Holden UTEster

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Holden UTEster

The word UTEster in Holden UTEster describes exactly what this car was about, ute and roadster. By the early 2000s, utes had transferred from a farm tool and a performance/leisure to an inner city lifestyle. The Holden UTEster was based on the VX Commodore SS ute and was displayed at the Melbourne International Motor Show, said to have been filled with 'urban cool'. Holden's young design team was all over the UTEster, and the idea was cited from Chevrolet's retro-styled 'SSR' roadster pickup, which was revealed in 2000. Holden got the roadster feeling by having the roof, which is made up of smoked glass, fold into the hard tonneau cover while the rear windshield also retracts. The tonneau cover itself has two 'aero humps' which are reminiscent of classic sports cars.

Holden contacted Tullamarine company to paint the UTEster in Mark Yellow, with jet black grilles, rear valance panel, mirrors, and the rear windshield surround. Holden also contacted Car Tech to supply the 19' wheels, Pirelli P-Zero tyres, and Harrop brakes with the 'UTEster' logo embossed onto the calipers. The interior was finished by Geelong-based motor trimming specialists, Paratus, who made the yellow and anthracite leather seats while prominently featuring 'baseball-style' thick stitching. The same anthracite leather on the seats wraps the instrument cluster and steering wheel. The instrument is finished in 'Titan Silver' just like the wheels, and the pedals are machined aluminum. The UTEster was also fitted with the full entertainment package, which featured an Alpine DVD/VCD/CD and LCD monitors, which were all operated by a remote control, and were connected to 12' subwoofers and 8 speakers.

Holden firmly meant for the UTEster to go into production, and felt that it would be a success due to the positive reception at the first showing. While the Chevy SSR would go into production, sadly, the Holden UTEster would not. Holden cited the cost of production because making the UTEster in mass while meeting safety standards was too expensive, so they shelved it in 2002. Many aspects of the UTEster lives on with the twin aero humps being fetured on the 'SSZ' limited edition ute from 2005 and thought to have inspired the removable tonneau used on 2003's 'Cross8' AWD Crewman ute.