Holden took the internet by storm upon the release of the 2017 range back in January, mostly thanks to the GTS-R W1. Even with its hefty price tag (upwards of $100,000), the long-awaited “road-legal racecar” caused bidding wars at dozens of dealerships.

The W1 is said to be Holden’s idea of the SS and Commodore “going out with a bang,” packing it full with sporty details and, of course, a legendary LS9 V8 under the hood.

On paper, the supercharged 6.2-liter pushes 635 horsepower, puts down a 4.2 second 0-62, and a 12.1 second quarter mile– making the W1 the most powerful Australian production car ever made.

Now, people are starting to get behind the wheel of these rare beauties. Their main complaint: wheel spin– even when tested with launch control and upgraded tires. Motoring took it around a track and gave it an overall 87 out of 100, but Wheels Magazine took it to the strip and had a different opinion.

Of course, Holden’s numbers were achieved after multiple runs under perfect conditions– numbers the test car couldn’t live up to. Even after trying various techniques, the best quarter mile time achieved was 12.3 seconds at 121 mph, with a 0-62 of 4.5 seconds. Obviously, they were struggling with getting the car off the line.

Don’t get us wrong– the numbers are still fantastic and we’re not saying HSV’s performance claims are unreachable, they’re just not typical. It seems the heavy rear-wheel drive racecar really shines with rolling accelerations, where the test car actually beat HSV’s time.

This doesn’t change the fact that the W1 still holds the title as the most powerful Australian production car in existence and… we would still take one in a heartbeat. Too bad this Hellcat competitor will never see U.S. shores. We can always dream though, right?