This is the legend that designed the last classic Monaro

You may not know it, but Leo Pruneau moulded and shaped the majority of Holden’s range in the 1970s.

By using his wealth of experience from his time at General Motors and Vauxhall, and as Chief Stylist for the Holden range, he gave the Australian market cars like the LX Torana, the VB Commodore, and the WB Statesman Caprice.

From the 70-odd students that began the class, only two went on to complete the course and receive a job at GM. Pruneau was one of those students, and the other was long time GM Designer Wayne Cherry.

Leo started out at GM in Michigan in the US in 1961, and was offered a role at Vauxhall in the UK in 1964. It was in the UK that he designed the Vauxhall XVR concept (pictured), a sleek and modern sports car which sadly never made it into production. Pruneau was offered a senior role at Holden, and moved to Australia in 1969. In the next 14 years he would help shape some of the most iconic cars ever built in this country. 

His vision for what Australians wanted was crystal clear, and his skill and experience literally shaped the cars we grew up with.

The HX LE Coupe - possibly Pruneau’s most well-known design - was one of the most unique cars available on the market in the late 1970s. Whilst it was never ‘officially’ named a Monaro, it was always considered as one by the car enthusiast community – and was the last of the real, classic Monaros built. The LE featured gold honeycomb styled rims (care of Pontiac), red velour and tartan trim, walnut veneer dash and gold body pin striping. All were fully-loaded with power steering, power windows, air-conditioning, and finished in a lavish metallic red duco. All 580 cars built were fitted with the 308cid V8 and three-speed automatic transmission. 

“What many people don’t know is that the LE was inspired by a Pontiac prototype that I’d seen in the USA, which was fitted with a Ferrari V12 engine,” recalls Pruneau.

Pruneau has fond memories of many concept cars and show cars he designed and built in the '70s. “Old man emu was a car I remember well. We’d put ‘350’ decals all over it, but the truth was it was actually fitted with a 400ci big block V8 - I didn’t want the guys at Ford to know what we were up to!” he explained. Pruneau had a friendly rivalry with Edsel Ford II, and had challenged him to design a muscle car for an upcoming motorshow. 

The most exciting project that Leo Pruneau was involved in at Holden was the LJ XU-1 V8. 

“Harry Firth had his test car, plus we built three prototypes based on a stock GTR XU-1. The cars were put together in a small area that had restricted access, it was top secret. I checked in on the build every other day, and remember the three cars were pink, orange, and dark green. We’d pretty much finished the cars, and were taking our lunch break on the day that Evan Green article was run (the infamous ‘Supercar Scare’ headline in 1972). By the time we finished our lunch, the project was stopped – dead. The cars disappeared, and nobody knew where they ended up. I later found out they’d hidden them at the Lang Lang safety centre, where they were put back to their original specifications and sold off.”

After 14 years with GMH, Leo moved back to the US in 1983 and got involved in the small car category, working on joint projects with Toyota, Suzuki, and Isuzu. He retired in 1988 and immediately moved back to Australia, where he has lived ever since. 

“I loved Australia, and couldn’t wait to get back. My last day was a Friday, and I was on the Qantas first thing Saturday!”

Source: Survivor Car Australia

What do you think of Pruneau's designs? What's the most iconic Holden design in your eyes? Tell us what you think in the comments below.