Australia may not be a country famous for automobile production, but we think the latest release from Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) will completely change your mind. As Holden’s performance car division, HSV has just announced the GTSR W1, i.e. the most powerful and expensive production vehicle ever from Australia. While the car is track-focused, it is 100 percent road-legal.

This limited edition model is powered by a Corvette-sourced hand-built 6.2-litre LS9 supercharged V8, supplying 635 hp of power and 815 Nm of torque, making it the most powerful engine ever equipped on an Australian production car. The GTSR W1 sprints from standstill to 100 km/h in 4.2 seconds making it again the fastest car ever locally produced. The 6-speed manual transmission is specially designed to optimise track performance and improve drivability. The carbon fibre fender vents, airbox and rear spoiler with carbon fibre upper provide plenty of aesthetic enhancement, while the SV Panorama matte black forged alloy wheels wrapped with Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R track tyres further back up the GTSR W1’s aggressive look with optimised grip.

As attractive as it sounds, all 300 examples of the HSV GTSR W1 have already been sold out despite its AUD 170,000 price tag. We think it would be wise to keep an eye on Holden’s Australian production going forward.