MOTOR

ONE WILD FREE-BREATHING UTE
IN LANGUAGE eerily familiar to survivors of the supercar scare, Tickford boss David Flint accused the HRT
Maloo of being “utterly irresponsible” at its Sydney Motor Show debut. To be fair, teaming the 6.2-litre LS6
from the Corvette Z06 with a ute body was always going to produce a fairly hairy individual, even if the HRT
Maloo had a lowered, hunkered down body, widened front and rear track, magnesium wheels, and six-piston
AP Racing brakes.
Tuned to crank out 350kW without a turbo or supercharger in sight – 50kW more than the hot Corvette,
and any other HSV at the time – the Maloo’s LS6 had a whopping 100kW advantage over anything Tickford
was then producing, which could explain why its head honcho was in such a huff.

the 427’s production run would end at

50 cars, its exclusivity a testament to its

world-besting prowess.

Unfortunately, the business case

involved a lot of red ink from the outset.

The bean counters were prepared to

forfeit some cash on each HRT 427

sold – not an uncommon concept for

halo cars – but just not that much. At

the suggested $215,000 asking price,

50 cars weren’t enough to qualify the

numbers. Asking any more for a Holden

• even one as worthy as the HRT 427 –
  seemed a bridge too far, so with only one
  functioning and one display model in
  existence, the project was canned.
  If the HRT 427 was HSV’s idea of
  a low-volume, ballistic road car, in
  2004 the GTS/R was Jekyll to, well, a
  pretty Jekyll-ish car to begin with. Any
  concession to on-road manners, comfort

GTS/R

Engine 6.0-litre V8,

DOHC, 16v

Power 335kW @ 6200rpm

Torque 605Nm @ 4800rpm

Weight 1450kg (approx.)

Trans 6-speed manual

Price $150K-$180K

94 march 2015 motormag.com.au