7 Foreign Cars with General Motors LS Powerplants
The General Motors LS series of V8 motors is truly the heartbeat of America, but did you know that it powers some cars from foreign lands as well? Here's a few of our favorite examples of American V8 exceptionalism.
1. Holden Maloo Ute - Australia
Here in America we last got a GM car-based pickup truck in 1987, but in Australia, the Holden division of GM never stopped. The Holden Maloo and higher performance HSV Maloo variants have offered LS power since the dawn of the LS era in the late 1990s. The top spec model features a supercharged 6.2 liter LSA motor, as used in the Camaro ZL1 and Cadillac CTS-V, which will get your koalas to market in a hurry (or whatever they use this for down under).
2. Vauxhall VXR8 - United Kingdom
In the UK they spell Chevrolet "VAUXHALL" and pronounce it totally differently. The Vauxhall VXR8 is their top level performance sedan, and just like the Pontiac G8 which shares much of its look, it is based on a Holden and powered by an LS V8. Pictured above is the Bathurst edition, which is not only based on an Aussie model but named after one of their biggest motorsports events, akin to our NASCAR Daytona 500.
3. Opel Omega V8 - Germany
This car really is just an almost was, the Opel Omega Caravan V8 concept was never put into production. If you have ever wondered what a Cadillac Catera station wagon with an LS1 motor in it would be like, here you go. As Opel found its large cars no longer competing against a Ford of Europe rival, but instead being compared to the BMW 5 series, so they investigated going upscale and adding a V8 option. Instead in 2003 they stopped making the Omega executive car and concentrated on the slightly smaller, FWD Insignia.
4. Elfin MS8 Clubman and Streamliner - Austalia
The Aussie built Elfin sports cars are basically a modern day Lotus 7 (Clubman) or Shelby Cobra (Streamliner); two different versions of a bare-bones race car for the street. Both cars have used an LS1 motor since they debuted in 2006, and both are based on the same traditional chassis design. You just have to decide if you prefer a traditional open wheel design or a bull nosed roadster design. Sadly, these are not sold in the USA.
5. Isuzu Ascender - Japan
Was this Isuzu ever sold in Isuzu's home country of Japan? Most people say no, but it deserves a mention here, because it certainly is a foreign nameplate at least, and the same for the Saab 9-7x. Of course, these were both versions of the GM360 mid-sized SUV that were sold by every division except Pontiac and Saturn. The top versions of these had the 5.3-liter aluminum V8. The Saab version was sold in Sweden, and all over Europe and the Middle East.
6. V8SuperTourer Racecars - New Zealand
In the land down under they also like to race V8 powered passenger cars, just like our NASCAR series, only their cars were much closer to production cars until recently. In 2012 the New Zealand V8 Super Tourer series debuted their new version, which no matter which body (Ford, Holden, Toyota, BMW) all used a version of the Corvette C6R race motor.
7. Korres P4 - Greece
Are you looking for an LS powered supercar that can be driven at triple-digit speeds on or off road? Then get yourself to Greece and order a Korres P4. The specially designed chassis can be raised for off-road use or lowered from the cockpit for high-speed road use. The all wheel drive transfer case features 3 available ratios, for highway, city or serious off-road trail crawling. If you want all of the details, check out the Korres website.
For all your LS maintenance and service needs check out the how to section of LS1Tech.com