news

HSV Maloo GTSR W1 bids pass $1 million, on track to become most expensive Australian road car

One of four secret W1 versions of the Holden Special Vehicles ute is set to break the record for the highest price paid at auction for an Australian-made road car.


An extremely rare Holden Special Vehicles Maloo GTSR W1 – one of just four built – is poised to set a new record for the price paid at auction for an Australian-made road car.

Bidding for the HSV Maloo GTSR W1 has already passed the $1 million mark a full fortnight before the hammer is due to fall in the Lloyds auction in late January 2021.

As this article was published the latest bid for the HSV Maloo GTSR W1 sat at $1.025 million, putting it within striking distance of $1.03 million paid for a Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III in June 2018. 

The HSV Maloo GTSR W1 was not available for the public to buy, but was instead a special order among HSV’s inner circle of board members and longstanding customers in the lead-up to the shutdown of local manufacturing in late 2017.

The buyers signed non-disclosure agreements however the secrecy arrangements were short-lived as word leaked; Motor magazine test drove the example for sale.

No-one has revealed the price paid for the one-of-four specials, however CarAdvice understands it was in the order of $330,000 per vehicle.

The four vehicles hand-built by HSV have W1 sedan equipment including the dry sump LS9 supercharged V8 from the ZL1 Corvette, P Zero semi-slick tyres, and W1 badging inside and out.

The W1 utes were equipped with the sedan’s SupaShock front suspension, however the SupaShock tower covers are not currently fitted to the example being auctioned but will come with the vehicle.

The W1 utes are complied as Maloo GTSR models because the W1 version was never intended for public sale.

Two other HSV GTSR W1 Maloo utes were mocked up by private collectors after HSV assembly ended; one was completed by a third party in Melbourne, the other by a third party in Queensland.

Although those two aftermarket Maloo utes (one in green and one in white) are mechanically identical, only the first four cars – serial number 000 (matte metallic grey), 001 (pale yellow), 002 (gold) and 003 (red) are considered the real deal and went through the HSV assembly process.

Photos show this HSV Maloo GTSR up for auction has just 681km on the odometer.

The identity of the seller has not been revealed, however the vehicle is registered in Victoria with W1UTE plates, which will come with the car if the buyer has a registration address in Victoria.

The buyer is likely to set a new auction record for an Australian-made road car.

In June 2018 an anonymous buyer paid $1.03 million – not including the 7.5 per cent auction fee – for an unrestored 1971 Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III road car once owned by Australian fast bowler Jeff Thomson. That car cost $5250 when new and was the world’s fastest sedan at the time.

In October 2018 a record $2.1 million was paid for the Holden Commodore race car driven to victory by Peter Brock in two back-to-back Bathurst 1000 races — in 1982 and 1983.

This result smashed the previous record price paid for an Australian car by more than $1 million.

Even at the current bid, the HSV Maloo GTSR W1 has overtaken the most expensive HSV ever sold.

In 2008 one of two HRT 427 Monaros sold for $920,000 – the highest price paid for an Australian car at the time.

The example sold was HSV's running prototype for the stillborn project; the HRT 427 show car has been retained by Holden.

As for more attainable HSV cars, in 2018 a 1988 HSV VL Commodore Walkinshaw Group A SS sold at auction for $340,000, while a 1996 HSV VS GTS-R sold for $335,000 in late 2020.

The auction for the 2017 HSV GTSR Maloo W1 is due to close in late January 2020. See the Lloyds Auctioneers and Valuers website here.

MORE:Holden Special Vehicles Showroom
MORE:Holden Special Vehicles News
MORE:Holden Special Vehicles Reviews
MORE:Holden Special Vehicles Maloo Showroom
MORE:Holden Special Vehicles Maloo News
MORE:Holden Special Vehicles Maloo Reviews
MORE:Search Used Holden Special Vehicles Maloo Cars for Sale
MORE:Search Used Holden Special Vehicles Cars for Sale
MORE:Holden Special Vehicles Showroom
MORE:Holden Special Vehicles News
MORE:Holden Special Vehicles Reviews
MORE:Holden Special Vehicles Maloo Showroom
MORE:Holden Special Vehicles Maloo News
MORE:Holden Special Vehicles Maloo Reviews
MORE:Search Used Holden Special Vehicles Maloo Cars for Sale
MORE:Search Used Holden Special Vehicles Cars for Sale
Joshua Dowling

Joshua Dowling has been a motoring journalist for more than 20 years, spending most of that time working for The Sydney Morning Herald (as motoring editor and one of the early members of the Drive team) and News Corp Australia. He joined CarAdvice / Drive in 2018, and has been a World Car of the Year judge for more than 10 years.

Read more about Joshua DowlingLinkIcon
Chat with us!







Chat with Agent