Holden sets Nurburgring record for fastest utility vehicle

Australian carmaker Holden has established a record at the Nurburgring\'s Nordschleife circuit with its VF SSV Redline Ute lapping the famed track at eight minutes and 19.47 seconds to become the \"fastest commercial and utility vehicle.\"

\"We came up with a plan to tackle the Nurburgring and break the world record for a commercial or utility vehicle, but when we did our research it seemed such a record didn\'t exist, so we decided to set a record instead,\" said Holden dynamics engineer Rob Trubiani. \"Without a lap record to break, we sat down and calculated what we thought the Ute could do and targeted around eight minutes and 30 seconds. Initial practice sessions at the track confirmed that was a stretch target so that\'s what we aimed for. To slash 11 seconds from that time is incredible. There may not have been a utility-vehicle record before, but I’m proud to say the VF SSV Redline Ute is now the Nurburgring benchmark!\"

According to Holden, the VF SSV Redline Ute that set the lap time was a product-correct engineering test vehicle that was being used in Europe for validation purposes. With the exception of the additional negative camber dialed into the front wheels--but which are still within product tolerances--and the removal of the speed limiter, the vehicle was practically stock standard. In addition, the only components that supposedly required changing during the vehicle\'s run at the Nurburgring were the tires and the brakes.

\"We took a standard six-speed automatic VF SSV Redline Ute and subjected it to 35 laps and more than 720km of intense punishment at the Nurburgring and the car didn\'t skip a beat; it soaked it all up and set a hugely impressive lap time,\" said Holden VF program engineering manager Andrew Holmes.

 

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