NZ Autocar
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Electric
  • Industry
  • Bikes
  • Classics
  • Motorsport
  • Prices
    • New Bike Prices
    • New Car Prices
    • Make
      • Alfa Romeo News and Reviews
      • Aston Martin News and Reviews
      • Audi News and Reviews
      • Bentley News and Reviews
      • BMW News and Reviews
      • BYD News and Reviews
      • Chevrolet News and Reviews
      • Citroen News and Reviews
      • Cupra News and Reviews
      • Ferrari News and Reviews
      • Fiat News and Reviews
      • Ford News and Reviews
      • GWM News and Reviews
      • Haval News and Reviews
      • Honda News and Reviews
      • Hyundai News and Reviews
      • INEOS News and Reviews
      • Isuzu News and Reviews
      • Jaguar News and Reviews
      • Jeep News and Reviews
      • KIA News and Reviews
      • Lamborghini News and Reviews
      • Land Rover News and Reviews
      • LDV News and Reviews
      • Lexus News and Reviews
      • Lotus News and Reviews
      • Mahindra News and Reviews
      • Maserati News and Reviews
      • Mazda News and Reviews
      • McLaren News and Reviews
      • Mercedes-Benz News and Reviews
      • MG News and Reviews
      • MINI News and Reviews
      • Mistubishi News and Reviews
      • Nissan News and Reviews
      • Omoda News and Reviews
      • Opel News and Reviews
      • Peugeot News and Reviews
      • Polestar News and Reviews
      • Porsche News and Reviews
      • RAM News and Reviews
      • Renault News and Reviews
      • Skoda News and Reviews
      • SsangYong News and Reviews
      • Subaru News and Reviews
      • Suzuki News and Reviews
      • Tesla News and Reviews
      • Toyota News and Reviews
      • Volkswagen News and Reviews
      • Volvo News and Reviews
  • Subscribe
    • Print
    • Digital
  • Contact us
    • Contact us
    • Advertise
NZ Autocar
No Result
View All Result
Home Holden

A Holden Commodore convertible? Aussie oddity emerges for sale

Words: Matthew Hansen

by Matthew Hansen
November 23, 2021

What made the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon so compelling to enthusiasts back in the day, in part, was their ability to go from being a civil family car to high-performance muscle car at the flick of a switch. Assuming you had a hotted up model and not some crusty old Acclaim, of course. 

Indeed, Holden had a knack for taking humble platforms and turning them into very different things. It made the ute into a supercar-beater with the Maloo, turned the Commodore into an admittedly underdone off-roader in the Adventura. But it never quite made a homegrown convertible. 

Although, there are a handful of exceptions to the rule. And one of these has emerged for sale online. 

Australian Muscle Car Sales has listed one of the quirkiest Commodores on the planet; a convertible-converted, two-door 1986 VL Berlina. The sales firm is asking for offers of over AU$49,000 on the car. And, given the rising prices of all things Holden these days, we wouldn’t be surprised if it sells. 

According to the sales site, the Commie conversion wasn’t some hack-and-slash back-alley job. It claims that the job was done professionally when the car was new for AU$30,000 at the time. Considering 35 years of inflation, that would be a huge amount of coin to drop on a drop-top Commodore. 

Who had this money at the time? Well, seemingly it was Holden who commissioned it. The details aren’t concrete, but this Commodore was supposedly the property of the Holden Precision Driving Team of the day, giving this model an added layer of potential provenance. 

The more you read the more impressive the Commodore project becomes (despite that ghastly canvas roof). An Opel Monza Coupe was used for the conversion; its doors and rear quarters helping achieve the two-door format. 

In 2001, the son of the Commodore’s owner started a wedding car business that involved a hallowed HSV Group A ‘Walkinshaw’, and so naturally the convertible received a few updates so it could match the V8 beast. These included a full Panorama Silver respray, an interior retrim, and a Walkinshaw bonnet. 

Sadly, no such V8 resides under the bonnet of this Commodore. Instead it still utilises its original Nissan-sourced 3.0-litre straight six RB30E. Not a bad consolation really, given the status these engines have today. 

This isn’t the only Holden drop-top out in the world. During the firm’s ‘Monaro fever’ of the new millennium, it showed off a Monaro convertible. The 2004 one-off never made it to production.

What did, perhaps unfortunately, was the Bertone-designed Holden Astra convertible, which was sold in various GM guises around the world. Whether we’d have one over an Australian-engineered Ford Capri is another topic for another day. 

Previous Post

Brand new Napier Kia dealership open and ready for business

Next Post

Dodge kills off V8 Charger, Challenger and iconic 6.2-litre Hemi

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Free NZ Autocar Enewsletter
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NZ Autocar is New Zealand’s leading automotive magazine. Delivering news reviews from the automotive world, including commentary from leading automotive writers and covers the scope of motoring including new cars, classic cars, EVs and motorbikes.

Our team

Publisher: Mark Petch
General Manager: Gavin Shaw
Editor: Kyle Cassidy
Senior Editor: Peter Louisson
News Editor: Harrison Wade
Art Director: Alex Schultz
Photographer: Isaac Western

To Subscribe

nzautocar.subscription.co.nz

Contact Us

Advertising:
Gavin Shaw
[email protected]
.
Editorial:
Kyle Cassidy
[email protected]
.
NZ Autocar
PO Box 44 304
Point Chevalier
Auckland 1246
New Zealand

Categories

Useful Links

Home
News
Motorsport
New Car Prices
New Bike Prices
Subscriptions
Competitions
Contact Us
Advertising
Terms and Conditions

© 2021 AUTOCAR 2016 LIMITED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Electric
  • Industry
  • Bikes
  • Classics
  • Motorsport
  • Prices
    • New Bike Prices
    • New Car Prices
    • Make
      • Alfa Romeo News and Reviews
      • Aston Martin News and Reviews
      • Audi News and Reviews
      • Bentley News and Reviews
      • BMW News and Reviews
      • BYD News and Reviews
      • Chevrolet News and Reviews
      • Citroen News and Reviews
      • Cupra News and Reviews
      • Ferrari News and Reviews
      • Fiat News and Reviews
      • Ford News and Reviews
      • GWM News and Reviews
      • Haval News and Reviews
      • Honda News and Reviews
      • Hyundai News and Reviews
      • INEOS News and Reviews
      • Isuzu News and Reviews
      • Jaguar News and Reviews
      • Jeep News and Reviews
      • KIA News and Reviews
      • Lamborghini News and Reviews
      • Land Rover News and Reviews
      • LDV News and Reviews
      • Lexus News and Reviews
      • Lotus News and Reviews
      • Mahindra News and Reviews
      • Maserati News and Reviews
      • Mazda News and Reviews
      • McLaren News and Reviews
      • Mercedes-Benz News and Reviews
      • MG News and Reviews
      • MINI News and Reviews
      • Mistubishi News and Reviews
      • Nissan News and Reviews
      • Omoda News and Reviews
      • Opel News and Reviews
      • Peugeot News and Reviews
      • Polestar News and Reviews
      • Porsche News and Reviews
      • RAM News and Reviews
      • Renault News and Reviews
      • Skoda News and Reviews
      • SsangYong News and Reviews
      • Subaru News and Reviews
      • Suzuki News and Reviews
      • Tesla News and Reviews
      • Toyota News and Reviews
      • Volkswagen News and Reviews
      • Volvo News and Reviews
  • Subscribe
    • Print
    • Digital
  • Contact us
    • Contact us
    • Advertise

© 2021 AUTOCAR 2016 LIMITED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.