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We make it up. They build it.
Sweet dream
january 2018 motormag.com.au
HSV ZB Commodore VXR
If we can’t build ’em, we can at least make ’em faster
HSV’S EFFORTS to turn our family
cars into V8 rear-drive rockets
have been a source of smiles for
Australians for decades – three of
them, in fact. But with the demise
of the Aussie Commodore comes
the demise of the most affordable
V8 sedan, and the end of HSV
making them even faster.
Now HSV has a new trick, taking
Uncle Sam’s Camaros and right-
hooking them for the Australian
market, something which helps
ease the pain of losing our own
creations. But we would like to
see them have a crack at the new
Commodore, if for no other reason
than to satisfy our own curiosity.
HSV has managed to wrangle
non-V8s in the past, though we’re
not sure they want to remember the
Jackaroo or the Astra SV1800.
A solid base in the new
Commodore would mean HSV can
focus on the drivetrain and the
fine-tuning, rather than having to
completely rebuild the thing, but a
new face for HSV would mean more
than just mechanical work.
While we don’t know whether
we’ll ever see HSV truly get
underneath the metal of the ZB, we
do have a suggestion or two.M
illustration by BRENDON WISE words by CHRIS THOMPSON