Following a cruise to Wederholm 16 proud owners of mainly Red HSV’s got together and founded in New Zealand HSV Owners Club in 1994.
The aim of the club is to bring together people and families who share this interest. The Club as always been supported by HSV and the HSV dealer network right up to the present day.
A committee is responsible for running the club.
The club’s chosen charity is Heart Children New Zealand. We have also supported Kids in Cars and the Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust
In addition, we have a quarterly E magazine to keep all members up-to-date on activities within the club and club events as well as our own range of apparel.
We are a founding Member Club of the New Zealand Holden Federation.
For more information about joining the HSV Club – visit the Join Us page.
Club History
Following the formation of the Club in November 1994 it took 12 months for the Club to really get on its’ feet. In that time, we tried to run one event per month and through these endeavours the Club roll gradually grew. In doing so, friendships where made and strong bonds of trust and loyalty were forged which still exist today.
Out of all of this a plan to run our first Nationals was hatched. It started with 6 people wanting to go to Taupo for the weekend and culminated in nearly 60 HSV’s being present.
So successful was the event that the format was adopted as a template for our subsequent Nationals. One of the highlights has to be the convoy from Auckland to Taupo and the drive through Taupo Town. There is nothing like being part of an HSV freight train that can stretch out over 3.5 Kilometres. In the early days everything was run at the track and it was quite a juggling act to fit everything in on such a small area. We used to run the sprint from the centre of the circuit and there would be cars and people galore. Quite a balancing act indeed.
We have always had Nationals Polo shirts made for the event. A different colour for each year. The “Thunder Down Under” and Taupo logos were a design used on the first shirt and are something we have stuck with. These symbols are synonymous with our nationals.
1998 saw the change in format. It was decided to split the event and run a “Show and Shine” in the Domain in town. Doing this raised the Club profile to a new level
The NZ HSV Dealer network and Holden NZ were approached and were willing to sponsor trophies for the event.
The “Car of the Show” grand prize is the Holden NZ Trophy. This event has proved very successful with up to 40 HSV’s being displayed each year.
The sprint has always been popular. Yes, we have had the odd bent panel and some badly scratched paint work but these can be counted on one hand. Not a bad record over fifteen years considering the number of HSV’s that have been round the circuit.
From the beginning the only “trophies” on offer at the sprint were achievement certificates. This, because we did not wish to create an overly competitive environment. We realised that competition is always there but we preferred not to promote it. So there was no hardware up for grabs.
This has since changed. We gained Holden Racing Team support in the form of Trophies for the fastest Man and Lady on the day. We also have our own in house trophies and now some special Club Motorsport awards for the Nationals.
The Nationals became a Club tradition and since 1996 have improved steadily with refinements here and there. 2010 saw the club hold our 15th Anniversary Nationals in the new format of a 3-day event with numerous activities organized covering many areas of member’s interest.
The HSV Owners Club appreciates the assistance given to it for the Nationals each year from HSV Australia, HSV NZ and the entire HSV Dealer Network.
Generous assistance is also provided by Bridgestone, Allied Lubricants, and Meguiar’s.
Recent History
While the passion to race is still is still there, the reality is people are less willing to risks their pride and joy and with rising costs the club unfortunately no longer holds a national gathering.