Mark Fogarty
IT COULD have been very different. Had an ironic twist of fate not intervened, the Torana A9X wouldn’t have been Holden’s last official homologation special. A Super Commodore version of the original
VB model was not only proposed, but a prototype was actually built. The idea was to go head-to-head with Ford’s 351 cubic inch V8-powered XD Falcon on the racetrack and the road with a Chevrolet 350 V8-propelled high-performance Commodore.
The factory-fit small-block Chevy would have been accompanied by A9X-style flared fender extensions, front and rear spoilers, and bonnet scoop penned by legendary Holden designer Leo Pruneau. Of course, a VB Commodore with the 5.7litre Chev V8 never happened. The all-Australian Holden 308 (slightly shrunk to 304 ci/4.9-litres in ’85 for the international Group A rules) remained the biggest motor until replaced in the mid-1999 VT II by the imported Gen III 5.7-litre Chevy. But the fact that a big-engined VB could have come off the then Dandenong production line in Melbourne back in 1980 is an untold story.
Denne historien er fra November 2017-utgaven av MOTOR Magazine Australia.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Denne historien er fra November 2017-utgaven av MOTOR Magazine Australia.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Ged Bulmer
THE ACCOMPANYING YARN WAS A RIB TICKLER, BUT THE SUITS AT PORSCHE DIDN'T SEE IT THAT WAY
Dylan Campbell
WE WERE LIVING THE DREAM. WE ALL WANTED TO WORK FOR MOTOR AS TEENAGERS
HONDA NSX
Honda's alloy missile - a friendly firecracker
TESLA MODEL S
Looking back on the automobile's iPhone moment | TESLA AIMS TO ELEVATE THE ELECTRIC CAR FROM INTRIGUING CURIOUSITY TO A VIABLE MEANS OF EVERYDAY TRANSPORT
PORSCHE 959
Weissach rethinks the supercar
PCOTY LEGENDS - 1996-2022
HOW THE ANNUAL QUEST FOR AUSTRALIA'S BEST PERFORMANCE CARS HAS DELIVERED A ROLL CALL OF EXCELLENCE
THE UNDEFEATED
HONDA'S FK8 CIVIC TYPE R IS OUR LINEAL CHAMP, WINNING EVERY MOTOR COMPARISON AS WELL AS BOTH PERFORMANCE CAR OF THE YEAR AND BANG FOR YOUR BUCKS. WE PAY OUR RESPECTS WITH A FINAL DRIVE IN THE END-OF-THE-LINE LE SPECIAL
THESE ARE OUR PEOPLE
IN A CULTURE OVERFLOWING WITH POSERS AND TRY-HARDS, WE FIND A HAVEN FOR THOSE THAT LOVE DRIVING ABOVE ALL ELSE
OPEN WIDE, SAY R
VOLKSWAGEN'S GOLF R LANDS IN AUSTRALIA AND IT ALREADY HAS THE SWAGGER OF A GIANTKILLER ABOUT IT. WE LINE UP SOME ASYMMETRIC ALTERNATIVES TO SEE IF THE GOLF HAS THEIR RESPECTIVE TALENTS COVERED
SING FOR YOUR DINNER
As the motoring world undergoes seismic shifts in focus, Rob Dickinson's vision for Singer remains clear
