1978 Holden HZ GTS Monaro 5.0 Sedan

Holden's new HZ range saw the introduction of Radial Tuned Suspension, a package that incorporated suspension changes that enabled Holden's full-size car to out-handle Ford's XC. Although the Monaro name was no longer used, the GTS carried on with several significant upgrades and was a lot more than just a badge and fancy paintwork. Four-wheel disc brakes, additional driving lights, front and rear spoilers, unique paintwork with colour-coded bumpers and stripes and wheels were standard issue on the GTS. Inside, the interior featured changes to the cloth inserts and a revised steering wheel. Mechanically, the GTS came with the 5-litre V8 from June 1978 onwards (earlier cars had the 4.2-litre as standard), with the choice of transmissions - either the M21 heavy-duty manual or the Turbo Hydramatic automatic. Other useful upgrades announced at the same time included power steering, tinted glass and retractable rear seat belts. With the demise of the HZ in 1980, the era of Holden's full-size performance cars came to an end and the GTS name didn't reappear until the VP Commodore years later.