Milestone model only for Oz

The 100 HSV Clubsports get a host of free extras and go on sale across Australia this month. Photo / Supplied

Holden Special Vehicles will release a 20th anniversary model of the Clubsport this month - but it won't be available in New Zealand.

The Australians will have the 100 limited-edition examples to themselves, because the car's 20th birthday across the ditch doesn't correspond with its 20th birthday in New Zealand.

"The Clubsport model came later to New Zealand - technically, the badge is not 20 years old here," says Andrew Lamb, the general manager for HSV in New Zealand. "So we decided not to offer it for sale."

The Clubsport is HSV's longest-running and most successful nameplate.

It was launched in Australia in June 1990 and arrived in New Zealand sometime later.

The so-called technicality over its age in New Zealand means the special birthday model is lost to New Zealand HSV fans.

The limited-edition model gets a host of free extras and goes on sale across HSV's dealer network in Australia this month.

The extras include HSV performance suspension, 20-inch Pentagon alloy wheels with "millennium" silver finish and leather seat trim.

It also gets a unique rear-window decal featuring a modern take on HSV's original "CS ClubSport" badge from the first VN Commodore-based model in 1990.

The 100 milestone models will be priced the same as the standard manual and automatic Clubsport examples.

"With this level of value add at no additional cost we anticipate the 100 vehicles will move very quickly and good luck to the person who manages to grab No 1 in the model build," said Darren Bowler, HSV's general manager of sales for Australia.

"City Motors HSV in Perth recorded the highest HSV vehicle sales in 2009 and have been rewarded with the privilege of retailing the No 1 vehicle to the lucky HSV buyer," Bowler told website GoAuto.

The 1990 original Clubsport was powered by a 180kW/400Nm version of the 5-litre V8 found in Holden's VN Commodore at the time.

Just 410 examples of the first ClubSport were produced from 1990. Its 5-litre V8 was replaced by a version of the VTII Commodore's 5.7-litre LS1, before the 6-litre LS2 and the current 6.2-litre LS3 engines appeared.

The ClubSport's best sales year was 2003, when more than 2200 examples were produced for Australia and New Zealand, as well as Britain and Middle East markets.

"If we step back 20 years to 1990, this really was a watershed year for the HSV brand," said Tim Jackson, HSV's general manager of marketing and communications for Australia.

"Not only did we introduce our first ClubSport model in June, but 1990 also represented our first Bathurst victory with the Holden Racing Team, who are also celebrating 20 years of success this year.

"The ClubSport has such great history and meaning within our business, and it has always been our purists' vehicle - bringing track-focused performance and handling to a road vehicle."

Meantime, 89 Cadillac CTS sedans sold to New Zealanders since June last year are reported to be among 1.5 million vehicles Holden parent General Motors is recalling because of a safety fear.

The Cadillacs were originally imported into Australia by Holden's GM Premium Brands before being re-exported to New Zealand after the collapse of plans to officially introduce the American brand Downunder last year. The sedans were earmarked mainly for dealer demonstrator duties and corporate tasks, such as press and dealer launch roles on both sides of the Tasman. Instead, they were sold as a job lot to Hamilton car dealer Ebbetts Waikato.

The Cadillac CTS is among 18 models subject to a recall advised by GM after the company learned that a faulty windscreen washer fluid heater - designed to defrost windscreens in super-cold climates - could pose a fire risk.

More than one million were sold to customers in the United States, with others going to Canada, Mexico and a range of other countries, including New Zealand.

Reports say Ebbetts Waikato will liaise with GM's Detroit head office to implement the fix, which involves rerouting the washer pipes.