Holden's Jack8 Off-Roader Rides On The Wild Side

Holden has transformed a mild-mannered Jackaroo four wheel drive wagon into a decidedly wild off-road showcar which goes by the name of Jack8.

The radically revamped topless two-door is powered by a muscular version of Holden's Gen III V8 and will make its 4WD show circuit debut this week at the Melbourne National 4x4 Show.

With a body raised 50mm above the chassis, a roll cage replacing the roof, a 'tubbed' rear end and a stripped-out, but far from Spartan, interior sporting Monaro seats, a 1680 Watt premium audio system, CB radio and dash-mounted GPS system, the Jack8 is a scene stealer in true Holden showcar tradition.

While the Jack8 is 'street legal' and fully driveable, Holden Marketing Manager, Large Cars, Simon Carr, says the company has no plans to release it as a production model.

"Having said that, there is serious intent behind the exercise. The Jack8 gives a tangible demonstration to four-wheel drive and recreational vehicle buyers that Holden really means to make its presence felt in this market," he said.

"We'll be taking it right to those buyers at four-wheel drive vehicle shows and field days around the country to gauge reactions and evaluate their responses to this kind of vehicle. It's a market research exercise that also happens to be a lot of fun," Mr Carr concluded.

The Jack8's extreme styling - its Jackaroo SE origins are barely recognisable - is largely the work of young Holden Design team member Warrack Leach, who took his inspiration from open top, off-road V8 desert racers.

It's a lightweight machine, stripped down for action and boasting Mickey Thompson 'Baja Claw' tyres on 16x8 wheels - the spare carried high on its fastback roll cage, a CB aerial flanked by twin halogen spot lamps on the centre bar. Up front, the modified front bar houses an electric winch and twin halogen lamps.

There's a windscreen, but the rest of the glass is gone, along with the rear doors, while driver and passenger doors have been extended by 200mm. They give access to a custom-finished, hand-trimmed interior that accommodates four in black leather Monaro bucket seats, the front set equipped with the coupe's electric slide fold forward system. Further highlights include a Momo sports steering wheel, Monza alloy pedals and a stylishly practical rubber floor and side trim.

Music lovers can pump up the volume on Jack8's premium MP3-compatible nine-speaker audio setup, which comes complete with a multi-colour illuminated video display, pulsing blue light subwoofer and three 560W amplifiers. The multi-function GPS receiver features a route retracing 'breadcrumbing' facility, pinpoint screen mapping to half a kilometre and a flux compass to keep the off-roader on course in the most challenging conditions

The Jack8 engine bay has been reconfigured to accommodate the 255kW (estimated) Gen III V8 5.7 litre powerplant, specific radiator and air cleaner. Its side exit twin pipe exhaust system is fitted with custom-built extractors and high-flow catalytic converters. Other features include AP racing brakes with four-piston black calipers, a long range, 140-litre fuel tank, aluminium underbody bash plates, and extra heavy duty suspension package.

JACK8

Feature Highlights

Body

Body raised 50mm above chassis

Roof removed from windscreen and above window line

Front doors extended 200mm

Rear door reconfigured, section filled and side intrusion strengthened

New rear section

Engine and Transmission, Driveline Gen III 255kW 5.7 litre V8

Electronic control 4-speed automatic transmission

Recalibrated Power Control Module

Exhaust

High performance twin pipe system

Custom built extractors

Custom built high flow catalytic converters

Wheels and Tyres

Mickey Thompson 'Baja Claw' tyres

CSA Scorpion 16x8-inch wheels

Suspension Endurance rated shock absorbers

Heavy duty front torsion bars and extended rear springs

Brakes

AP racing brakes with 330x26mm grooved and cross-drilled rotors, front and rear

Four piston black calipers, front and rear

Audio System

JVC

Changer Control CD Receiver, MP3 compatible, multi-bit resolution

Three 2-channel amps, each with 560W output

16cm multipoint/split speakers - 150W, two sets of four

30cm subwoofer - 500W, with self-generating blue illumination

GPS

GPSMAP 176C

12 parallel channel GPS receiver continuously tracks and uses up to 12 satellites to compute and update vehicle position

CB

Super compact uhf transceiver and scanner

40 CB channels, 40 channel programmable wide band scanner

Colour

Shanghai (deep red metallic with a tinted top coat)

SOURCE: Holden