Commodore Magnum, Motorsport, and Director, a roaring adieu to 40-years of Oz production.
Today, Holden pulled the wraps of what may just be the most hotly-anticipated limited-run cars in its history. The cars in question were Commodores, packing strong V8s, and were designed to commemorate the end its 40-years of local production.
The Commodore, a name and a brand that has been in production since 1978, will leave Australia in the fourth quarter of this year, as it will be replaced by a fully-imported, German-built model, based on the Opel Insignia. As a result of the (economically sound) decision to end local Holden production, the company saw it fit to go out with a bang. Or three, with the Commodore Magnum Ute, Motorsport saloon, and Director saloon providing a V8 soundtrack to the end of local manufacturing.
Prices start at $59,290 for the Magnum Ute manual, while a six-speed automatic is available at $61,490. A mere 240 Magnums will find Australian homes, with 200 being publically-available, and 40 available exclusively to Holden dealers and employees. 51 more units will be built exclusively for the New Zealand market.
The Motorsport Edition is next up the list, with only 1,200 examples slated for Australian availability: 1,000 for the public, and 200 for Holden employees and dealers. 151 will find homes in New Zealand. Prices will start at $61,790 for the manual, while an additional $2,000 will bag you an automatic.
Lastly, sitting at the top of the pile, is the Director. Available only as an automatic, the Director will boast a retail price of $63,990. 51 cars will be sent to New Zealand (because ’51’ was the number Greg Murphy raced under), 250 will be sold to the public, and 110 will be made available to Holden dealers and staff.
The Director is named to commemorate the HDT VL Director of 1987, the polarising car that saw the demise of Holden Dealer Team and its Special Vehicles, and the severing of the relationship between racing legend Peter Brock and Holden. The Director is so named as Holden reckons it embodies the vision that Brock had for the HDT Director, capturing the “ultimate blend of performance and luxury.”
The three tributes are powered by a 304kW/570Nm LS3 V8 that has already seen use in the VFII Commodore, but the power plants have received a raft of updates to make them a little more special. There have been revisions to the mechanical architecture of the cars too, to make them more agile and durable, and also to differentiate them visually from the rest of the range.
Holden product marketing general manager Ben Lasry said, “We have tried to do a bit of a ‘tip of the hat’ to the locally-built Commodore. This is for all the enthusiasts, the customers, the advocates who have been such a big part of the Commodore story for nearly 40 years. We really wanted to make sure they are the best Commodore drivers’ cars that have ever been built.”
The saloons make history for Holden, being the first manufacturer-badged Commodores to come with four-mode magnetic ride control suspension (something that HSV has offered for some time), controlled by a dial. Range-standards include upgraded Brembo cross-drilled brake rotors all round, an engine & transmission cooling package that allows all three cars to enjoy ‘Level 3’ track performance requirements by General Motors. The Motorsport Edition gains a unique high-rate sear sub-frame bush, designed to improve driver confidence in corners and under braking.
The Magnum ute doesn’t get MRC due to underbody clearance issues. Instead, it gets a softer-tuned passive FE3 suspension (like the Commodore ute). All three cars get heated ‘performance’ seats up front, an embroidered instrument panel, decals and badges smattered around the car, individual vehicle numbering, a lip spoiler, and a unique option code. Motorsports Editions are given the code ‘KOM’ (for ‘King of the Mountain,’ another Peter Brock nod), the Magnum gets ‘UTE,’ and the Director gets billed ‘DIR.’
The Motorsports Edition can be singled out from the pack with its red details, like the daytime running light surrounds, mirror caps, and red wheel detailing. The ‘KOM’ also gets a bigger rear wing, and comes with a 1:18-scale Biante model car. The Director gets paddle-shifters and bonnet vents, while the Magnum gains a hard tonneau cover.
There’s also one very special option available for all three of these cars, and it bears the product code ‘NOPD.’ No, it doesn’t make you immune to the police: ‘NOPD’ stands for ‘No Pre-Delivery,’ aimed squarely at customers who intend to keep their limited-edition Commodores in storage. These cars will be delivered to customers with plastic on the seat covers, body-panel protective covers, logo covers, door-sill plastic protectors, and floor-protection where it sits. This should help ensure that a ‘kept Commodore’ will be still be in showroom condition for generations to come.
All owners get a unique commemorative presentation case, replete with a small video screen featuring professionally-shot photographs of their cars.
We believe that this is a fitting swan-song for the locally-built Commodore, likely being the last of V8, rear-driven models to bear the evocative name, as the Opel Insignia-based model comes in next year. We propose that a trio of these cars leave some elevenses outside the Holden plants.
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