Australia’s fastest car, the HSV GTS-R W1, sells for $269,000 at auction

JUST 300 examples of the HSV GTS-R W1 will be built, but some people are making a quick profit from their $170,000 purchase.

FROM zero to a $100,000 profit in a few minutes.

That’s how long it took for the hammer to go down on one of Australia’s fastest cars at auction at the weekend.

The Holden Special Vehicles GTS-R W1 is not just any Commodore.

It is the fastest, most powerful and — with an RRP of $170,000 — it’s also the most expensive locally-made car to ever be sold in showrooms in Australia.

Clearly HSV didn’t build enough of them because another example has just sold way over the odds.

This HSV GTS-R W1 pulled $269,000 at auction on the weekend. Picture: Supplied.

Lloyds Auction on the Gold Coast on Saturday saw a red example — number 36 of 300 — go under the hammer for $250,000. By the time fees were added the buyer paid $269,000, almost $100,000 more than the original price.

The identities of the seller and the buyer remain anonymous.

The transaction price of $269,000 might be a power of money but it fell short of expectations.

In the lead up to the auction the seller claimed the W1 would fetch close to $300,000.

In September Grays Online in Victoria reportedly sold one example — a white sedan, number 110 of 300 — for $280,000.

Another example — build number 35 with 14km on the clock — was said to have been passed in at a Manheim auction in August after bids stopped at $257,500.

The HSV GTS-R W1 auctioned at the weekend also came with memorabilia. Picture: Supplied.

HSV wanted to avoid buyers profiteering from the W1 by selling them undriven and unregistered with delivery kilometres only (most cars listed have less than 30km on the odometer), but there is nothing the company can do to stop the practice.

Although the Holden production line in Elizabeth South Australia is closed — and the old factory site was last week sold to a property firm to be redeveloped in 2019 — HSV is still finishing the few remaining W1s at its facility in Clayton, southeast of Melbourne.

The last W1s are expected to be completed before the end of the year, truly marking the end of local assembly of Australian-manufactured vehicles.

HSV wanted to build more W1s but was restricted by how many of the handmade LS9 supercharged V8 engines it could get its hands on.

The LS9 powered the previous ZR1 Corvette in the US and is now out of production, so HSV had to negotiate with General Motors in Detroit to free up some of its spare supplies.

The heart of the matter: the LS9 supercharged V8. Picture: Supplied.

Fast facts: HSV GTS-R W1

RRP: $170,000 plus on-road costs

Engine: Supercharged 6.2-litre ‘LS9’ V8 from Corvette ZR1

Power: 474kW and 815Nm

Transmission: Six-speed manual

0 to 100kmh: 4.2 seconds (as tested)

This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling