Holden takes the ute to a new level

The Thunder SS has a production run of just 50.

Holden will celebrate the launch in New Zealand of its most powerful ute with a special model called the Thunder SS.

The limited-edition model will sit above the two-door SS Ute and below the four-door Crewman SS Ute, now available with a 6-litre V8 from General Motors.

The production run of 50 Thunder SS utes features front and rear performance brakes as standard, 18-inch (46cm) alloy wheels, hard tonneau cover, colour-coded leather seats and special edition Thunder badging.

The 6-litre engine, codenamed L76, is a member of GM's fourth generation small-block V8 family.

Holden New Zealand managing director Peter Keley, said low-end torque and responsiveness took the V8 models to a new level.

"We've heard what our customers have been saying about useable torque and the new L76 engine delivers," he said.

"The Ute and Crewman will deliver excellent power-to-weight ratio, and we have also managed to retain the impressive fuel economy which the Holden V8s can deliver."

The 6-litre alloy unit delivers 260kW (350bhp) at 5600rpm and 510Nm of torque at 4400rpm.

Holden says torque is significantly increased at lower revs, offering improved acceleration, low-speed engine response and better ease of towing than the previous 5.7-litre engine.

The extra performance will be managed with better breathing sports exhaust and significant improvements to automatic transmission characteristics.

From an environmental perspective, all new variants meet strict ADR79/01 emission regulations, says Holden.

The 6-litre engine is coupled to reworked automatic or manual transmissions.

The 4L65-E four-speed automatic gets a revised input shaft speed sensor, which improves shift quality and consistency, particularly under low throttle, says Holden.

The Tremec T56 six-speed manual transmission has a revised clutch plate and pressure plate to handle the increased engine torque.

Holden SS Ute gets bigger front and rear brakes, while SS Crewman adopts bigger front brakes.

The SS Ute costs $50,900, the Thunder SS $52,300, and the Crewman SS $57,900.