HSV’s fastest, final Commodore auctioned

One of the last and certainly the most powerful Holden Commodore ever made has sold for $250,000 in Queensland, making the seller a cool $100,000 profit.

Auctioneers Lloyds had been spruiking a price $300,000 for the red HSV GTSR W1, build 36 out of 300. But the Saturday auction on the Gold Coast saw it fetch $250,000, which rose to around $270,000 once red tape costs were added.

Powered by a 474kW/815Nm supercharged 6.2-litre V8, the W1 is the most powerful and fastest Commodore ever built and only 300 of the vehicles will be produced.

Nostalgia is a powerful motivator because the retail price of $169,000 plus on-road costs appears to have been a rare occurrence, the W1's exclusivity and provenance seeing it regularly change hands for more than $200,000.

The sold-out vehicle won our Australia's Best Driver's Car award in 2017 and its extreme power output is clearly matched by its ability to make profit for its owners.

Despite the fact there are hundreds of standard 2017 GTSR models still available, one example of the HSV GTSR W1 was listed for $320,000 on our sister site, carsales.com.au.

Only 300 vehicles were made and demand has outstripped supply by at least three to one, hence the wildly inflated prices.

While Holden and compatriots Ford and Toyota have now shut down their local car-making facilities, HSV is still assembling the last of its Commodore-based models until the end of this year.

With no more homegrown Commodores left to modify, HSV will next year turn its hand to imported products including the Holden Colorado SportsCat and Chevrolet Camaro SS and Silverado pick-up.