The automotive hobby is one of vast diversity and varying tastes. Everybody has their own opinion, with customized cars ranging from eyesores to the truly extraordinary. Tony Husted of Seattle, Washington is one enthusiast who knows a good thing when he sees it, and when it came time to pick up a new ride back in 2008, no other car than a Pontiac G8 GT would fit the bill.

Photos: JMR Visuals

Immediately after taking delivery, Tony set to work modifying his car in various ways. Initially starting off with a suspension kit and aftermarket wheels, he eventually went full bore and performed a complete Holden Commodore SSV conversion, which as everybody now knows, is what the G8 started out in life as.

Although reconverting a Pontiac into a Holden is something that has been attempted countless times before, with varying degrees of success, Husted claims his G8-turned-SSV is the most accurate example in existence, with the only deviation being that the left hand drive configuration remains. But don’t think this is a show pony without the oats to back up its menacing presence.

Through much trial and error, Tony eventually ended up with a forged 427-stroker LS3 built by Vector Motorsports, putting down 584 horsepower on the engine dyno. A cold air intake helps this monster breathe while Kooks long tube headers, high-flow cats, and a Corsa exhaust expel the spent fumes out of the Mast Black Label ported heads.

Completing the look of what would otherwise be a stock-appearing Commodore, is a set of 19-inch black-powder coated MHT wheels, complete with the Holden logo as a center cap that hug the massive Brembo brake calipers. The tinted windows and blacked-out emblems simply make a good thing even better, and we couldn’t come up with a better look ourselves, even if we tried.