As a global automaker, GM has been able to draw talent and ideas from all over the world to help it adapt to the 21st century. This has also led to the sharing and rebadging of models from other countries for sale here in America, with the most popular example being the Chevrolet SS sport sedan, a derivative of the Holden Commodore. In return, the Commodore has borrowed some of GM’s most powerful engines for its HSV line of powerful sports sedans.
While Holden’s time as a standalone manufacturer in Australia may be coming to an end, CarAdvice reports that the automaker recently filed a trademark for the HSV GTS-R, the ultimate Commodore that could come packing Corvette ZR1 power.
Rumors of this uber-powerful Commodore have been circulating for some time, though the GTS-R name hasn’t been used in nearly twenty years. It last graced the VS series of Commodores in 1996, with just 85 units sold to the public. If the HSV GTS-R returns, it will likely come with one of the handful of leftover 640 horsepower LS9 engines, to say nothing of the other Corvette components it could borrow. Carbon ceramic brakes, a carbon fiber hood, and other racing-bred components could all be part of the complete GTS-R package.
But don’t count on the LS9 engine just yet. Holden has already shoehorned the 580 horsepower LSA into its GTS series of Commodores, and it was neither easy nor cheap to do. There also isn’t much time left either, as Holden will cease production of the Commodore, and all other vehicles, by the end of 2017. After that GM will begin importing vehicles to the Land Down Under, and the Commodore (at least as we know it) will cease to be.
Is two years enough time for a LS9-powered GTS-R to make it to market, or will the Aussies just have to settle for the lesser LSA?