Specialist auction house Manheim is declaring it a chance to claim “a piece of Australian motoring history”, and it’s hard to disagree with them, given the auction bill includes the last GTSR Sedan and GTSR Maloo to have ever rolled down the production line, as well as an utterly unique example of the brand’s truly monstrous GTSR W1 sedan.
Just in case you’ve been living under a very large (and presumably soundproof) rock, the W1 is the most powerful Aussie-built performance car of all time, with HSV’s massive supercharged V8 tuned to send 475kW and 815Nm screaming toward the rear tyres. And that, readers, is rather a lot.
With a limited run of 300 units, each costing $169,900, the W1 was destined for instant classic status from the moment it was conceived. But this one is even more special; a one-of-a-kind company prototype used for press evaluation, and so it has graced the hallowed pages of just about every motoring website and magazine in the country.
By comparison, the GTSR Sedan and GTSR Maloo are virtually eco-friendly, with both powered by a LSA V8 good for 435kW and 740Nm. To have owned one new would have set you back around $100,000.
The three HSVs will be auctioned at Manheim’s Altona North site on March 17 at 2.00pm. And if you’re interested in the W1, you best start raiding piggy banks now, with other, less unique examples already listed for sale at around $300,000. In fact, the last W1 to be auctioned, in December last year, pulled in $269,000 under the hammer.
“We are very excited and very proud to be working with HSV to conduct such a special auction which will see these iconic vehicles offered to the public,” says Manheim Auctions CEO, Charles Cumming.
“Clearly HSV has a proud and long history in the Australian automotive industry, so we want to make sure the public sale of these special vehicles generates the interest HSV truly deserves.
“Every Saturday we have a wide range of cars on offer so I encourage people to get here early on the day and check out our weekly auction offering. At the conclusion of our regular auction which commences at 9am, visitors can be part of a moment in Australian automotive history, with the HSV auction set to start at 2pm.”
This article originally appeared on CarsGuide.
