One thing I’ve really enjoyed about the Jackaroos is diving deep into their history. Discovering the SE model was particularly fun, especially when I learned that the Jackaroo carried an HSV build plate for three years, with a total production run of 313 to 318 vehicles—much higher than the originally believed 79.
At the last car show, a kid remarked, “These aren’t a race car.” While that’s true for the road-going versions, the Jackaroo was never intended to be a street racer. However, Isuzu and Holden did have motorsport success with the Trooper platform. In 1993, it finished first in its class in the Paris-Dakar Rally and also won the Australian Safari. Those achievements likely influenced some of the design choices on the HSV version—namely, the decision not to upgrade the mechanical components. It was already proven off-road, where it really shone.
From what I’ve heard, HSV and GMH discussed putting a 5L engine into both the Jackaroo and the Rodeo around 1995, though I doubt it progressed beyond initial planning. Apparently, such a move could have impacted sales of the VS SS, so it never went further.
Further research and conversations with club members led me to the racing heritage of these vehicles and drivers like Bruce Garland, Mark Manns, Wayne Webster, and Peter Brock. Information is scattered, but there are articles out there—and most notably, Peter Brock’s book, Off the Road Brock Around Australia. In it, he gives a day-by-day account of the 22-day 1998 PlayStation Rally across Australia in a Jackaroo, running in the production class where only safety modifications were allowed. There’s still so much history to uncover about these vehicles and the people who drove them, so I’ll keep digging.