Sitting at the top of the heap when it comes to utes, the HSV Maloo is the ultimate vehicle for petrol heads and little old gentlemen farmers.
Local resident to Rushworth and new writer with The Adviser, Steve Hutcheson is currently babysitting a black 2009 6.2L Maloo while its owner looks for a car parking space in the back streets near his inner city home.
The Maloo has street cred. In 2006, renowned racing driver Mark Skaife took a 5.7 litre 350BHP V8 ute to reach a world record speed of 271.44 km/hr., slightly faster than the permitted 110 km/hr along the Hume Freeway. Sam Davis, a former Swinburne university colleague of Steve, also a mechanical engineer, worked on the Guinness record vehicle at HSV as the chief engineer and was credited with holding the record during the trials until it was again cracked by Skaife the following day.
Steve said, “In bringing it back to the farm, I was tempted to see what it could do, but figure holding onto my licence was more important. All I get to do now is an occasional donut along the driveway while I wait for its owner to take control of it again.”
Steve’s son, a carpenter living in Melbourne also drives a Holden ute and when he comes for a visit, likes to take the covers off and sit in the driver’s seat and dream. Dad hides the keys.
For the moment, the Maloo lives under a car cover and is occasionally brought out for a battery charging run up and down his driveway and less frequently, for a wash.
