Holden Monaro News

Holden Special Vehicles has launched two new models, revealing the ClubSport R8 Tourer and W427 Showcar to the Sydney audience. But there are also a couple of milestones for the brand, celebrating 20 years of the brand and 40 years of the first Australian Gran Turismo Sportivo (GTS).First appearing on a HK Monaro in 1968, the GTS nameplate has been part of the HSV lexicon since its return to the market in 1992 in the form of the 200kW VP GTS and has since been the hero car-line for the high performance car company.To commemorate 40 years of GTS, just 100 specially released models will be built, with black heritage stripes, tyre pressure monitors and a commemorative '40 years of GTS' logo embedded on the headrest, brake calliper, sill plate and rear panel.Priced from $80,170, the 40 years of GTS is only available in Sting Red and Heron White.Meanwhile a new Senator Signature SV08 introduces a new Tremec TR6060 manual gearbox to the range, which will become standard across the HSV line-up later this month.Twenty years on from the SV88, Holden Special Vehicles has released a limited run of 50 HSV Senator Signature SV08s.The luxury SV08 receives exclusive lower paint-outs, sill plates and additional chrome accenting on the side mirrors and door handles, along with 20-inch alloys.  Available in Nitrate (Silver), Sting Red and Voodoo (Blue), production is limited to 20 manual and 30 automatic versions priced from $82,700.HSV has also got its hands on the Holden Sportwagon and created the ClubSport R8 Tourer, HSV’s first wagon since the all-wheel drive 2003 Avalanche.Powered by HSV’s LS3 engine producing 317kW and 550Nm, the manual R8 Tourer is priced from $65,990 which is a $1000 premium over the ClubSport sedan.HSV has also brought to Sydney the W427 showcar finished in the same Panorama Silver as the original Group A SS VL Commodore, aka Walkinshaw. The modern day Walkinshaw 427 is powered by a 7.0-litre V8 engine with 500hp, that’s hand built at  GM’s Performance Build Centre in Detroit. The W427 retails for $155,500.

The share market is shot, superannuation is in “negative growth” whatever that means, house prices are dropping alarmingly and interest rates look like falling. Where can you make an honest investment dollar these days? Well, art has some attraction but the numbers involved would make plenty of people tremble in their boots.What about collectable classic cars?We have all heard the stories about the six figure Falcon GTHOs and Monaros not forgetting the European thoroughbred classics, some of which go for multi-million dollar prices.But what if you're just an average punter and want to get in on the action.Take a look at Japanese collectable cars - is the advice coming from those in the know.This is because they have the potential for increased value from a relatively low base. And depending on the car (and luck) you could have a tidy little nest egg in the garage, one that you can take out and actually enjoy at your discretion.Christophe Boribon is the National Auction Manager for Shannons Auctions and he has some firm ideas on what cars are good buying with potential appreciation and those that are dead certainties.Chris' named the Toyota 2000GT as the most collectable classic Japanese car in Australia because of its rarity (only eight imported) and the specification of the car. He says a good one will go for between $2-300,000.Hardly accessible to the average punter.But other cars from most Japanese manufacturers operating here are shaping up well at the auctions and as long term prospects.Mazda's 1960s R100 coupe is worth a look at 10 grand according to Chris' as is the original, glass back RX7.“The RX3 is also good buying at $25-35,000 if you can get a good one and it should appreciate if looked after,” Chris' said.”Then there is the late '90s twin-turbo RX7 and RX7 SP - a locally fettled hotrod that will appreciate because it was a low volume performance car.”“You will pay big dollars for a Mazda Cosmo (up to 100 grand) but the first MX5 is a good proposition for not much money.” He said the SP versions of the later MX5 will be worth more in the long run and even the Japanese turbo model, the SE, should appreciate over time.Toyota has a few potentially collectable models including the late '60s Celica RA23 and TA23 models as well as the rear drive Sprinter 1.6. Celica GT4s should also be good buying if you can find one that hasn't been raced. Honda's most collectable car is the NSX but Chris' says the first S2000 sports cars are worth a look if you can get one that hasn't been thrashed. The tiny S600 and S800 sports cars are good property and even the quad headlight Integra TypeR could appreciate given time.Any Mitsubishi Lancer Evo in reasonable road condition will be worth a punt as a collectable particularly the Evo 6.5 Makinen edition. And if you can get hold of a twin turbo GTO 3000 (non-factory import) it should be a solid investment.Nissan has plenty of collectable cars dating right back to the 1960s. Think Datsun Fairlady sports cars, Datsun 240Z and 260Z coupes and of course the R32 Skyline GTR Godzilla Bathurst winning car - (Australian spec) of which only 100 were imported by the factory. You'll pay about $35,000 for Godzilla these days and it's on the way up for a decent standard one.Subaru has a couple of collectable cars too, the SVX coupe 3.3-litre flat six all-wheel-drive has possibilities and the 22B two door Impreza WRX STi for which you'll pay about $100,000 and going up.Good luck. 

The mystery buyer of the most expensive Australian-made car is a Cairns car collector who was wearing shorts and thongs when he did the record-breaking deal.The businessman, who goes by the nickname Chooka, made national headlines in April when he paid $920,000 for a Holden Monaro.Other collectors have offered him more but he won't sell. The HRT 427, one of only two made, has quietly arrived in the Far North and has been hidden away in a warehouse.In an exclusive interview with Carsguide, Chooka revealed details of the deal as well as other aspects of his multi-million dollar vehicle collection of more than 50 cars and 60 motorbikes. For security and safety reasons he has declined to have his real name identified, but the 41-year-old is well known in collector circles and by senior motor industry officials.Chooka made headlines in April when he wandered into a Sydney showroom wearing shorts and thongs and bought the car, one of two built in 2002 to showcase Holden and HSV's engineering prowess.The other is in Holden's concept car collection and is not for sale. It cannot be driven, but Chooka's can. The registered vehicle features Kevlar fittings, has a 427kW 7.0-litre V8 and race brakes to haul it down from a top speed of 299km/h.It has a roll cage, special racing seats, fuel system, alloy wheels, push button start, six point harness seats, a Motec instrumentation system, a hand made boot spoiler made of Kevlar and aluminium. It is finished in Sting Red and the build number is ED (Experimental Development) 0001, August 12, 2002. It was built to rival Porsche's track-focused 911 GT2.Chooka is a Monaro fanatic and has been told he has the finest and most valuable collection in Australia.“I've got more than 20 of them, from the first ones in 1968 through to the last one in 2006,” he said. There are HK, HT, HG, HQ, HJ and HX Monaros. He has the last HSV GTS Monaro to come off the production line. As well, there are limited edition models.The HRT 427 is probably the most famous and valuable. It was first unveiled at the 2002 Sydney Motor Show and was expected to sell for $215,000. There was a huge response but Holden Special Vehicles abandoned the project because they would have lost money on the cars.Already, Chooka has turned down substantially more than what he paid for the car. None of his cars is for sale. While he rarely drives his Monaros, he took his dad for a spin in the HRT 427. His wife and five children were taken for laps around Eastern Creek in the car at Easter.He has been collecting rare cars for about four years but has amassed a collection scattered around the Far North in about six premises.Chooka, who has a building industry manufacturing plant, said plans were under way to build a museum, a fully operating garage and a race track on the outskirts of Cairns to house the collection.“I don't deem these cars as an asset. It's a passion,” he said. 

General Motors will celebrate 60 years of producing Holden cars in November but the reality is the first Australian-built 48-215 (FX) Holden rolled off the assembly line in April 1948.In secret, Holden ran off 10 cars at Fishermens Bend that April to clear the line in readiness for full production in November.Full production at that time was 112 cars in a month.When the big day came, on November 29, 1200 men and women, including Prime Minister Ben Chifley, stood around an ivory FX.The car appeared from behind silver curtains to the sounds of a 10-piece orchestra and was greeted with enthusiastic applause.This was the first production-run Holden, Australia's own six-cylinder, successful mass produced car.Holden's story goes back to James Alexander Holden, then 17, who arrived in South Australia from Staffordshire, England, in 1852.In 1856 he started a shop in King William St, Adelaide, as a leather worker and saddle maker.By 1885 the company was repairing and eventually building horse-drawn carriages and coaches a common beginning for many car companies.In 1924, GM took an interest in Holden and struck a contract for the company to build vehicle bodies, for GM only.When World War II started to wind down in 1943, along with GM Holden's military contracts, Holden revived a plan for an Aussie car.Engineers started designing Project 2000 and in 1944 the first prototype was completed using Willys mechanicals. Later that year, GM Corporation approved the project.In 1945 design work started on the Australian project in the US, and Project 2000 continued, becoming Project 2200.The following year Holden engineers were sent to Detroit with their ideas, styling models and drawings and they linked with their US counterparts.They produced three handmade working prototypes, virtually identical to the car intended for production and in late 1946 the cars were shipped to Fishermens Bend, accompanied by the Aussie design team and 22 American technicians.These Detroit-built cars were tested extensively on Australia's rough dirt roads outside Melbourne and, as a result, modifications were made to the steering and suspension.No doubt our roads then, as now, were inferior to America's flat track tarmacs.Then Holden would take on the best of British the Austin A40 which was Australia's best selling car in 1948.This Aussie icon was powered by a 2.15-litre six, the much revered and reliable 'grey motor' boasting a whole 45kW of power, with a three-on-the-tree manual gear shifter.It weighed less than a ton and could do 129km/h and return 48km to the gallon.The price was $1466.There were 120,402 FXs built and perhaps the most visual FX in Australia is the pink FX which could be found in the Gold Coast, it is half buried on the first floor of an ancient wrecking yard office facing the Pacific Highway at Reedy Creek.Each day thousands of vehicles pass the Gold Coast Auto Wreckers yard, owned by Will Smith.Smith said he got the car from Olivia's Malt Shop at Surfers Paradise where it was on display and where staff on roller-skates served patrons.Gold Coast historian Alex McRobbie recalled the shop being just south of Surfers Paradise on the beach side of the Gold Coast Highway. 

Australia's first $1 million car could change hands before the end of the year.Bidding on rare and exotic Fords and Holdens has already seen prices top $900,000. The record stands at $920,000 paid for one of only two HRT 427 Monaro coupes last month.The Holden result surpasses the $750,000 paid for a Ford Falcon GTHO Phase 3 last year.Several low-key shoppers are still lurking, looking to spend $1 million or more for a Phase 3 with proven Bathurst race history.Holden fans are also spending big. Canowindra car dealer Charlie McCarron recently refused a $900,000 bid for a 48-215, which he has pegged at $1.2 million.And now Phil Munday, who has the oldest Holden in private hands — No.19 in the 48-215 production run — as well as a collection of other early-model humpies, is hoping he will be the one to crack the magic million.“I'd like to be the first to get $1 million for an Australian car. I probably have a couple that are worth that much,” Munday says.“I reckon the Goodwood car we built for Peter Brock to race in Britain in 2006 could make it. It was the last car he raced, in September of that year.”Chris Bowden, who sold the 427 Monaro from the Classic Throttle Shop in Sydney and has intimate knowledge of the multi-million-dollar Bowden Collection owned by his father in Queensland, believes a $1 million deal is just a question of time.“It will either be a good, proven race car or a classic old-timer — something from the track with the Brock or Moffat name attached,” Bowden says.“You just need the right car, with the right driver, with bulletproof provenance. For sure, we could get $1 million for the Peter Brock A9X from '78 that is in the Bowden Collection. And we have the '79 Bathurst winner, but we wouldn't even entertain an offer for that.”Bowden says there is a lot of talk about the $1 million milestone, particularly after his latest sale.The 427 Monaro sold to a Queenslander who goes only by the nickname “Chooka.”The Queenslander has one of each Monaro model since the 1960s and was very keen to add the HRT 427, which was one of only two prototypes built before the business plan for a full-scale production run of 50 cars collapsed when the probable showroom price surpassed $200,000.The Canowindra car is still for sale and McCarron hopes it will make more than $1 million.It is a black 48-215 and one of only 112 Holdens sold in 1948. McCarron bought it for $575 in 1970 with the deluxe option pack; leather trim, safety wheel rims and a passenger's side sunvisor.It still has only 35,000 kilometres on the dial.But Munday believes his cars are better, even if he has no solid plans for a sale.“I have No.19, which has to be worth more than $1 million, but I'm not selling it,” he says.“Then again, if I were offered $1 million I might change my mind. It would be good to be the first.” 

After months of speculation and secrecy, the VE-based Coupe Holden that rolled on to the stand is little more than an engineering tweak

Specialist car builder and former racer Erich Bitter has been using General Motors cars for some time and from this month is making a performance Bitter Vero model from a Statesman donor.Holden exports variants of the VE and WM sedan ranges around the world, mainly as Chevrolets and Pontiacs.However, GM Holden media relations national manager John Lindsay said Bitter bought the cars directly from them."I believe he was a friend of (former Holden boss and now GM Europe's product planning head) Peter Hannenberger which is how the relationship was established," he said."We just sell him the cars and he then customises them and resells. We don't get involved in the tech or design side."At the 2003 Geneva Motor Show, Bitter displayed a Holden Monaro/Pontiac GTO based coupe, called the CD II.However, the prototype, which was rumoured to have a V12 engine, never went into production.Bitter this year took the wraps off his Statesman-based Bitter Vero in his former hometown of Schwelm. The company also unveiled a new philosophy, 'Bitter Horsepower.'Under the sculpted hood sits GM's six-litre V8 engine, which produces 270kW of power.The all-aluminium power plant is mated to a four-speed automatic and from May 2008 a six speed automatic will be an option.The biggest visible modification is the new nose with a large, low-mounted grille and massive Bitter logo.Bitter has also modified the suspension, brakes and interior.The Vero can only be ordered directly from Bitter in Germany where it will cost almost as much as a Maserati Quattroporte. 

Car enthusiast Scott Sommer could not believe his luck when he picked up this classic 1969 Monaro for what he considers a song.The 37-year-old sheetmetal worker paid $30,000 for the Holden Monaro HT GTS 350 Coupe.It might seem a lot, but not when you ponder the price tag he has slapped on the steel beast with a thumping V8 engine; $200,000.“I don't really want to sell it,” Mr Sommer said yesterday. “But I've just bought a new house and I was hoping it could be a mortgage-buster.”Why the hefty mark-up?“One recently sold at auction for $200,000, and so I thought I'd put mine on the market to see what I could get for it,” he said.“But I'm in two minds about selling it."“I've got a gravel road up to my house, and I don't want to ruin the car. It's a beautiful car, the best I've ever owned.”Mr Sommer's love affair with the classic Aussie muscle car started by chance five years ago.“I contacted the Monaro club in Victoria hoping to get a 308 Monaro, and they put me onto a bloke who had a 350,” he said.“I couldn't believe it, and I had the money at the time so I bought it."“I was just awfully lucky, that's the only way I can put it.”The Monaro, which has an original 350 engine, which was used in General Motors' marketing campaign to launch the modern version of the Monaro in 2001.It was even driven by the late Peter Brock in demonstration laps at Bathurst that year.The GTS 350 Coupe is catnip to lovers of classic vehicles and Sommer is used to the lasting glances he gets while driving the car.“People come up and ask me lots of questions about the car, which gets a little exhausting . . . but it's nice,” he said.   Would you spend $200,000 on a classic car or spend just a little bit extra on a brand new car like an Aston Martin?   

A fully restored Sebring Orange 1969 Monaro GTS 350 coupe sold at auction for $200,000 this week.It was the highest price paid for the 32 cars on offer at the Shannons 2007 Australian International Motor Show Auction.Second best was a low-mileage 1972 LJ Torana XU-1 finished in Lone Orange that went for $143,000.The sales follow a similar auction in September when a record $450,000 was paid for a 37-year-old XW Ford Falcon GTHO.The V8 muscle car was bought for $4933.25 on April 24, 1970, in Mackay.When the car came up for sale again on at the Shannons Auction it was passed in at $620,000.The immaculate Monza Green 1971 XY was expected to beat the $683,650 record price, which a Queensland buyer paid for a similar car earlier this year.Owner Steve Ribarevski, 30, is still confident the muscle car classic will sell on the private market.He bought the fully-restored GTHO for $200,000 three years ago saying it was a promise he had made to himself years earlier.“I was told by everyone at the time that I was the biggest goose in town for paying that much money for the car but I had promised myself I would own one before I was 30,” he said.“I don't look that silly any more.”It could even turn up at the first Shannons auction, which is to be held at a Brisbane Motor Show next February.Shannons Queensland business development manager Philip Ross; said the auction was the beginning of what he hoped would be the first of many auctions in Queensland.“Generally speaking if a car is passed in at auction it turns up at the next one, so the GTHO could be there,” he said.“We're looking at having about 30 cars at the show."“I've been out west and had a look in some of the sheds at the stuff that may come out of the woodwork."“I'm thinking that we know there is a lot of interesting stuff in Queensland that owners weren't prepared to send to Melbourne or Sydney auctions, but may send to Brisbane because it's closer to home."“I have no idea of what we have so far, but we like to have a good cross-section of vehicles.”The auction vehicles will be on display at the show from February 1-10 with the auction at 2pm on the Sunday.The last Shannons Auction held reached a record $3.75 million with $2.64 million achieved for the 62 number plates; and more than $1.1 million paid for the eclectic mix of Australian; US muscle cars as well as American and European classics on offer.It was the best result achieved by Shannons in a combined single day sale in the company's 26-year history of classic auctions.It was beaten only by the $4.1 million achieved in last year's RTA plate auction at the 2006 Australian Internation Motor Show. The highest single sale of the auction was $245,000 paid for the right to display the early NSW number plate 78.Personalised Plates Queensland also holds an annual plate auction on the Wednesday of the Brisbane Motor Show, last year raising more than $531,000 for the Road Safety Fund of Queensland.  Does it make sense to waste your life savings on a 30-year-old car when for the same money you can buy 13 brand new Holden Barinas?   

It is fitting that GM-Holden's engineering guru, Tony Hyde, drives the car that best represents his work; a 2006 Holden Monaro CV8.Hyde and his department were responsible for the modern reincarnation of the venerable Monaro coupe, the modern version of which started as a concept car at the 1998 Australian International Motor Show.As GM-Holden's executive director, engineering, for the past seven years, Hyde has been responsible for some of Holden's most exciting products; Monaro among them.Now, after 39 years' service he will vacate his engineering role to retire at the end of the year.“It was an outstanding project and experience,” he says of the Monaro.Boasting an annual engineering budget of more than $300 million and counting 1250 people on the engineering staff, Hyde hopes he'll be remembered most for allowing his staff the freedom to push the boundaries.“From a management point or leadership point of view, I think I've tried to let the team push the boundaries and, to a certain extent, the Monaro was a bit of that,” he says.“I think that the people who have worked for me have hopefully enjoyed the amount of freedom I've given them."“From a project point of view, I'd say the work I've done on the original disc brakes for Holdens back in the mid-1970s ranks as a piece of work as an engineer that I remember fondly.”Hyde's brake work actually appeared on the Torana A9X concept car from the 1970s.With the new VE Commodore and WM Statesman and Caprice models now bedding in and the arrival of the just-launched VE Ute, Hyde says it's time to go.“I'm 60 in February and I just really think it's about time,” he says. “We're getting to the point of saddling up for the next all-new products and I'm certainly not going to be here for that so I think it's appropriate for new leadership for the team.”The quietly spoken Hyde started with Holden in July 1968; as a technical report writer in experimental engineering.His most favourite Holden is, perhaps not surprisingly, the latest VE Commodore and WM Statesman.“It's perhaps trite to say that but I would, on the basis it is 100 per cent Australian,” he says. “They are our technical tour de force."“However, the VM (Commodore) enabled us to break away from the copies of European vehicles and we were able to get back to the large cars we previously did.”Hyde has held several positions with the company within its engineering organisation, including three overseas postings.Early in his career he had a two-year scholarship to General Motors' Institute in Michigan in 1971; where he was subsequently awarded an overseas fellowship with GM.This was followed a few years later by a two-year assignment with Opel in Germany.After a brief interlude in 1984 in the role of manager, technical services, Hyde was promoted to chassis transmission and drivetrain engineer, which led to the role of manager, mechanical engineering in 1986.In recent years Hyde has expanded the breadth of his portfolio within Holden in other engineering and planning roles.In August 1997 he was promoted to the position of director, engineering and design, at GM Holden before taking on his current position as executive director, engineering, in 2000.One of his tasks has been to take Holden engineering to the GM world, by making Holden responsible for rear-drive platforms for GM.In 2002, he was also appointed to the Holden Special Vehicles board.Apart from his jet-black Monaro, Hyde also has a 1976 Chevrolet Corvette in his garage to tinker with in retirement.When he's not driving on the road, he'll be on the golf course trying to better his 3.5 handicap.Hyde will be replaced by Greg Tyus, who is currently general director, engineering and product planning, at GM Canada.Tyus will begin transitioning into his new position next month.