In 2006 Mark Skaife drove a brand new HSV Maloo R8 to 271.44km/h on a stretch of road in the South Australian outback to claim the world record for the world’s fastest ute. Since then, the Maloo hasn’t been seen – until now.
A new video from the Ammo NYC YouTube account shows the HSV being removed from the garage it has been sitting in for nearly two decades. Ammo NYC is a car cleaning company and showcases the work done to bring it back to like-new condition.
The Maloo was still in the same condition it finished the run in 2006, with Skaife’s signature on the steering wheel and even the promotional placard used in photographs at the time still stored in the tray.
HSV claimed the record from the Dodge RAM SRT-10, which used its 8.3-litre V10 to record a top speed of 248.783km/h in 2004. HSV knew its ute could go faster and a team of engineers worked after-hours to make the project happen.
The run took place at the Federal Government’s Woomera Prohibited Area, a military airfield and base in the South Australian outback. Skaife needed to complete two runs, one in each direction to account for any wind assistance, within one hour and the achievement was certified by the Guinness World Record officials.
Now, 18 years after it made history, the ute has been returned to its former glory.
Check out Ammo NYC’s YouTube video below.
And here’s a video of the original run, covered by a young Mark Howard for Network Ten’s V8 Supercars telecast of the era.
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