After a mammoth 10-month build full of blood, sweat and curse words, our 1130rwhp, twin-turbo LS-powered VS Commodore ute makes its track debut in this episode of Carnage.

We took the 427ci Dart-blocked beast to Heathcote Park Raceway, with the simple goal of getting a feel for this brand-new build and putting it through its paces. There was no PB target; all we wanted to do was give the ute a shakedown under the watchful eye of MPW Performance head honcho Adam Rogash.

The first pass was barely even that – just a quick test hit to the 60-foot mark. With all systems green, the next pass was to the half-track, and even with Scotty backing off at that point, the ute still managed a final ET of 9.56@112mph to the quarter-mile marker.

We found the car was creeping to the right, so Scotty got under the back and adjusted the anti-roll bar to suit. It’s adjustments like these that this test day was all about sorting out.

For the third pass, Adam gave Scotty the hall pass he needed to run the ute out the back door. He did just that, posting an 8.87@155mph timeslip! When you consider that the launches were still soft due to a loose converter, and we weren’t even close to using all 1100 of those horsepowers, it was an amazing achievement.

Enjoy the new episode below, and get keen to see the ute tackle Drag Challenge in just seven weeks!

Thanks to Haltech, VPW Australia, Pulsar Turbos, Tuff Mounts, TurboSmart and MPW Performance for their ongoing assistance with getting Grimace up and running.