LupiniPower's Chevrolet SportUte is a wild one; Packs 535HP from Supercharged V8

The Holden Commodore Ute may not have been given the chance for a career in the States as the G8 ST sport truck after the demise of Pontiac, but GM's modern-day El-Camino from Down-Under continues to be offered in markets outside Australia including South Africa were it is sold as the Chevy Ute SS.

LupiniPower, a local tuner from South Africa, has taken upon itself to introduce a hotted-up version sporting a 6.0-liter supercharged V8 with 535-hp and a massive 590 lb-ft (799 Nm) of torque. That's an increase of 173-hp and 200 lb-ft over the stock Ute with the naturally aspirated V8 engine.

Thanks to the added power, LupiniPower's SportUte completes the 0 to 60 mph (96km/h) sprint in 4.4 seconds instead of 6.0 seconds, while 0-100 mph (160km/h) goes by in 9.9 seconds, close to 4 seconds faster than the standard Ute.

Furthermore, the SuperUte reaches 125mph (201 km/h) in 15.5 seconds or over five seconds quicker than stock, boasts a quarter-mile time of 12.7 seconds at 113mph (182 km/h) and runs the standing kilometre in 22.8 seconds at 150mph (241 km/h), while top speed is up 25mph to 175 mph (282 km/h).

The South African tuner also improved the Chevrolet SportUte's stopping power with bigger race-specification front disc brakes and callipers, as well as the suspension setup. Optionally, buyers can add a full Bilstein suspension and a sporty limited-slip differential.

Finally, the supercharged Ute rides on new 20-inch alloy wheels wrapped around Bridgestone Potenza RE050 ultra-high performance tires.

The LupiniPower Chevrolet SuperUte can be had as complete new vehicle in South Africa for R639,900, equal to around US$94,000 / €67,400 / GBP58200 at today's rates.

_______________________________GALLERY_______________________________

Walkinshaw Performance Series II Commodore eats Ferraris for Breakfast

For the Australian car buff, Tom Walkinshaw needs no introduction. Here is the man who founded HSV and was responsible for the epic VL Commodore based HSV SS Group A in late '80s. Though no longer working for Holden, 'Walky' continues to turn out some of the most powerful and ballsiest vehicles Australia has ever seen through the performance company named after him.

At the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney, Walkinshaw Performance took the wraps off its latest model: the WP Series II Supercar. The Holden Commodore Series II SS derived super saloon is fitted with an Edelbrock WP 230 supercharger, boosting power to 617-horsepower (460 kw) and torque to 780 Nm (575 lb ft).

To reign in this beast, six piston brake rotors have been added along with a upgraded and recalibrated suspension package co-developed with Bilstein. The final touch is a unique audio system upgrade by Rockford Fosgate.

Walkinshaw Performance CEO Craig Wilson is extremely satisfied with the Series II Supercar:

"We're celebrating the release of the WP Series II Supercar by producing just 23 examples, finished in Panorama Silver, the same colour which adorned the original 'Walky' when it debuted at the Sydney Motor show 23 years ago". he said.

The whole package, including the AU$47,790 (US$46,930) manual Commodore SS base car, will start from AU$99,990 (US$98,810). This means the Walkinshaw modifications alone cost around AU$52,200 (US$51,880), including parts and labor.

By Tristan Hankins

_______________________________GALLERY_______________________________

Holden Statesman HQ Fans [All five of us] Rejoice; First Ever Scale Model Released by Trax

I'm pretty sure most of you outside Australia are wondering a) what the heck a Statesman HQ is and b) why should you care that there's a die-cast model. Well, let me try to provide answers for these two questions:

A) The Statesman HQ was a luxury long-wheelbase model for the masses produced by GM's Holden from 1971 through 1974, and B) Apparently, most readers need not care but for the other four viewers I was referring to in the title, as far as I know, this is the first time that a scale model of the specific car has been built. For more history on the Statesman and details on the scale model, hit the jump.

Now, if you ask why the fixation with the HQ, that's because the original Statesman de Ville is the first car I recall my father owning. I assume every petrol head will have a similar memory [and obsession...] from their childhood.

Memories aside, the first-ever Statesman was based on Holden's HQ series of 1971 boasting more a dramatic look with a unique twin-headlamp fascia and subtle tail fins as well as a longer wheelbase.

However, it was never referred to as a Holden as GM marketed it as a separate marque even adding exclusive Cadillac-esque badges. The same goes for the HQ's successors, the HJ, HX, HZ and WB Statesmans, all of which were heavily based on the first model. The Commodore-based Statesmans from 1990 and up until September when GM's Australian subsidiary ditched the name altogether, were marketed as Holdens.

Powertrain options in the day included 202 c.i. (3.3-liter) and 253 c.i. (4.2-liter) six-cylinder and 308 c.i. (5.0-liter) and 350 c.i. (5.7-liter) V8 engines with the oh-so glorious three-speed Trimatic and 400 Turbohydramatic automatic transmissions delivering ponies to the rear wheels.

Interestingly, the Statesman HQ was also offered as the Chevrolet Constantia in South Africa (Chevrolet 350 in other markets) and even as the Isuzu Statesman De Ville in Japan.

As far as the scale model is concerned, it is made by Trax which offers two 1:43 variants in the Opal Series, one finished in glacier white with a black vinyl roof and black interior, the other in a nutmeg metallic shade with a saddle vinyl roof and matching interior. Trax said it will produce 2,000 examples of each model, with pricing set at AUD$59,95 a piece. And yes, my order has already been placed...

Link: Trax

_______________________________GALLERY_______________________________