Holden Ute Establishes Speed Benchmark at Nürburgring

GM Holden’s new VF SS V Redline Ute (pickup) lays claim to being Australia’s ultimate sports machine after setting a world-record lap time for a commercial and utility vehicle at the toughest racetrack on the planet – the Nürburgring in Germany.

The vehicle was assured of setting a new mark, however, because there was no previous record for commercial or utility vehicles at the track.

“We came up with a plan to tackle the Nürburgring and break the world record for a commercial or utility vehicle, but when we did our research it seemed one didn’t exist, so we decided to set a record instead,” GM Holden Dynamics Engineer Rob Trubiani says in a statement.

“Without a lap record to break, we sat down and calculated what we thought the Ute could do and targeted around 8 minutes, 30 seconds. Initial practice sessions at the track confirmed that was a stretch target, so that’s what we aimed for.”

With Trubiani at the wheel, the truck posted an 8:19:47 lap; a speed the auto maker is quick to point out is faster than many exotic sports cars costing several times more than the Ute.

The time was set during a full run of the Nordschleife section of the Nürburgring, a 12.9-mile (20.8-km) stretch with more than 170 corners.

Trubiani says to slash 11 seconds from the targeted time was incredible. “There may not have been a utility-vehicle record before, but I’m proud to say the VF SS V Redline Ute is now the Nürburgring benchmark.”

The lap was put in during the industry pool days when the track is closed to the public and manufacturers have exclusive access.

Trubiani is the only GM Holden employee certified as a Nürburgring industry pool driver and one of only 21 across Holden and General Motors North America who holds this certification.

“For any car enthusiast the Nürburgring is like the Holy Grail,” Trubiani says. “It’s the toughest, craziest, most demanding race track in the world, and for the Ute to handle everything that was thrown at it and set the time we did shows what an exceptional vehicle it is.”

The SS V Redline Ute that set the lap time is a product-correct engineering test vehicle that was being used in Europe for validation purposes. A stock vehicle, apart from a small amount of additional negative camber dialed into the front wheels (although still within production tolerances) and the removal of the speed limiter, the Ute ran flawlessly for seven days and 35 grueling laps in total.

The only components that required changing during the program were tires and brakes.

“We took a standard 6-speed automatic VF SS V Redline Ute and subjected it to 35 laps and more than 720 km (447 miles) of intense punishment at the Nürburgring, and the car didn’t skip a beat; it soaked it all up and set a hugely impressive lap time,” VF Program Engineering Manager Andrew Holmes says.

Not surprisingly, the lap record at the Nürburgring forms the basis for the new VF Ute advertising campaign.