Months in the making and sporting significant aesthetic and dynamic upgrades, Holden New Zealand has revealed its own home-grown concept to go on display at Fieldays – the Colorado ROX.
Built with the annual agricultural show in mind, the Colorado ROX will take pride of place at Holden’s site at Mystery Creek from June 12 then will embark on a nationwide dealership tour coupled with call-ins at major events and activations.
“Our driving desire was to take our most capable vehicle, the Colorado, and beef it up to become the greatest awe-inspiring, eye-catching piece of machinery ever devised by Holden New Zealand,” said Managing Director, Marc Ebolo.
“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 just how far you could take a Colorado.”
“Once the ball was rolling our Marketing team, together with partners RVE Vehicle Enhancement, spent considerable time and effort bringing this concept to life – and I think they’ve smashed the project out of the park.”
RVE Built, Holden Colorado Rox
The super-truck features massive 35-inch Blackbear mud terrain tyres, with custom made monster flares to house the huge wheels. A six-inch suspension and body lift raise the Colorado ROX towards the heavens, while ‘Rock Sliders’ with removable drop steps make ingress and egress almost as easy as getting in and out of a standard Colorado.
The Colorado ROX announces its arrival by way of a carbon fibre high-rise bonnet, complemented with a hand-crafted bespoke front steel bumper, replicated at the back of the vehicle.
Further enhancements to the exterior include a rear deck cargo system and 500mm tray extender, together with an extended wrapping roof bar incorporating retractable lights and roof basket.
The interior of the vehicle has been up-spec’d with the addition of front and rear RVE sports seats, complete with hand-built leather upholstery.
“The Colorado DNA is undeniable, but this vehicle has had a serious steroid enhancement, turning it into a big, bold and brash truck – the result is Colorado ROX,” said Holden National Marketing Manager, Marc Warr.
“It’s a real statement piece and shows what’s capable with a little imagination, combined with considerable expertise and a ridiculously capable and dedicated partner such as RVE.”
The Colorado ROX will demonstrate the model’s 3.5-tonne towing capability, hauling a fully-laden event trailer as it tours the country between dealerships and various stops along the way.
“The attention-grabbing trailer, and event kit which travels inside it, contribute to making the Colorado ROX a destination in itself. It will be a massive drawcard at dealerships around the country and is already scheduled to appear at some big national events,” said Mr Warr.
“We’ve been impressed by the passion for this project shown by partners, dealers and also people who have caught wind of this secret operation. We’re confident Colorado ROX will inspire people to think about Holden in a new and exciting way.”
To bring the project to life, Holden partnered with RVE Vehicle Enhancement, an Auckland-based operation specialising in aftermarket vehicle developments which had its beginnings more than 50 years ago.
Managing Director of RVE, David Stanners, said the team was up for the challenge right from the first meeting with Holden – and were instrumental in making big aspirations into an even bigger reality.
“The Colorado ROX was the type of project we’ve been waiting to be let loose on – all we needed was a willing partner who was prepared to share our vision and push boundaries along the way.
“The challenge started with fitting super-size tyres into massive flared arches, front and rear bumper upgrades and literally everything in-between.
“We engaged suppliers from as far away as Poland, America and Taiwan so it’s been a truly international effort, made all the more challenging as we created a huge majority of components from scratch which meant extensive one-off CAD engineering.
“The quality of workmanship is world-class and I’m incredibly proud of my team as the finished product is above and beyond what we hoped to achieve.”
Details of the Colorado ROX roadshow will be released after Fieldays, with an all-encompassing plan outlining the next 12-18 months of vehicle movements. Holden enthusiasts who wish to find out where and when the monster truck will be appearing can do so by contacting their local dealer.
And as for the final piece of the concept puzzle – the name: Colorado ROX.
“The beauty is that it can be interpreted in many different ways,” said Mr Warr.
“It speaks about being tough, steadfast and dependable, conjuring visions of being dynamic and unstoppable. Some might relate it to motorsport thanks to the Lion motif on the side of the vehicle, in which case it could be Rally Offroad Cross - but we’ll leave it up for people to make their own decisions.
“Either way, we’re quietly confident Colorado ROX will make an absolute statement wherever it’s seen.”
