The last of the Sports Cats
The launch of the Series 2 HSV SportsCat was an endorsement of the risky decision to take the performance brand into the crowded high-end ute market.
With saloon cars fading on buyers’ radar, Holden is confirming its focus on the ute and SUV market.
The company chose the National Fieldays to reveal its home-grown concept -- the mighty Colorado ROX.
“We know many of our customers have grand visions of what they’d like to do to personalise their own vehicles after driving them out of the dealership. So we wanted to showcase how far you could take the extremely capable Colorado” says HNZ managing director Marc Ebolo.
“Once the ball was rolling our marketing team, with partners Retro Vehicle Enhancement (RVE), spent a lot of time and effort bringing this concept to life.”
The ROX runs on 35-inch Blackbear mud terrain tyres and has custom made flares to house the huge wheels, a six-inch suspension and body lift kit. ‘Rock Sliders’ with removable drop steps make getting in and out almost as easy as on a standard Colorado.
The vehicle has a carbon fibre, high rise bonnet, hand crafted bespoke front and rear steel bumpers and a rear deck cargo system and 500mm tray extender. It also has an extended wrapping roof bar with retractable lights and a roof basket.
Inside the vehicle has been up-spec’d with front and rear RVE sports seats with hand made leather upholstery.
The Colorado ROX will demonstrate the model’s 3.5 tonne towing capability, hauling a laden event trailer as it tours the country on a nationwide dealership tour.
It will be displayed at big shows such as Fieldays.
To bring the project to life, Holden partnered with Retro Vehicle Enhancement (RVE), an Auckland business specialising in aftermarket vehicles.
RVE sources parts from Poland, America and Taiwan. Many were made from scratch, requiring extensive one-off CAD engineering.
Canterbury farmer Michelle Pye has been elected to Fonterra’s board for a three-year term.
Farmers are welcoming the announcement of two new bills to replace the under-fire Resource Management Act.
The Government has announced it will immediately roll over all resource consents for two years, with legislation expected to pass under urgency as early as this week.
The New Zealand National Fieldays Society has achieved a major sustainability milestone - reducing its greenhouse gas emissions and reaching the target five years early.
Fonterra's 2025/26 financial year is off to a strong start, with a first quarter group profit after tax of $278 million- up $15m on the previous year.
Government plans to get rid of regional councillors shows a lack of understanding of the fundamental problem affecting all of local government - poor governance.

OPINION: Your old mate welcomes the proposed changes to local government but notes it drew responses that ranged from the reasonable…
OPINION: A press release from the oxygen thieves running the hot air symposium on climate change, known as COP30, grabbed your…