GM will drop it.

      Reply
  2. Key word, “Almost”.

    Reply
  3. I don’t really care for this one.

    Reply
  4. This was not really a production truck as much a conversion by HSV.

    Yes it is a truck everyone wants but it is a truck no one solid pay the price for it.

    With a ZR2 pushing $50,000 you could be sure this would be $70,000 like the conversions here.

    Reply
  5. I’ve seen videos of a LT4 fitted in the ZR2.. it was so nice. It was putting down some good numbers. I wish their was a company that would do this and keep your warranty.

    Reply
  6. I would have bought one!!

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  7. Mark Cromie Holden….an HSV dealer in New Zealand was doing Yenko style conversions with LSA crate engines….but they were expensive.

    Reply
  8. DON’T BRING THIS OUT, TOO MANY PEOPLE WILL BUY THEM, YOU WOULD NOT WANT THAT.

    Reply
  9. I paid 1k dollars more for my 09 5.3 v8 crew cab 4×4 Z71 with leather seats, heated seats, sun roof, 4:10 gears, and sliding rear window.

    I have a 117k÷ miles and runs like new. Beats the stock Silverado 5.3, Titan v8, Tundra v8, and the F150, light to light. In stock form. With the 4:10s I lose up top past 80 mph tho….at the track. Limiter at 100hp…. I didn’t buy for mpg.

    Factory 300hp 325 ft lbs detuned and major tq mgnt, but just hits the scales around 4k lbs. Tuned – hits 327 hp 355 ft lbs.

    Next replacement will be a 6.2 that needs no fabrication, slips in like a glove and a built 4L60.

    So…LT1 would be a blast! 455hp… why not.

    Reply
  10. Just do our own LS swap, void the warranty, and drive like it like we stole it. (LOL) At 70K plus or minus out GM’s door, I think we’ll come out ahead.
    Just Sayin

    Reply
  11. I would sell my 2018 3.6L Z71 colly in a heart beat for an LS powered one.

    Reply
  12. A 6.2L LT1 and it looks amazing, OMG I would buy this so quickly.

    Reply
  13. Bought my 20 ZR2 for $40K would have paid $6-8K more for a “Raptor Style” V8 version….Would have been a great legacy for GM….but, the GM of Mary Barra’s vision is doomed to failure!

    Reply

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