Holden is Turning the Colorado Pickup Into a Torque-Heavy Race Truck

Foreign markets get all of the cool cars, don't they? In Australia, that's especially true with Holden taking all of our pedestrian GM models and turning them into performance-oriented tracksters. They've done so with the Holden Commodore V8 Supercar (AKA Buick Regal on our shores), and now again with the Colorado pickup. Unconventionally, the Aussie marque has turned the rugged diesel off-roader into a rear-wheel drive race truck, putting down 340 horsepower and 500 lb. ft. of torque to the tarmac.

This iteration of the Colorado will race in the Australian SuperUte series, and believe you me, it's a full-blown race spec machine. Everything you'd expect is fitted to the truck ranging from a complete cage to circuit ready suspension and tires. It'll be powered by a version of the ZR2's turbodiesel engine, making it the ultimate version of everything a two-wheel drive truck can be.

Power is limited by class regulations, but 500 lb. ft. of torque is more than enough to keep the lightweight truck humming. It's competition includes the Mitsubishi Triton, Mazda BT-50, Toyota Hilux, Isuzu D-Max, and the Ford Ranger, with the Colorado being the only model in the series that is currently available in the United States, at least until 2019.

We can't wait to see this super truck in action, and if it performs anything like the numbers indicate, Holden will have a riot on its hands. Superior dynamics and a unique powerplant help it to stand out from the pack, and if you don't mind us, we'll be planning our own version of it for our collection.