Motor Australia – May 2019

130 may 2019 whichcar.com.au/motor

M THE HEROES.LOST IN TIME

5. 20

PLUS:

THERE’SNOsugarcoatingthis,the 2004 HSVAvalanche

was a poor performance car and ended as being one of

Clayton’s more forgettable creations. But in theory, an all-

wheeldrivesystemin a stationwagondrivenbya bigV8

wasactuallya greatidea.

Besidesthe,erm,busystylingtherewerea fewthingsthat

muddieditspedigree.Itsall-wheeldrivesystem,takenfrom

theHoldenAdventra,chokedtheV8’sheaderspackaging

space,dockingtheGenIII LS1’soutputsby15kWand35Nm,

fora totalof270kWand475Nm.

Thenthere’sthefactit hadjustovertwotonnestohaul

around.Drivingthrougha four-speedautomatic,backin the

daywegottheAvalancheupto100km/hin 7.11secondsand

across400min 15.09sec.YourregularClubsportcoulddo

mid-5sandmid-13sforabout$10Kless.

Bridgestonedevelopedsomespecialtyresforit,butthose

four245mmtyrepatchesdidn’texactlydance,either,and

preferredtoundersteeratthelimit.Thiswaseventhough

torquewassplit 62 percenttowardstherear.

Thatsaid,in typicalHSVfashion,Claytondidn’tcutcorners

buildingthething.It gotnicebigbrakes,couldtow2100kg

brakedandwaskittedoutwithleather upholstery inside that

felta cutabovewhatyoufoundin a Clubsport.

Buttocompareit againstV8sedans from its day is an

injustice,becauseit reallywasmoreof an SUV-alternative. In

fact,thespin-offXUVdual-cabutewas way ahead of its time

and,in ouropinion,waycoolerthana Colorado.

Groundclearancewasdecentandto get anywhere near

itsstraightlineperformancewithanSUV back then would

havecostyou$203Kfora PorscheCayenne Turbo. Even

Mercedes-Benz’sbad-muthaML55AMG was three tenths off

in the0-100km/hand0-400mstakes. Its ride on Australia’s

cruddyroadswasalsoin a classofits own. So, ultimately it

wasa flawedexercise,butnotpointless in hindsight.

12 HOURS OF AMG GT R!

Track and road, country and

city in Merc’sstreet racer

20 Yearsof 911 GT3;FiestaSTvstheCortinad’Ampezzo;FerrariF40GTin-depth; 2019 Tyre Test

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06/19 ISSUE

ON SALE MAY 30

➜

MOTOR ENDURO

ABOVE

Wheels measured

18 inches in diameter

and concealed uprated

brakes, 336mm discs

up front and 315mm

out back

An oddball Aussie V8 way aheadof its time

HSV Avalanche

➜

BY MOTOR STAFF

AVALANCHE

2004

ENGINE

POWER

TORQUE

0-100KM/H

PRICE (NEW)

5.7-litre V8, OHV, 16v

270kW @ 5700rpm

475Nm @ 4000rpm

7.11sec (tested)

$73,990