HSV GTSR W1 vs Holden Commodore SS — Is it worth the money?

The HSV (Holden Special Vehicles) GTSR W1 is Australia's fastest and most powerful car ever built. But, at just under $170,000 (before on-road costs), is it worth over $100,000 more than the entry-level Holden Commodore SS?

We get them side-by-side to see whether the limited edition HSV stacks up against the Australian performance staple, the SS Commodore.

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[tomnewham]

A better comparison would be between a GTS, a GTS R and a GTS R W1.

[SuburbanConan]

More than happy with my VF SSV at a measly 304KW fun as f#ck to drive....
Plus with all the mods available, from OTR to cams to CAT exhausts etc, getting it up to 475KW isn't impossible.
And I get to keep my license....

[samham]

The SS you have there does not have the brakes upgrade, it doesn't have the Brembos.

[michaelg]

If you have to ask whether or not its worth it, you have neither the knowledge nor the money to buy one.

[Blayketheking]

Should race the ss against the W1. Also I would like to have seen the end of the race.

[jcautomotivemedia]

Better comparison would of been Commodore ss vs HSV clubsport, i.e is it worth the little jump to hsv

[falscherbruce]

Nah, a Redline SSV is way better value. Why pay for a zillion horsepower that you can't use?

[badboyof]

I have met an owner that is driving his on the road, and driving it hard. Go the W1

[dylan]

Saw one today in Auckland. First time I've seen one drive around.

[benevolentson]

The 2014-15 Camaro Z28 came with Trofeo R's standard. In fact the wheels on this look identical to the Z28's but the Z28 came with a 305 square setup.

[brentara]

I love my wife's base model 2016 VF2 SS. For $52k in NZ, the "Smile per gallon" factor is friggen amazing. The Bi-modal exhaust barking and popping under the pressure of that lovely 6.2ltr V8 makes the twisties amazing fun. I was told after a month I would get use to it, but hitting a 45Kph corner at 80kph while dropping it into 3rd then 2nd gear ooohhhh the noise. We have clocked up 8 Thousand kays in just under 3 months, (General use in NZ is 10-15k per year) it just shows how much we love to drive it.
I could never afford a W1 and for me I can't even justify the step up to the SSV Redline for another $20-25K.
How about a race (both track and strip) between the three, base model SS, SSV Redline and W1.

[redoz]

Not really a good comparison, you talk about all the features of the W1 but don't do the same for the SS. 'Here's the SS, it's normally aspirated and that's all we're going to tell you.' Also would like to see some comparisons of SSV Redline and LSA Powered GTS.

[exoticdank]

I prefer Fords, but hey, this is a pretty beastly looking car and has the engine to back it up. Rip aussie cars :(

[kooldog]

$100k more and you still get halogen headlamps

[garypatterson]

Owned a fair selection of Holdens over 20+ years, HSV Clubsport, SS, SV, Caprice and lastly Insignia. Loved the V8's certainly can be a wild ride, but out of all of them the Insignia VXR (not the Commodore badge Insignia but the one the Germans built) with its V6 turbo and AWD was hands down the best. I know hardcore Holden guys will say its not a Holden its an Opel, and yes that is a fair comment. But as a drivers car and wolf in sheeps clothing it was the best car and highly underated. Holden fucked up the pricing for NZ and originally had them at $70k retail in 2015/16! Which was stupidity. Spent no money on marketing and it tanked in sales. I bought mine as a 2016 ex demo with 6k on the clock for $42k in 2017! Sold it in 2020. Miss it along with the HSV, all the others....meh...

[karlsmith]

All it needs is Pontiac badges it screams "Pontiac" from the front end and the aggressive design like all Pontiacs had the Trans Ams were always more sportier than the camaro and this HSV would have been the same sportier and more aggressive looking than the current SS

[davidmathersonparanormal]

The last German made Commodore was very well built however it suffered from a lack of power and also a narrow cabin compared to the Australian made Commodore that it replaced. The replacement German made Commodore was losing sales to the cheaper Astra and people were even commenting that the new Astra was a better car. See even though the Australian made Commodore was updated over the years, its design concept successfully blended proven motor/chassis/suspension and steering engineering suitable for long distance driving over rough roads with state of the art safety and parking technology never seen before in a mass produced car. This safety and parking technology was not included in the replacement German made Commodore. GMH also underestimated the patriotism of the Australian public and realized after severe financial losses that their forward planning team failed to increase market share, which nearly lead to the collapse of GMH in the Australian market.

[jordanmcintosh]

i’m a lucky man! i saw one about 2 hours south of perth, in bunbury!

[hou]

I've already seen one on the road and it was beautiful

[Justin_GFM]

I wish these were brought to the US, the Chevy SS and G8 GXP were just too cool and not enough was sent over from Australia