HSV Colorado SportsCat V8 2021 Review

If all things had gone as planned, the 2021 HSV SportsCat V8 ute would have been rolling into showrooms about now priced from $79,990 (or thereabouts) plus on-road costs.

But, of course, all didn’t go as planned; Holden got axed by GM in early 2020 and so did this program.

We’ve explored the back story of the HSV SportsCat V8 separately, but in a nutshell it was an attempt to embed traditional HSV engine performance in a non-traditional location, the Holden Colorado dual-cab 4x4 ute.

Walkinshaw Group, the parent company of HSV, and Holden weren’t alone in considering such things. A Ford Raptor V8 briefly flared into the limelight and just as quickly faded away again.

So what are we looking at here? While this is a one-off development vehicle, it’s pretty close to what would have made it to production.

In fact, it is registered and has a HSV compliance plate, making it the last ever road car built by the hot-rod specialist. HSV has marked that by painting it in 1988 VL Group A SS panorama silver paintwork complete with era-correct decals.

In the not-too-distant future, this SportsCat V8 will go up for auction and considering its uniqueness and place in history it should attract some pretty high bids.

So to the basics of this car. Under the bonnet is a Chevrolet LT1 pushrod 6.2-litre V8 engine making 350KW and 650Nm. This is the same engine found in the 2SS Chev Camaro briefly converted from left- to right-hand drive in Australia by HSV/Walkinshaw.

In fact, the engine in this car came out of the Camaro that was crash-tested for local homologation.

Trace along the driveline and you’ll find a 10L90 10-speed auto from the supercharged Camaro ZL1, the current General Motors T1XX transfer case from the Chev Silverado 1500 (a vehicle Walkinshaw currently converts in Melbourne to right-hand drive) and the usual Colorado part-time dual-range 4x4 system with helical limited-slip rear diff.

Compare this with the standard HSV SportsCat’s standard 147kW/500Nm 2.8-litre turbo-diesel engine and choice of six-speed manual (440Nm max) and automatic transmissions.

HSV engineers saw 4.5 to 5.0sec 0-100km/h acceleration times during testing of this vehicle, even though max torque output is intentionally softened in the lower gears to preserve the drivetrain.

A slightly more road-oriented damper tune, untouched hydraulic-assist rack-and-pinion steering, AP four-pot front disc brakes and 20-inch wheels with Cooper Zeon tyres from the turbo-diesel SportsCat catalogue are also part of the package.

It’s pointless to talk too much about equipment levels considering the program was axed at least 18 months before it was due on sale. But in an alternate universe we do know it would have been part of a significant MY22 SportsCat upgrade and included a new fascia, wheels, tyres and brakes. A powered-up version of the 2.8-litre diesel would have also debuted.

But the test mule is fitted with the familiar SportsCat exterior embellishments including a unique fascia, that fake bonnet bulge, LED front foglights, distinctive fender flares and a fast sailplane. It’s a pretty good looking ute.

Inside, the SportsCat V8 has deeply bolstered HSV sports seats familiar from the production model. Other interior spec included an 8.0-inch infotainment array with sat-nav, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, digital radio (DAB+), a seven-speaker sound system and single-zone climate control.

The HSV management team was pretty confident it could sell around 2000 SportsCat V8s a year, which sounds about right given the projected pricing.

Being based on the discontinued Holden Colorado, the 2021 HSV SportsCat V8 as tested doesn’t come with autonomous emergency braking, although that may have been addressed for the MY22 update. The Colorado was a five-star ANCAP safety performer, albeit based on long outdated 2016 protocols.

For the record, the HSV SportsCat production car’s 2018 safety equipment list included a reversing camera, forward collision alert, lane departure warning, seven airbags, electronic stability control incorporating anti-lock braking, electronic brake-force distribution, traction control system, hill descent control and hill start assist, trailer sway control, roll over mitigation and front/rear parking sensors.

Work to develop a V8-powered Holden Colorado began at Walkinshaw Group as an after-hours project in late 2016. The first mule was a US-spec left-hand drive Z71 Colorado, then came a LHD ZR2 Colorado and finally in mid-2018 the vehicle we’re driving here, a right-hand drive Colorado LT upgraded to SportsCat spec.

Why the LHD mules? The Z71 was simply a spare car found out at Holden’s Lang Lang proving ground that enabled the engineering team to see if the engine would fit.

But the V8 version of the Raptor-rivalling ZR2 (standard with a petrol V6) came about because Walkinshaw had attracted Chevrolet’s interest in a production model for the USA. That program too, is deceased.

Fitting the LT1 in the RHD Colorado’s engine bay is a pretty tight squeeze – tighter than the LHD Colorado because there are fundamental design and dimensional differences. The only direction in which there is room to move is upward, so a supercharger might have fitted. Just saying.

Obvious in the engine bay is a 3D printed airbox made by Walkinshaw, while hand-made engine mounts and supports for a bespoke PWR-sourced radiator are more hidden away. Also unique are the headers and exhaust, which make themselves known from the moment the SportsCat V8 rumbles into life.

To ensure the car would be up with the times when it launched, HSV went for the 10-speed auto and latest transfer case. The T1XX enables higher load capacities, bolts into the back of the transmission with less fuss and its messaging matches the powertrain, allowing the systems to communicate more efficiently.

The new powertrain prompted new front and rear prop shafts and there’s also an all-new fuel system and fuel tank. The electronics system also had to be overhauled with a new engine harness and partially new body harness. After some hard work, the instrument cluster and dashboard plugged back into familiar life.

The plan signed off with Holden was for the LT1 engine to be installed on the Colorado assembly line in Thailand, with the second stage fit-up completed at Walkinshaw’s Clayton campus.

It was a similar concept to the way the LSA supercharged V8 went into Commodores destined to become HSVs on the Holden assembly line at Elizabeth in South Australia.

While the focus was on the SportsCat’s powertrain with this project, the standard dampers (not Supashocks) were retuned a little to make the handling and ride a little more road-focussed – similar in concept to what Walkinshaw does for the Volkswagen Amarok W580.

The front coil and rear leaf springs were left untouched. The engineers also didn’t bother with the SportsCat’s decoupling rear anti-roll bar, which is more an off-road aid.

All up, the SportsCat V8 owes Walkinshaw about $100,000 in development costs and effort. That’s bloody cheap.

Our chance to sample the 2021 HSV SportsCat V8 prototype coincided with a return to mid-winter weather in Melbourne. There was heavy rain, chilling winds and frigid temperatures all just weeks out from the official commencement of summer.

Perfect conditions in which to drive a 2.2-tonne ladder-frame ute with a part-time 4x4 system, leaf springs, all-terrain tyres and a 350kW engine!

But despite all the impediments, the potential of this package is obvious. In fact, obvious to all and sundry as this thing makes a primal noise that would have NASCAR fans swivelling.

It’s deep, loud, old-school and never less than in your face, whether it’s idling, revving, auto-blipping on the downchange or crackling on the over-run.

The engine itself doesn’t seem overwhelmingly powerful. It revs at a lethargic enough pace that some heavy throttle applications and manual gear changes (via the lever only) were required to make things feel appropriately urgent. There’s no sport mode to spice things up.

Gear changes – either manual or auto – are chunky yet smooth enough to suggest successful transmission calibration work.

Still, when it gets up and singing, the SportsCat certainly has much more heft and presence to it than the average four-cylinder turbo-diesel ute. Even so, there’s no doubt someone would have offered a supercharger kit about one nano-second after it was launched.

Our heavy-handed usage spiralled the fuel consumption to a 17.5L/100km average over a 400km drive that encompassed everything from city streets to challenging country roads via freeways. All soaking wet.

Despite the rotten conditions the SportsCat V8 displayed surprisingly good road manners, only once breaking traction in an ‘uh-oh look out the side window at the road ahead’ kinda way. I’ll put that down to the fundamental help the LSD provides and an unobtrusively well-tuned traction and stability control system.

But let’s be clear here. There’s a certain ponderousness to the handling that’s exacerbated by its weight and height. It’s a bit of a beast, a bit boofy and probably just as its potential buying audience would have liked it.

Having said that, for a once-over-lightly damper retune the SportsCat was pretty comfortable. With no added weight in the tray it still absorbed a lot of the constant smaller corruptions Aussie roads feature, while also absorbing the bigger hits without jolting too obviously or smashing into the cabin.

The steering tune was less pleasing. It felt elastic and heavy when smaller, subtler inputs were made. It became more co-operative when turns were more decisive. It’s a tuning issue HSV acknowledges and would have addressed if the SportsCat V8 had gone on to production.

The AP brakes required a hard press of the pedal to start getting serious retardation. Progressive feel was not a strong point. Six-pot callipers would have been offered with the production vehicle.

The HSV seat is huge and made for blokes of ample girth. But it’s also noticeable how high you are perched even at the lowest setting. There’s no reach adjustment for the fat-rimmed steering wheel either, which doesn’t help with gaining a decent driving position.

Despite the grumbles, the integration of the V8 powertrain with the SportsCat was good enough to ensure the ute’s production potential was obvious to anyone.Despite the grumbles, the integration of the V8 powertrain with the SportsCat was good enough to ensure the ute’s production potential was obvious to anyone.

How can you not love such a simple, well-executed vehicle as this? It fits the HSV ethos of too much power never being enough… as long as the vehicle also has the other facets of performance to cope.

It’s disappointing Walkinshaw and HSV didn’t have the chance to get this car to production, and even more disappointing that the axing of Holden was the cause of its cancellation.

This test and development prototype gives us a fair taste of what we’ve missed out on and reminds us yet again that Aussie automotive engineering know-how can produce some really cool stuff.

How much does the HSV Colorado SportsCat V8 cost?
Price: $79,990 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Never
Powertrain: 6.2-litre petrol V8
Output: 350kW/630Nm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 17.5L/100km (on test)
Safety rating: N/A