news

Holden Commodore Ute Nurburgring run confirmed at last

Holden has officially confirmed a Holden VF Commodore Ute has made a lap record attempt at Germany's famous Nurburgring circuit – nearly two months after CarAdvice reported it.


Sources had revealed a time around the 21km-long circuit of "about 8min 20sec" and Holden says the Ute's exact time was 8min 19.47sec.

The local car maker has used the run primarily as the basis for a new advertising campaign, though while is says it is setting rather than breaking a world record for a commercial and utility vehicle it makes the SS V Redline Ute "faster than many exotic sports cars costing several times more than the Ute" around the Nurburgring.

[caption id="attachment_238557" align="alignnone" width="625"]

CarAdvice's May 3rd story on the VF Commodore Ute's record run at the Nurburgring.[/caption]

The 260kW V8-powered Holden Commodore SS V Redline Ute was piloted by Holden vehicle dynamics engineer Robert Trubiani - one of GM's most experienced employees when it comes to the Nurburgring with 150 laps to his credit during three visits.

The SS V Redline Ute completed 35 laps totalling more than 720km over seven days.

“We came up with a plan to tackle the Nürburgring and break the world record for a commercial or utility vehicle but when we did our research it seemed one didn’t exist, so we decided to set a record instead,” said Trubiani.

“Without a lap record to break, we sat down and calculated what we thought the Ute could do and targeted around 8min 30sec. Initial practice sessions at the track confirmed that was a stretch target so that’s what we aimed for. To slash 11 seconds from that time with an 8m 19.47sec lap was incredible. There may not have been a utility-vehicle record before but I’m proud to say the VF SS V Redline Ute is now the Nürburgring benchmark.”

The Holden Commodore SS V Ute starts from $42,490, rising to $50,690 for the Redline auto version.

MORE:Holden Showroom
MORE:Holden News
MORE:Holden Reviews
MORE:Holden Commodore Showroom
MORE:Holden Commodore News
MORE:Holden Commodore Reviews
MORE:Search Used Holden Commodore Cars for Sale
MORE:Search Used Holden Cars for Sale
MORE:Holden Showroom
MORE:Holden News
MORE:Holden Reviews
MORE:Holden Commodore Showroom
MORE:Holden Commodore News
MORE:Holden Commodore Reviews
MORE:Search Used Holden Commodore Cars for Sale
MORE:Search Used Holden Cars for Sale
Chat with us!







Chat with Agent