Holden's Special Edition Surfeit: Thunder Utes and SVZ

Motoring Channel Staff - 31/Mar/2006

Before the all-new VE Commodore launches later in the third quarter of 2006, Holden is spruiking a number of value-added special edition models, which seem to be the flavour of the month with  many major car companies in Australia.

Offering good value to customers, which in turn increases their popularity and props up sales reports for the automakers, these special edition models often bundle interior and exterior extras into the packages, and Holden will be releasing a slew of new SE models in April, including another 'Z' model and a range of new Thunder utes.

Holden has had great success with its sporty 'Z' models, and the new SVZ is the latest special in this series, which could become a long-term special for the VE model in future. 

Based on the entry-level Commodore, the SVZ is expected to attract plenty of interest from private buyers, costing $32,990 for the sedan and $34,990 for the wagon. Holden's John Elsworth, said special edition Commodore SVZ sedans and wagons represented exceptional value: "Commodore has been Australia’s top selling car for a decade and SVZ maximises bang for buck on what are already our most popular Commodore variants.

"We expect SVZ to move as fast as the special SSZ and CV8-Z Monaro performance packs released last year. It’s a great chance to get into Commodore with many of the most requested options and accessories as standard," said Elsworth.

The SVZ special edition models "will be stacked with $6000 extra value and a sportier edge" according to Holden, which includes 17-inch alloy wheels (steel spare) and rear spoiler (sedan), air conditioning, leather-bolstered sports seats, rear power windows and 6-disc in dash CD player. Unlike the entry-level Executive Commodore models (normally priced at $33,990), the SVZ special edition vehicles get a contemporary Berlina-style front end, complete with sporty chrome-rimmed fog lamps.

Power for the SVZ model will come from the 172kW all-alloy 3.6-litre V6 engine, which is mated to a 4-speed automatic transmission. Torque maximum is 320Nm @ 2800rpm, and the SVZ's sporty character gets a boost from the FE 1.5 luxury sports suspension tune, while SVZ exterior badging communicates the vehicle's special edition status to one and all.

Alongside the April launch of the SVZ, Holden will also introduce the new head-turning Thunder range of utes to its dealerships, which augment it's popular 'Storm' special editions that have been marketed for a few years now.

The special new Thunder range spans the 6- and 8-cylinder ute models, including the S and SS Utes, plus the SS Crewman, where Holden explains that the new special edition utes offer "up to $3500 in extra value". Starting at $33,990 for the manual model, the Thunder S Ute gets a hard sports tonneau cover (complete with burly twin buttresses), 18-inch alloy wheels, anthracite leather seats and is powered by the Melbourne-built 3.6-litre bent six, outputting 172kW @ 6000rpm. 

Gifted with Holden's new and improved fourth generation V8 engine, imported from its Chevrolet partners in North America, the small block engine displaces a whopping 6.0-litres and generates a Ford XR8-equaling 260kW of power @ 5600rpm (not to mention an XR8-beating 510Nm of torque). 

The powerful new Thunder SS Ute fetches $42,490 and also gets aggressive-looking 18-inch wheels, a hard sports tonneau cover and colour coded leather seats for a cool custom look. And have a look at it in Devil Yellow in the image section - just sensational!

For those who need the utility of a rear tray but the practicality of five seats, the $48,690 Thunder SS Crewman will be the special edition vehicle of choice, which will feature a hard tonneau cover (but without the sporty buttresses), 17-inch alloy wheels and supple leather seats. All Thunder Utes gets special "Thunder" badging to boot, and these new special edition Holden models, including the SVZ cars and Thunder utes, will be in Holden dealerships from April. See below for pricing.

In other Holden news, the powerful new Rodeo will take pride of place at the Brisbane 4x4 Show, which kicks off on April 7th in, well, Brisbane. Powered by a detuned version of the Commodore's enginemade at Holden's Port Melbourne plant in Victoria, the new Rodeo V6 model will deliver peak output of 157kW @ 5300rpm, an increase of 10 kilowatts over the previous engine, and peak torque of 313Nm @ 2800rpm, an increase of 33Nm.

Via it's detuning, the 3.6-litre Rodeo V6 engine, importantly, has a flatter torque curve compared with the engine's passenger car applications, allowing Rodeo to tow up to 2500kg with automatic or manual transmissions, according to Holden. Other vehicles featuring at the Brisbane 4x4 Show include the VZ SS Ute with its new 6.0-litre V8 and the Adventra SX6, VZ AWD Cross 6 and VZ S Crewman V6, so if you're in Brissy from April 7th and have an interest in anything off road, it'll be worth checking out.

SVZ Special Edition features

17-inch Alloy wheels (steel spare)
Berlina-style front fascia with fog lamps
FE1.5 luxury sports suspension
Chrome exhaust extension
Body coloured mirror scalps
Black bezel headlamps
Rear spoiler (sedan)
Body colour dust deflector + roof rails (wagon)
Roof racks (wagon)
SVZ badges

Interior features

Anthracite sports seat trim with leather bolsters
Air conditioning
6-disc in-dash CD player
Rear power windows
Leather wrap steering wheel, automatic transmission selector and handbrake grip

Thunder Ute and Crewman features

Sports Hard Tonneau – S Ute, SS Ute
Hard Tonneau – SS Crewman
17-inch alloy wheels – SS Crewman (alloy spare)
18-inch alloy wheels – S Ute (steel spare), SS Ute (alloy spare)
Special edition 'Thunder' badging 

Interior features

Colour Coded Leather Seats – SS Ute
Anthracite Leather seats – S Ute, SS Crewman

Holden Special Edition Pricing

SVZ Sedan – $32,990
SVZ Wagon – $34,990

Thunder S Ute – $33,990 (man) $34,990 (auto)
Thunder SS Ute – $42,490 (man & auto)
Thunder SS Crewman – $48,690 (man & auto)