HSV Maloo GTS: A Drifting Pickup from Austrailia, Stock?
By Mike Garcia
Ever wish those NASCAR truck series vehicles were for sale? Australia has some, and one is called the HSV Maloo GTS.
The HSV Maloo GTS is a unique vehicle. Derived from the Holden Commodore, it has a sport-sedan chassis with a supercharged V8 under the hood. If that seems eerily similar to a Chevrolet Malibu SS, it is because it is. However, Holden has taken things a step forward for nearly a decade, turning the platform until a two-seater, pick up truck with a proper bed. With 575 horsepower under the hood, it also has a towing capacity of roughly 3,500 lbs. Sure, that may not seem like a lot for the weekend traveler, but that’s not what the truck isn’t about.
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It is about driving enjoyment.
After all, this truck comes with torque vectoring for the rear wheels. Torque vectoring? On a pick up truck? Usually, that kind of technology is saved for more advanced vehicles, such as any Porsche or BMW with an M-Sport differential. It’s tough to find torque vectoring in a two-wheel drive setting.
[via Chris Harris on Cars, YouTube]
Be sure to check out Chris Harris on Cars for other great motoring reviews.
What a HSV Maloo GTS can do best, is drift. The V8 with an automatic transmission, six-speed manual optional, allows for easy daily driving and all of the modern comforts of a modern sedan. However, as Chris Harris will show, once it is taken out on the track, it needs to be taken by the scruff of the neck and thrown around.
Once it is drifting, the vehicle is in its element.
Yes, the United States has something similar. Dodge has built the 707 horsepower Hellcat series cars and the Chevrolet Malibu SS offers Corvette power, Wi-Ft, in a sleeper look, but nothing in the U.S. compares to the pickup truck version of these vehicles.
The closest we can get is along the lines of a Ford Raptor SVT. It is more purposeful off-road with solid on-road capabilities, but it simply doesn’t have sedan-like creature comforts.
Pity this car isn’t sold in the U.S. Even base versions would sell well. Le sigh.