Two decades ago, British-based Vauxhall called on Holden Special Vehicles to expand its range and to much acclaim these models introduced a bit of Bathurst to Pommie Land.
Then owned by General Motors, Vauxhall began to import Aussie V8s from HSV in the early 2000s including the GTO Coupe before it was discontinued and replaced by the Clubsport R8.
This where Bathurst comes into it.
Vauxhall offered two models using the Bathurst nameplate to further elevate Australia’s premier race track to the masses overseas.
The Bathurst was a stock HSV, but the S variant came with all the bells and whistles.
It came with a Walkinshaw Performance supercharger and a slew of other modifications to bump up the power of the 6.2-litre LS3 V8 to 417kW and 715Nm.
Stopping power came courtesy of a AP Racing brake kit featuring six-pot front and four-piston rear calipers alongside huge slotted discs.
Suspension was also enhanced by Walkinshaw featuring ride height adjustment and coil-over dampers with 15 settings.
The exterior was the same as the Australian variants apart from the exterior stripes and Bathurst badging.
A limited edition, Vauxhall’s Aussie experiment continued until 2017 and the package was generally loved by the media across the pond.