In a ‘coals-to-Newcastle’ story sure to warm the heart of any Kiwi cricket fan old enough to  remember the infamous ‘underarm bowling incident of 1981’ Holden has decided to release a production version of its Colorado Xtreme ute here before it does so at home.

Two years after the true-blue Aussie car maker unveiled a radical Colorado Xtreme concept ute ahead of the annual Fieldays event in Hamilton it returned this year with a production version – now on sale here but not yet ‘at home’ across the Tasman.

In fact, the new ‘factory-custom’ Xtreme was one of two radical new models the company shipped here to attract new interest to their cornerstone Fieldays' stand, the other being the new US-built Arcadia seven-seat SUV.

To be fair on the Arcadia, it was the Colorado Xtreme which garnered the most attention at this year’s Fieldays. And fair enough.

Key features of the new Colorado Xtreme include a winch bar and winch kit, 18-inch black alloy wheels shod with all-terrain tyres, a black extended sports bar, black tubular side steps, rear step, soft tonneau cover, tow bar, Colorado decal on tailgate, all topped off with a matching black roof tray. 

“The Xtreme is no longer just a show concept, it’s a fully functional ‘real McCoy’ four-wheel-drive and we expect people to put it to the test in a variety of day-to-day on and off-road situations,” said Marc Warr, Holden NZ’s national marketing manager of the range-topping $79,990 model.

As with all new models in Holden’s very much revitalised range Colorado Xtreme come with three years’ free certified servicing, three years’ roadside assistance and a three year warranty.

Holden says that Colorado Xtreme will go on sale here in October, but  a ‘home’ launch is not expected until the second  quarter of 2019……………or in other words, after the 2018/19 cricket season!

To read the full story in the August 2018 issue of NZ4WD go to Zinio.com (July 13) or purchase your own hard copy at the Adrenalin store.