Holden VH Commodore
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The Holden Commodore (VH) is a
mid-size car Mid-size—also known as intermediate—is a vehicle size class which originated in the United States and is used for cars larger than compact cars and smaller than full-size cars. "Large family car" is a UK term and a part of the D-segment in ...
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 ...
from 1981 to 1984. It was the third iteration of the first generation of the
Holden Commodore The Holden Commodore is a series of automobiles that were sold by now-defunct Australian manufacturer Holden from 1978 until 2020. They were manufactured from 1978 to 2017 in Australia and from 1979 to 1990 in New Zealand, with production of ...
. This new Commodore was an evolution of the previous
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 ...
VC series model, and was released on 5 October 1981. The frontal appearance was mildly facelifted with a new horizontal-slat grille and new lighting components designed to give a lower, wider look, and for interest of
aerodynamics Aerodynamics () is the study of the motion of atmosphere of Earth, air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dynamics and its subfield of gas dynamics, and is an ...
. It continued to be available as sedan and
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 ...
, with new taillight clusters utilized on sedan models.


History

The engines were carried over but revisions were made to the 1.9- and 2.85-litre engines to improve fuel economy. Gains of 12.5 and 14 percent respectively were made to the city cycle fuel economy figures. Mechanical specifications were as before, except for an additional five-speed
manual transmission A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canadian English, Canada, British English, the United Kingdom and American English, the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed ...
which was an option only (due to the limits of the transmission-box) on the 1.9-litre four-cylinder and 2.85-litre
straight six Straight may refer to: Slang * Straight, slang for heterosexual ** Straight-acting, normal person * Straight, a member of the straight edge subculture Sport and games * Straight, an alternative name for the cross, a type of punch in boxing * Str ...
versions. A 4142 cc V8 engine (marketed as the 4.2 litre V8) was also available from the beginning. This was later complemented by the more powerful 5.0 litre V8. At the same time a reshuffle was made to the range—SL was now the base model and SL/X was introduced as the mid-range car, with SL/E remaining the top-of-the-line sedan. The SL/E also came available with optional cruise control and a trip computer. The trip computer measured average speed and fuel consumption. Wagons were available in SL and SL/X variants. September 1982 saw the release of the Commodore SS, a model that was a Commodore mainstay until 2017. The abbreviation stands for "Super Sport". Offered with Holden's 4.2 L V8 as standard, the factory SS was supplemented by three up-spec versions produced by
Peter Brock Peter Geoffrey Brock (26 February 1945 – 8 September 2006), known as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain", or simply "Brocky", was an Australian motor racing driver. Brock was most often associated with Holden for almost 40 years, al ...
's HDT Special Vehicles company. The HDT models were named "SS Group One", "SS Group Two" and "SS Group Three", with the lattermost also featuring the Holden 5.0-litre V8 in a higher state of tune). The SS sedans were initially exclusively
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Red in colour, but were later also made available in
Alabaster Alabaster is a mineral and a soft Rock (geology), rock used for carvings and as a source of plaster powder. Archaeologists, geologists, and the stone industry have different definitions for the word ''alabaster''. In archaeology, the term ''alab ...
White. The Group Three-tuned V8 produces at 4750 rpm. File:Holden Commodore VH SL (15895429586) (cropped).jpg, Holden Commodore SL Sedan (VH) File:1981-1984 Holden VH Commodore SLX sedan 02.jpg , Commodore SL/X sedan File:1981-1984 Holden VH Commodore SLX station wagon 01.jpg , Commodore SL/X wagon File:Holden Commodore SLX (1981-1984 VH series) 02.jpg, Commodore SL/X Interior File:Holden Commodore VH HDT SS Group 3 5.0.jpg , HDT VH Commodore SS ''Group Three''. In 1983 an 'Executive' pack of the base Commodore was introduced, primarily directed to fleet buyers. These cars featured automatic transmission and air-conditioning as part of a Commodore SL package, but had no distinguishable external identification badges. Special editions of Commodore released around Christmas 1981, 1982 and 1983 were badged 'Vacationer'. With the effects of the
1979 energy crisis A drop in oil production in the wake of the Iranian revolution led to an energy crisis in 1979. Although the global oil supply only decreased by approximately four percent, the oil markets' reaction raised the price of crude oil drastically ...
ending, buyers gravitated towards the larger
Ford Falcon The Ford Falcon is an automobile nameplate by Ford Motor Company, Ford that applied to several vehicles worldwide. * Ford Falcon (North America), an automobile produced by Ford from 1960 to 1970. * Ford Falcon (Argentina), a car built by Ford ...
rival, rather than the mid-size Commodore. Thus for the first time, the Holden Commodore lost its position as Australia's best-selling car. Production of this model ceased in February 1984, to be replaced by the much further facelifted Holden Commodore (VK).


Export markets

In Indonesia the only engine available was the 1.9-liter four, in SL/X trim and with a five-speed manual. Because of the absence of emissions controls in that market, power was higher than for Australian cars, at . After having been absent from the Malaysian market for nearly a decade, Almas Motors Corporation (AMC) brought the Holden brand back in 1983 with the VH Commodore. While Japanese cars had supplanted European imports in most of the market, there was still room for non-Japanese brands in the larger segments of the market. In New Zealand, the VH series sedan was also available in an additional Royale specification, which was between the SL/X and SL/E in the model range. This was a popular version and was carried over into the subsequent VK, VKA (1986 NZ market VK), and the VL series.


Motorsport

The VH Commodore was first used in Australian
Touring car racing Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition that uses race-prepared touring cars. It has both similarities to and significant differences from stock car racing, which is popular in the United States. While the cars do not move a ...
in the 1982 Australian Touring Car Championship. Unfortunately controversy reigned as the
Holden Dealer Team The Holden Dealer Team (HDT) was Holden's semi-official racing team from 1969 until 1986 Australian Touring Car season, 1986, primarily contesting Australian Touring car racing, Touring Car events but also rallying, rallycross and National Sp ...
attempted to run
Peter Brock Peter Geoffrey Brock (26 February 1945 – 8 September 2006), known as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain", or simply "Brocky", was an Australian motor racing driver. Brock was most often associated with Holden for almost 40 years, al ...
's car with yet-to-be homologated parts. Brock actually scored enough points to win the 1982 ATCC (using both the VC and VH), but was disqualified from all but two races of the series. Better was to come in the late season endurance races. With the HDT VH Commodore SS now properly homologated,
Allan Grice Allan Maxwell Grice (born 21 October 1942), known to motor-racing fans as "Gricey", is an Australian former racing driver and politician, most famous for twice winning the prestigious Bathurst 1000 (1986 and 1990), and as a privateer driver of ...
drove his Commodore to pole position in the 1982 James Hardie 1000 at
Mount Panorama Mount Panorama Circuit, officially Mount Panorama/Wahluu via Dual_naming#Australia, dual naming, is a motor racing track located in Bathurst, New South Wales, Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is situated on Mount Panorama, New South Wal ...
with a time of 2:17.501 after earlier having been the first driver to lap the circuit in a touring car at better than with a lap of 2:17.8 in official qualifying. The Holden VH Commodore SS went on to fill the top four places in the race with the HDT Commodore of Peter Brock and
Larry Perkins Larry Clifton Perkins (born 18 March 1950) is a former racing driver and V8 Supercar team owner from Australia. Biography Early years Growing up on a farm in Cowangie in the Mallee region of Victoria, Larry, the son of racing driver Edd ...
winning the race. The Commodore was still a major force in the
1983 Australian Touring Car Championship The 1983 Australian Touring Car Championship was a Confederation of Australian Motor Sport, CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Group C Touring Cars.Conditions for Australian Titles, 1983 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 91-95 ...
with both Grice and Brock each winning two of the eight round series. However, they were forced to give best to
Allan Moffat Allan George Moffat, Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 10 November 1939 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada) is a Canadian-born Australian racing driver known for his four championships in the Australian Touring Car Championship, six wins ...
and his smaller, lighter (and thus much better suited to the tight Australian tracks)
Mazda RX-7 The Mazda RX-7 is a front mid engine, Rear-wheel drive, rear-wheel-drive, rotary engine-powered sports car, manufactured and marketed by Mazda from 1978 through 2002 across three generations, all of which incorporated the use of a compact, light ...
. Moffat won four of the eight rounds, and with the emergence of the smaller capacity Nissan Bluebird turbo of
George Fury George Fury (born 31 January 1945, in Hungary) is a retired Australian rally and racing car driver. For the majority of his career Fury was associated with Nissan, twice winning the Australian Rally Championship, and twice runner up in the Aus ...
, Brock and Grice finished only 3rd and 4th at the end of the championship. Further homologations grants from the
Confederation of Australian Motorsport Motorsport Australia, formerly the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS), is the nationally recognised governing and sanctioning body for four-wheeled motorsport in Australia. It is affiliated with the Federation Internationale de l'A ...
(CAMS) in August 1983 saw the VH Commodore SS once again the car to beat. Peter Brock set pole position at the 1983 James Hardie 1000 (VH Commodores filled seven of the top 10 spots on the grid), and although his own car suffered a rare engine failure on lap 8 of the race, he and Perkins then moved into the team's second car with its lead driver John Harvey to go on and win the race. The second HDT car was in fact the 1982 winning car giving the Commodore the distinction of being the only car to twice win the
Bathurst 1000 The Bathurst 1000 (known for sponsorship reasons as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a Touring car racing, touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supe ...
. The VH Commodore would fill six of the top 10 finishing positions in the race. The VH continued to be a major force into
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
, with Brock winning the opening two rounds of the 1984 ATCC before finishing second to Moffat's Mazda in Round 3. Unfortunately however Brock was to miss two rounds of the series while racing a
Porsche 956 The Porsche 956 was a Group C sports-prototype racing car designed by Norbert Singer and built by Porsche in 1982 for the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA World Sportscar Championship. It was later upgraded to the 956B in 1984. I ...
at the 1000 km of Silverstone and
Le Mans 24 Hours The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with the Monaco Grand ...
. Brock would eventually finish second in the championship behind the
Ford XE Falcon The Ford Falcon (XE) is a full-size car that was produced by Ford Australia from 1982 until 1984. It was the second iteration of the fourth generation of the Falcon and also included the Ford Fairmont (XE)—the luxury-oriented version. Histor ...
of Dick Johnson. The VH Commodore SS has the distinction of winning the final ATCC race held under the locally developed
Group C Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for Touring car racing, touring cars and ''Group B'' for Grand tourer, GTs. It was designed to replace both Group 5 (motorspor ...
regulations when Allan Grice won the 7th and final round of the championship at the
Adelaide International Raceway The Adelaide International Raceway (also known as Adelaide International or AIR) is a permanent circuit owned by Australian Motorsport Club Limited under the auspices of the Bob Jane Corporation. The circuit is located north of Adelaide in So ...
on 1 July. The VH Commodore SS was succeeded by the Holden VK Commodore in the last half of 1984, though it was only the HDT, Roadways and Warren Cullen's team who would race the new model. The VH remained the Commodore of choice for the privateers. The model's touring car racing life ended at the completion of the 1984 season as CAMS had decided that new rules based on the FIA's international
Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived touring cars for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles wer ...
regulations would apply to Australian Touring Cars from the beginning of
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
. The VH Commodore also proved to be popular in
Sports Sedan A sports sedan (also known as a super saloon or sports saloon in British English) is a subjective term for a sedan car that is designed to have sporting performance or handling characteristics. History The term was initially introduce ...
racing as well as in
speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Daytona International Speedway, a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida. *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta. *Indianapolis Motor Spe ...
.


References

{{Holden timeline Cars of Australia VH Mid-size cars Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Sedans Station wagons Cars introduced in 1981 Cars discontinued in 1984