A rare left-hand drive Holden ute is up for sale in the USA. Mecum Auctions is selling a 2016 HSV Maloo R8 that has had a left-hand drive conversion and now lives in Tennessee.
Holden did consider importing the ute into the USA as part of the Pontiac G8 factory left-hand drive program and even went as far as building an early show car example. However, the financial crisis of the late 2000s scuppered that program.
Instead, this HSV is likely the work of a company called Left Hand Drive Utes, a Colorado-based business that specialises in flipping the driver’s side of Holden and HSV utes for the US market. The collapse of the Holden brand and the global supply chain crisis has put pressure on the company and reduced supply of these vehicles in the US market, so this HSV example is expected to fetch top dollar from US buyers.
The Left Hand Drive Ute conversion process is done in the US and is possible thanks to taking parts from the factory-produced left-hand drive Pontiac G8 (VE Commodore), Chevrolet SS (VF Commodore) and Chevrolet Caprice (Holden Caprice).
It’s tipped that this HSV Maloo R8, which is powered by the 6.2-litre Chevrolet LSA engine, will sell for more than US$100,000.
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