Never driven Commodore goes under the hammer

Barn finds are often pretty exciting. 

Lucky car finders discovering rarities that haven’t hit the road in several years generally make for some pretty cool news. Mainly because many of these cars get auctioned off for big cash payouts, but also because of the priceless memories they carry with them.

But that makes this particular 1979 Holden VH SL/E even more special. 

A fair chunk of cash did exchange hands over the weekend when it went under the hammer in Australia. Some $115,950 Kiwi dollars, to be exact. 

And she is rare. It is one of only three prototypes Holden made of the VH series Commodore. But the other two have been destroyed, leaving this one as the sole survivor.

But what this Commodore doesn’t have, or rather hasn’t had, is any road mileage. This barn find, found under a tarp in Victoria, has never been driven before.

In fact, some reports are saying it has never been started once. 

It comes complete with an original engine and gearbox, albeit a three-speed automatic transmission. VH Commodores only had five-speed manuals as an option to the 1.9-litre inline-four motor model and the 2.8-litre inline-six.

This prototype comes with a 4.2-litre V8 engine, churning out 100 kW of power.

The panels are hand-crafted (this is a prototype car, remember), and there is even some modelling clay in the boot.

Holden gifted the car to a local training provider for some automotive studies, so it never had a need to be driven. Once the car was no longer needed for training, it was stored in a barn shed.

It’s got a new owner now, and while we’re not exactly sure who the lucky buyer is, it might finally get to fire into life for the first time in over 40 years since being built.