The Holden HQ series is a range of

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

s that was produced by

Holden Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. Founded in Adelaide, it was an automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter that sold cars under its own marque in Australia. It was ...

in Australia from 1971 to 1974. The HQ was released on 15 July 1971, replacing the

Holden HG The Holden HG is an automobile which was produced by Holden in Australia between 1970 and 1971. It was marketed under Belmont, Kingswood, Premier, Brougham and Monaro model names. Introduction The Holden HG range was introduced on 26 July ...

series. It was the first ground-up redesign of the Holden line since its original release in 1948, and included an all-new body, chassis, and suspension. The HQ was later developed into a series of successor models, finally ending production when the WB series was discontinued in 1985.

Model range

The mainstream HQ passenger car range consisted of four-door sedan and five-door

station wagon A station wagon (American English, US, also wagon) or estate car (British English, UK, also estate) is an automotive Car body style, body-style variant of a Sedan (automobile), sedan with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo ...

models in three trim levels. *

Holden Belmont Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. Founded in Adelaide, it was an automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter that sold cars under its own marque in Australia. It was h ...

sedan *

Holden Kingswood The Holden Kingswood is a full-size car that was developed and manufactured in Australia by Holden, from the beginning of the #HK, HK series in 1968 through to the conclusion of the #WB, WB series in 1985. Prior to 1968, the full-size Holden ra ...

sedan *

Holden Premier The Holden Premier is an automobile that was produced by Holden for Australasia between 1962 and 1980. The Premier was an upmarket version of the: * Holden Standard/Special: between 1962 and 1968. * Holden Belmont/Kingswood: between 1968 and ...

sedan * Holden Belmont station wagon * Holden Kingswood station wagon * Holden Premier station wagon The long wheelbase luxury model, "Statesman by GMH" consisted of one body style (four-door sedan) and was available in two trim levels. * Statesman * Statesman Deville A Holden SS sedan was released in August 1972. Although marketed as a separate model in reality it was a Belmont V8 sedan fitted with the XV2 option package. Darwin, p. 260 The Monaro range initially consisted only of two-door

coupe A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and typically with two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the Fr ...

s. Darwin, p. 258 *

Holden Monaro The Holden Monaro ( ) is a car that was manufactured by General Motors' Australian division Holden. It has a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout and was produced with a two-door coupé body from 1968 to 1976 and again from 2001 to 2006 and wit ...

* Holden Monaro GTS * Holden Monaro GTS 350 * Holden Monaro LS Two four-door sedan variants of the Monaro GTS were released in March 1973 and similarly to the SS the new sports sedans were a special vehicle package optioned on a lesser model, in this case on a V8 Kingswood sedan. Option XV4 was the HQ GTS sedan. Option XW8 was the HQ GTS350 sedan. The commercial vehicle range included

coupe utility A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and typically with two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the Fr ...

panel van A panel van, also known as a delivery van (United Kingdom), blind van, car-derived van or sedan delivery (United States), is a small cargo vehicle with a passenger car chassis, typically with a single front bench seat and no side windows behind ...

and

cab chassis truck A chassis cab, also called a cab chassis or half truck, is a type of vehicle construction, often found in medium duty truck commercial vehicles. Instead of supplying the customer with a factory pre-assembled flatbed, cargo container, or other e ...

models. * Holden Belmont utility * Holden Kingswood utility * Holden Belmont panel van *

Holden One Tonner The Holden Kingswood is a full-size car that was developed and manufactured in Australia by Holden, from the beginning of the HK series in 1968 through to the conclusion of the WB series in 1985. Prior to 1968, the full-size Holden range of f ...

The One Tonner, which was new for the HQ series, was a

. A Sandman option, which was offered on utility and panel van models from January 1974, included various "sports" items from the Monaro GTS. File:Holden Kingswood (1971-1974 HQ series) 02.jpg, Holden Kingswood sedan File:1971-1974 Holden HQ Kingswood station wagon 02.jpg, Holden Kingswood wagon File:1974 Holden Belmont (HQ) sedan (24473333134).jpg, Holden Belmont sedan File:1972 Holden Belmont (HQ) (8514438037).jpg, Holden Belmont sedan File:1973 Holden Belmont (HQ) station wagon (28618244421).jpg, Holden Belmont wagon File:HQ Holden Belmont - 1.jpg, Holden Belmont utility File:Holden Premier (1971-1974 HQ series) 01.jpg, Holden Premier sedan File:Holden HQ Premier (15560722699).jpg, Holden Premier sedan File:1974 Holden HQ Premier station wagon (7762902750).jpg, Holden Premier wagon (with non-standard wheels) File:1974 Holden Belmont (HQ) Sandman panel van (20569532468).jpg, Holden Belmont Sandman panel van File:1974 Holden Belmont (HQ) Sandman panel van (20570824639).jpg, Holden Belmont Sandman panel van File:1971-1974 Holden Monaro (HQ) coupe (2015-08-29).jpg, Holden Monaro File:1971 HQ Duchess Gold LS

.JPG, Holden Monaro LS File:Holden HQ Monaro LS c.1971-74 (Australia) (16795528742).jpg, Holden Monaro LS File:1972 Holden HQ Monaro Coupe (16653522298).jpg, Holden Monaro GTS coupe File:1973 Holden HQ Monaro GTS 308 Sedan (22442670655).jpg, Holden Monaro GTS sedan File:Holden HQ SS (15092560445).jpg, Holden SS sedan

Engines

The two inline six cylinder engines from the HG range were carried over to the HQ, but were enlarged to and .Holden HQ sales brochure, January 1972 The - marketed later as 4.2 liters, (

Holden V8 engine The Holden V8 engine, also known colloquially as the Iron Lion, is an overhead valve (OHV) V8 engine that was produced by the Australian General Motors subsidiary, Holden (GMH), between 1969 and 2000. The engine was initially fitted to the H ...

s) and (

Chevrolet small-block engine The Chevrolet small-block engine refers to one of the several Gasoline engine, gasoline-powered vehicle engines manufactured by General Motors. These include: * The first or second generation of Chevrolet small-block engine (first- and second-gener ...

) V8's were also carried over.

Production

Production of the HQ range totalled 485,650 vehiclesHolden HQ Technical Specifications
Retrieved from uniquecarsandparts.com.au on 24 February 2010 prior to its replacement by the

Holden HJ The Holden HJ is a series of automobiles which were produced by Holden in Australia from 1974 to 1976. The HJ series was released on 4 October 1974 and was an improved and facelifted version of the superseded Holden HQ series which had been in p ...

series in October 1974.

Davis Davis may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Davis (Antarctica) * Davis Island (Palmer Archipelago) * Davis Station, an Australian base and research outpost in the Vestfold Hills * Davis Valley, Queen Elizabeth Land Canada * Davis, Sa ...

, p. 156 Holden HQ series cars were produced at GMH plants in Adelaide (

Elizabeth, South Australia Elizabeth is an outer northern suburb of the Adelaide metropolitan area, South Australia, 24 km north of the Adelaide city centre. It is located in the City of Playford. At the 2021 census, Elizabeth had a population of 40,343. Establi ...

), Melbourne (

Dandenong, Victoria Dandenong ( ) is a southeastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, about from the Melbourne CBD. It is the council seat of the City of Greater Dandenong local government area, with a recorded population of 30,127 at the . Situated m ...

), Sydney (

Pagewood, New South Wales Pagewood is a suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, 8 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district. It is part of the Bayside Council. Pagewood has a mixture of residential and industri ...

) and in Brisbane (

Acacia Ridge, Queensland Acacia Ridge is a southern Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Acacia Ridge had a population of 7,486 people. Geography Acacia Ridge is south of the central business district. I ...

). Engines, transmissions, and final drive assemblies were produced at the engine casting plant at

Fishermans Bend, Victoria Fishermans Bend (formerly Fishermen's Bend) is a precinct within the City of Port Phillip and the City of Melbourne. It is located on the south of the Yarra River in the suburb of Port Melbourne and opposite Coode Island, close to the Melbourne ...

, although engines and its drivetrain components were fully imported from fellow

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

subsidiary,

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

, in the United States. Many local automotive component businesses in all these states across Australia supplied the main plants with many other parts, such as wiper arms, glass, carpets, electrical systems, fasteners, and the like. HQ production in New Zealand was at GMNZ's assembly plant at Trentham,

Wellington, New Zealand Wellington is Capital of New Zealand, the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the List of cities in New Zealand, third-largest city ...

using some NZ production components and ran until 1975 to use up HQ parts that weren't used on the following

series.

Specifications

Belmont

The Belmont was the barebones HQ, successor to the

Holden Standard Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. Founded in Adelaide, it was an automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter that sold cars under its own marque in Australia. It was h ...

, coming with a standard 173 cubic inch Inline 6 and column shift 3 speed manual, The Belmont also featured a unique, more toned down door trim design.

Kingswood

The Kingswood was a slightly midrange, just like the

Special Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer * Special police forces ...

it replaced, with a more stylish interior, featuring armrests as standard, and added exterior chrome.

Premier

The Premier was the top tier of the mainstream 'Holden' Line throughout the release of the XV8 GTS350 Sedan in 1973, featuring a woodgrain styled interior, full length armrests, a standard center console with bucket seats, and many exterior style accents. The Premier's design language was also carried through to the Monaro LS coúpe.

SS (Super Sport)

The SS was a limited edition variant of the Belmont V8 Sedan, Option code XV8, Featured a 253 cubic inch Holden V8 as standard, with an optional 308 cubic inch V8 variant optional, mated to an Aussie 4 Speed Gearbox, and 3.36:1 Ratio 10-Bolt Salisbury differential as standard, making the SS a hit among younger power hungry drivers, so much so that a Series II SS was released after the Series I run failed to meet demand, in the end, Holden had produced 2800, The SS also featured a Black Roebuck Vinyl Interior with Houndstooth or Flax-Raydo inserts, Standard arm rests, center console with floor shift, Sport Steering wheel and a full GTS dash cluster.

Monaro GTS

The GTS was a specification of the HQ

, Based on the Kingswood, decked out with all the bells and whistles, the GTS featured its own stripe style, available in most colours, along with a choice of 253 or 308 Holden V8s, mated to either a 4 Speed Holden manual or 3 speed GM Turbo-Hydramatic 350 automatic, backed by a heavy-duty Salisbury differential, the GTS package featured a full interior with optional

houndstooth Houndstooth is a pattern of alternating light and dark check (fabric), checks used on fabric. It is also known as hounds tooth check, hound's tooth (and similar spellings), dogstooth, dogtooth or dog's tooth. The duotone pattern is characterized ...

seat inserts in standard bucket seats, sports steering wheel, center console, tachometer, dual split gauges (pictured) and more.

South Africa

For the South African market, the Holden HQ sedan was marketed as the

Chevrolet Kommando Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promin ...

, and the HQ utility as the

Chevrolet El Camino The Chevrolet El Camino is a coupé utility vehicle that was produced by Chevrolet between 1959–1960 and 1964–1987. Unlike a standard pickup truck, the El Camino was adapted from the standard two-door Chevrolet station wagon platform and in ...

.Holden abroad, Restored Cars No. 220, Sep-Oct 2013, pp. 45-47 The Kommando received only the Chevrolet 4.1-litre six while the Constantia was also offered with the Holden 5.0-litre V8 coupled to an automatic transmission. The El Camino received both of these options as well as a new (to South Africa) 3.3-litre six, only in conjunction with a manual transmission. The HQ One Tonner was sold as the Chevrolet El Toro.

Motorsport

With the introduction of the HQ model, Holden's factory supported production-car racing efforts shifted from the V8 Monaro to the smaller six-cylinder LC Torana. A few Monaro and V8 engined Kingswood cars were built for racing, most notably Malcolm Ramsey's V8 Kingswood. These HQs were never as successful as earlier model Monaros had been or the larger-budget Torana teams or the Ford Falcons and Mustangs they raced against. Holden HQ of Sarah Mitchell

From the late 1980s, the Holden HQ was used in Australia as the basis of a

one-make racing One-design racing is a racing method which may be adopted in sports using complex equipment, whereby all vehicles have identical or very similar designs or models, avoiding the need for a handicap system. Motorsport One-make racing series (also ...

category with an emphasis on cost. The category began in

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

but very quickly expanded to every state and New Zealand to become the entry-level motor racing category nationwide. The cars are built to comply with CAMS Group 3H Technical Regulations. The series is utilises the 202 ci/3300 cc size six-cylinder engine, the largest six-cylinder engine sold in the car, and is limited to four-door sedan bodied cars. The HQ motor racing category also had an effect on spare parts in

wrecking yard A wrecking yard (Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian English), scrapyard ( Irish, British and New Zealand English) or junkyard (American English) is the location of a business in dismantling where wrecked or decommissioned vehicles are brou ...

s around Australia, with parts and body panels becoming scarce as many of the teams would 'raid' the yards for cheap spares. This led to a shortage of spares for the HQ model for anyone who owned a road-going version. As of 2024, HQ racing events are still held regularly in every Australian state and territory, and a national event is held annually. The organising body is HQ Racing Australia.

Statesman HQ

The Statesman HQ range of long wheelbase luxury sedans, based on the Holden HQ series,

, p. 121 was also released in July 1971. Darwin, p. 259 The Statesman models replaced the

Holden Brougham The Holden Brougham is a large, luxury automobile that was produced by Holden in Australia between July 1968 and 1971. It was based on the mainstream Holden Premier of the same years, but with a lengthened rear body. The boot was simply extend ...

from the HG range however they were marketed as Statesmans rather than as Holdens.Statesman (HQ) sales brochure, BD101, issued July 1971 The Statesman HQ was offered in two models, the base "Statesman Custom" and the premium "Statesman de Ville".

References

{{Holden timeline Cars of Australia Holden vehicles by series Cars introduced in 1971 1970s cars