Holden HQ News

General Motors has taken one more step towards wiping out the history and legacy of Holden in Australia with the deletion of the Holden portion of its global media website.

A five-seat van with a swirly colour scheme and roof racks to carry surfboards is set to be the Holden Sandman of the future.

Holden is going back in time to make sure the Commodore makes it to the end of the production line.

The Sandman is coming back to showrooms.

Triple Eight takes us behind the scenes for the build of their V8 Supercar Holden Sandman tribute.Part trip down memory lane, part engineering masterpiece, all thoroughbred V8 Supercar. Red Bull Racing Australia's (RBR) Project Sandman certainly turned heads when it was unveiled at Gold Cost 600 V8 Supercar round in October.Now RBR take us into the workshop and give us a peek at the design and build process that brought the Sandman to life.

Holden talent, Red Bull cash and Triple Eight race engineering are behind V8 Supercar Sandman. There is still life in the Holden panel van. Nearly 40 years after the original, and despite a death sentence hanging over the Commodore, the Holden hero has been reborn and reimagined as a V8 Supercar Sandman.It picks up the roof and back door from the Commodore Sportwagon, side guards from the ute, a bunch of hand-formed side panels and a unique quarter window copied from the original panel van.There is no chance of it becoming a production model but it has just begun an Australia-wide tour, making special appearances at V8 Supercar races including the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide and the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.The new-age Sandman is the result of Holden talent, Red Bull cash and Triple Eight race engineering.It can hit 100km/h in less than three seconds and would easily top 270km/h at a track like BathurstBut, ironically, the inspiration came from Bathurst winning team boss Roland Dane, an Irishman whose shaggin' wagon dream car was turned into a reality by 21-year-old Holden designer Tom Grech."When I was a nipper, I used to get a copy of Wheels magazine every month from my godfather in Adelaide. Then I saw the original Mad Max movie and thought the Sandman was pretty cool," Dane says."I wanted something different for the race team to use for our passenger ride days. I was thinking we could do a station wagon but then I realised we could do a panel van."When I spoke to Holden about it, they were keen to get on-board. And here we are." It took a lot of hard work for a good idea to become a 240km/h reality, much of it by Grech. He was hand-picked for the job by another of Holden's prodigies, Peter Hughes - who designs the Commodore warpaint each V8 Supercar season."I'm a creative designer for interior and exterior in the advanced studio at Fishermans Bend," Grech says."I thought door handles and chromed trim would be my job. But they've thrown me in at the deep end and I'm involved in whole car designs for GM's global brands, Chevrolet, Cadillac."Then this came along."I'm stoked. It's a pretty awesome thing, just because it's my first car. It came together so quickly, in just three months. All the other projects in the studio take so long because we're looking out to cars in 2025." The heart of the Sandman is a retired V8 Supercar racer, which was parked last year after failing to win favour with five-time champion (soon to be six) Jamie Whincup.It's been tweaked for more speed and spectacle, picking up a bigger engine, F1-style paddle gearshift and grippier Michelin tyres, with the bodywork laid over the top.Grech did the original sketches and then it was down to the fabricators at Red Bull Racing in Brisbane to create the bodywork."That's not just fibreglass. It's all steel, with carbon fibre panels inside. It's not a bodgie job, it's properly built," says Dane. "It took hundreds of hours. We used as many original Holden panels as we could." The car's silver paintjob reflects Red Bull's involvement. There is also a pair of carbon fibre surfboards on the roof."The idea was to carry over a lot of existing parts," Grech says. "Proportionally speaking, it's more radical because it's lower, shorter and wider."He did much of the early work, from research in history books to hand sketches and CAD drafts, as an after-hours project, but it was quickly adopted as an official Holden concept."It's great that this has happened. Holden has a big commitment and big ideas for the future, not just turning into a national sales company. It shows they are also committed to motorsport projects," says Grech."I'd love to see more exciting one-off things like this." Mechanically, the car is pure V8 Supercar, from its 475kW Chevrolet V8 engine to the six-speed sequential manual gearbox to old-school rear-wheel drive. It can hit 100km/h in less than three seconds and would easily top 270km/h at a track like Bathurst.The Sandman fired up for the first time last week and was unveiled alongside an original Sandman with racy red bodywork on the Gold Coast.Not surprisingly, Craig Lowndes drove the old-timer while Jamie Whincup got the new car.Over the weekend of the Gold Coast 600 the car completed a series of demonstration runs and drew huge crowds whenever it emerged from its pit garage. It still needs some work, and will grow a subtle rear spoiler to try to tame some unruliness over 200km/h, before being paraded across the country.There is zero chance of a production model, but Dane is happy and Holden is also keen to show the car."I think it's really cool. It's turned out really well, Dane says. 'Everyone who sees it seems to like it."ALL ABOARDLots of people have a Sandman story and this is mine.It's definitely the newest, since it was only written on Sunday morning on the streets of Surfers in the newest Sandman of them all. And it's all Roland Dane's fault.The boss of the Red Bull Racing team is the man who decided to transform a superannuated V8 Supercar into a born-again Holden panel van, then asked young gun Andrew Thompson to give up his weekend for some chauffeur work, and finally blustered me into taking a ride."Come on. What are you, a coward?" he says.That's exactly how I feel as Thommo idles down to the end of the pitlane. "Ah, don't worry. It's pretty good. Mostly...," he tells me as we wait for the green light.Mostly what? I know it will crank up to 240km/h but I wonder how the Sandman bodywork will work over the top of a genuine race car just like those handled by Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowdnes.I don't have long to wait. He drops the clutch, the rear wheels spin madly and dissolve into tyre smoke, and then we're in fourth gear and heading for the hairpin.It takes most of the first lap for my brain to catch up with my eyeballs. The scenery is firing at me, the concrete canyons create a giant V8 thunder chamber, and I can see skid marks and gouges where cars have smacked walls.I realise I've just ridden in the world's fastest SandmanMy ride is actually better than a V8 Supercar, since the Sandman has a Formula One-style paddle gearchange and grippy Michelin tyres, but it still gets nasty at times.Especially when Thompson locks the back wheels at 200km/h into the first turn and the car jumps sideways.He gathers it up before I realise we're in trouble, then pushes hard for the rest of the lap. Now I can see and feel what the racers feel, from the heat in the cabin to the wheelspin out of the slow corners and the effort required to keep the car under control and pointing down the road.Then it's over. We roll back into the pits and a huge crowd gawks at Holden's new hero car."Well, what did you think?" Thompson grins."Honestly, I'm not sure," I say.It takes a minute for my heart rate to drop enough for me to reflect. And then I realise I've just ridden in the world's fastest Sandman.History indeed.REMEMBER THE LAST ONEThis is the second time the Sandman has been brought back from the dead. The first was in 2000, when Holden rocked the Sydney motor show with the unveiling of a unique concept (above) that celebrated the original Sandman from the 1970s.Based on a VU Commodore, the Sandman panel van was a converted ute with a bold psychedelic paint job that included murals - with beach and bush goddess themes - by Mambo art director, David McKay.It also starred at the Detroit show in 2001, but only after a local artist was called into add some modesty to the scantily clad women airbrushed on to the side panels.The artwork was eventually restored to its original Mambo condition and the car is on display in the heritage collection at Holden headquarters at Fishermans Bend in Melbourne.Why we love the SandmanIt's a born-again icon It uses production body panels It could become a production car Why we don't love the SandmanNo mural on the side No shag-pile carpet insideHolden will not build it

Project Sandman mixes Holden history with V8 Supercar engineering.Ahead of this weekend's Gold Coast 600 V8 Supercar round in Surfers Paradise, Red Bull Racing (RBR) Australia have taken the covers off Project Sandman, their in-house take on the old Holden panel van icon which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.Work began on the Sandman back in April, in collaboration with the Holden Design Department.While the shape and the name might be bringing back fond - or not so fond - memories of years gone by, the Tribute Edition Sandman is more than a trip down memory lane.Underneath the evocative, mattress-fitting body, (yes, Red Bull Racing claim it can still fit a short mattress in the back) is a race-spec V8 Supercar.Sitting on the 888-032 Car of the Future V8 Supercar chassis used by Jamie Whincup during the 2013 season, is the same 5.0-litre V8 engine used by the RBR racer, along with the same suspension, brakes and running gear.Unlike the V8 Supercars, the Tribute Edition Sandman features paddle shifters on the steering wheel, rather than the floor-mounted sequential shifter seen in the series.It sounds like a race car, it's faster than our race cars in a straight lineAnd while the V8 Supercar Commodore runs on Dunlop control tyres, the Sandman's 18-inch wheels are wrapped in Michelin-branded rubber. The different rubber will help dissuade any notion the car could be used for sly tyre data collection.RBR also plan to upgrade the circa-650hp/485kW race-spec engine to a 5.7-litre V8, once they finish building it, which will give the Sandman 705hp/526kW.The team say the differences are because they wanted to push boundaries, with Jessica Dane, the team’s Media Manager, saying "we wanted to create a piece of engineering art".Red Bull Racing driver Craig Lowndes says that car holds its own against the race-trim sibling."It sounds like a race car, it's faster than our race cars in a straight line," he said.Sadly, the Tribute Edition Sandman won't be hitting showrooms. The one-off special will be kept by the team as a promotional vehicle and for use during ride days.That's unfortunate, because the two 6ftx18 3/4" carbon fibre surfboards on the roof would certainly be a talking point in the beach carpark on a Sunday afternoon.The stiff, low-slung race suspension would also make nigh on impossible to get the Sandman 'a-rockin', which might detract from its appeal...for some.Red Bull Racing have no plans to bring a road-going version of the Sandman back to Australian roads, although RBR spokesperson Peter Jameson hopes it "inspires Holden" as the manufacturer moves towards the end of local car production in 2017.This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a Supercar take on a commercial Holden. In 2001 Garry Rogers Motorsport - back when they were a Holden-backed team - built a VU Commodore Ute V8 Supercar as a show and ride car.For now, the Sandman can be seen as part of the Gold Coast 600 event in Surfers Paradise which runs from October 24 to 26.

If ever a car has penetrated the psyche of the young Australian male, then the Holden Sandman panel van and utility ranks right at the top. Combining youth, freedom, power, sun, surf and sex, the Sandman had it all. There was nothing subtle about a Sandman when it hit the streets in 1974. Its bright primary colours and Sandman decals screamed out a warning to fathers that their daughters might not be safe. It was a sales success right from the get-go. Years later it was immortalised in a postage stamp.Its genesis came when Holden’s product planners noticed the ever increasing sales of V8 panel vans and utilities to younger customers. At the same time Holden’s design department, led by Leo Pruneau, had watched the increasing trend of customised panel van interiors and wild exterior paint jobs. You and I know them as "shaggin waggins" Leo tells the story: "During the HQ model run I asked Peter Arcadipane to do some decals for us and some long side stripes. We put Monaro front guards on a Belmont panel van, blacked out the headlight surrounds, added a Monaro GTS steering wheel and stood back as they flew out of the dealerships."Based on that experience, Leo and his team picked the brains of some van customisers. "We found they wanted a van with a Monaro GTS sports interior with bucker seats, a wide choice of engines and transmissions and a bare bones panel van section out the back. That was because everyone wanted to customise the back themselves, with stereos, carpet, mirrors and a mattress. So that was what we did with the HJ onwards" remembers Leo."We also put a huge Sandman decal across the tailgate. In fact, when we showed it to the directors they just looked and shook their heads and asked if we were really serious," says Leo. "You bet we are" he told them.Leo also wanted to have a mattress as an official Holden option. The then CEO said NO to that idea. But Leo did get a tent to cover the rear tailgate on the options list. The advertising folks did not hold back either. "Suddenly your car becomes your personal pleasure machine" said the brochure. "Lean, lithe and ready to go" shouted the print advertisements. It was a toss-up if they were describing the car or the occupants because none of the advertisements seemed to contain a fully clothed person over the age of 21. Ford and Chrysler quickly followed with their Sundowner and Drifter respectively, but the Sandman always topped the sales charts. When the HZ ceased production in 1980, so too the Sandman. These days a Sandman from the 1970s are prized classics. Original and tidy V8 manuals go for upwards of $25,000.

When talking show cars you usually expect lots of bling, shiny paint jobs and a beautiful but often one-purpose vehicle. Its role is usually to sit there, show off its beauty and draw envy and admiration from impressed onlookers. Rob Godfrey's 10-year project doesn't necessarily have the bling of some other show cars, but it's definitely an eye-catcher and not just in the showroom.His 1972 HQ Holden one-tonner is at home in the showroom, on the road and the drag strip.Over the past 10 years, Godfrey has undertaken three complete rebuilds of his ute because he was never completely happy with it.“There's nothing worse than looking at a car parked next to yours and seeing how much better it is than your own,” he says.“I'm not a trophy hunter but I want to be able to look at a car and say, `That's the best I could do'. Now I did it myself ... that's the best I can do on my time and budget.”Having grown up on a property, Godfrey learned to drive at the age of 10, and bought his first vehicle, this ute, when he was 15.And he's had it ever since.Godfrey used the ute as his daily driver for the first five years, but then took the decision to make it a little more special.Modifications stretch far and wide on this beauty, including a 655 cubic inch big block Chevrolet engine, with a massive 895kW (1200hp), 730kW (930hp) of it at the tyres.And the car wasn't the only thing to undergo a transformation from its original form.“You evolve with the car,” he says. “It takes years of knowledge and experience to know how to do it, 10 years probably to get that knowledge.”He enlisted the help of three friends. A panel beater, a spray painter and one who could teach him all he needed to know about engines.“I definitely couldn't afford to build the car without these guys,” the 30-year-old says. Godfrey says the engine alone would probably be worth the price of an average family car.“It's the type of vehicle you can't put a price on. It's older than me but it's only worth what someone is willing to pay,” he says.Godfrey's one-tonner received a wildcard entry into the Meguiars Superstar final at this weekend's MotorEx. “My car isn't 100 per cent detailed underneath,” he says. “It's driveable and a drag racing car as well. It's not built to push around, it's built to drive.”Godfrey says being invited to be a part of the high-profile show is rewarding enough.And it will bring some variety to the Superstars event, which sees 27 cars from the street machine, hot rod and hi-tech tuner scenes compete for the top awards and a total prize pool of $61,500. Godfrey's ute already has 12 trophies to its name, but this is its first MotorEx.“People seem to really like it. It has a mountain of an engine in it and I think Aussies like the old utes,” he says.“It appeals to the average guy. He can look at it and it's not out of his reach. Some show cars are so pristine, so perfect. I'm very happy ... it's exceeded all expectations.”Godfrey says he only finished the one-tonner at Christmas, so hasn't taken it out much.But he also uses the ute for special occasions such as weddings and says it's not rare for people to follow him and pull over when seeing it.After MotorEx, he will race the car for the first time since the final rebuild.While his wife understands how much dedication is involved and appreciates the car, Godfrey says she is “pretty much over it at this point”, especially since they now have a 12-month-old daughter.So as you can expect for a new father, there aren't any more projects around the corner for the motoring enthusiast.“Not at this stage, one's enough. I'd have to get a divorce,” he jokes.Snapshot1972 HQ Holden One-TonnerOwner: Rob GodfreyEngine: 655 cubic inch big block Chev engine, 895kW at the motor, 730kW at the wheels where you can see it: MotorEx, at Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush Bay this weekend.Highlights: 27 street machines, hot rods and hi-tech tuners will compete in the Meguiars Superstar finals and more than 500 hot rods, street machines, performance and classic cars, valued at more than $60 million are on show.