YouTuber reveals how he imported Australian exotic car into the US despite it not abiding by traditional rules

This YouTuber imported a wild Australian exotic car, a 2008 Holden Ute SS, to the United States despite it not meeting the ‘standard’ requirements of a non-American car.

These requirements basically mean that an exotic car needs to be older than 25 years in order to be eligible for importing.

Obviously, the Holden was nowhere near 25 years of age but it made its way to the US anyway.

So, how exactly did he make that happen?

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Getting an Australian exotic car, a 2008 Holden Ute SS

YouTuber Tavarish posted a behind-the-scenes video on his second channel, 2varish, where he revealed the importing process of this super-rare 2008 Holden SS.

Importing a powerful car with a right-hand-drive configuration is certainly not easy, which is why the YouTuber had some help.

But first, let’s talk about the incredible machine itself and why Tavarish was so keen to import it.

Now, this is a 2008 Holden Ute SS — which is a mixed bag of GM and Holden elements.

It was also initially intended for the US market as a Pontiac but ended up selling in Australia only.

Tavarish imported the Australian ute to the US with the help of his friend Travis Bell from VINwiki.

“It has the exact same windshield as a Pontiac G8,” Travis explained.

It houses a 6.0-liter LS V8 powerplant paired with a six-speed manual transmission.

This Holden may look like a coupé-styled pickup truck, but it’s not.

For context, a ute is a utilitarian vehicle similar to a pickup truck but has a coupé-like appearance.

These street trucks have been widely popular in Australia and New Zealand for years now, and all for good reason — they combine performance with utility.

As a matter of fact, the world’s fastest truck is a ute — which was also recently unearthed from a barn.

How to import a car to the United States

Now, there are primarily three ways to import a car to the US.

The car could be 25 years of age or older, that’s also how someone imported a Lamborghini Diablo to the United States.

Another option is to import it under the ‘show and display’ rule, where you can only drive the car for 2,500 miles per year.

You can also get a letter of compliance from the car’s manufacturer to certify that it’s built according to mandated US specifications — but that almost never happens.

Finally, there’s the federalization way where an agent can modify the imported car to meet US standards.

As for this Holden Ute SS, these guys reported the exotic car as US-intended — which was also true.

The Holden was supposed to enter the American market as a Pontiac G8 ST, but it never happened.

However, the Pontiac was officially unveiled in the country and shared many of the same parts as the Holden.

That was enough to convince the authorities when it was being unloaded from a container.

The YouTuber essentially got to keep the car here without any problems and made it a project car.

Smaller cars and EVs like this $3,000 EV someone ordered from China don’t really need to go under such inspections, so you might want to consider that route, too — just in case.