Holden V2 Monaro: how a secret affair blossomed into marriage
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Holden V2 Monaro: how a secret affair blossomed into marriage

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By DrJohnWright - 29 August 2016

Her name was Monica. She was dark blue. When the matching dust cover was whisked off with plenty of flourish, maybe 200 watching men fell immediately in love with her. Officially, Monica was called the 'Commodore coupe', but so many of the media at work that day at the 1998 Sydney International Motor Show, reckoned this machine should be named 'Monaro'.

The Monica moniker came about because Holden design boss, Mike Simcoe, and a small team were working on this project after hours and in such secrecy that even their wives were not told. Remember this was in the 1995-96 time frame when Monica was a name much mentioned in the media, especially in the context of wives not being involved.

Young designers, Simcoe told me, love sketching coupes. As the VT Commodore was in its gestation process, some of the sketches were of two-door variants.

It was never part of the real work. It was just what guys were doing on top. Even without the VT being around guys think about coupes and think about, I guess, what's traditionally the endorse expressive side of design. You can push a bit harder by dropping the roof a little bit lower and exaggerating proportion a bit more if you've got a 'sport' or 'luxury sport' image you want to portray.

When the time came to present the VT to the media in August 1997, part of the deal was a background briefing at the design centre in Fishermans Bend. Simcoe saw this as a great opportunity. Journalists who were paying attention noticed that the demonstration doodling on the CAD (computer aided design) terminals involved prospective two-door Commodores.

This image is reminiscent of the famous press shot of the HK Monaro GTS.

They were deliberately there so that you guys would ask questions and get other management to ask some questions. That never really took off. There were some questions on the day, but in the end nothing came of it. So we just decided to do it ourselves.

The coupe project was also a handy antidote to the anti-climax that follows the successful launch of a critical new car like the VT, an event that occurs for designers only about once a decade. So the interim years are a long stretch of boring facelifts. And, Simcoe told me, that's depressing.

I mean, every one of them gets worse after the first. Particularly if the first is a good one, because it is the purest form of the base design. I guess the guys needed something to keep them interested, and certainly I did myself.

Lucky, then, that Mike Simcoe was the boss of the studio because secrecy was essential. He believed he had no chance of gaining official approval for the coupe project, so it was better not to seek it.

Once people have said no to you in the corporate world, you really can't do that stuff. My strategy was to talk to an enthusiast like Tony Hyde (then Holden's engineering and design director), and get the project off the ground to a point where I actually had a clay model to show him. And because Tony is an enthusiast I was pretty sure he would support me.

But from my point of view, and from his, I think the beancounters would have shut it down. At that stage they would not have believed that it could have been done in the time it was done, for the dollars. And that people would put their own time in just to get if off the ground.

So Monica grew. First came a scale tape drawing on the studio wall to confirm that the basics of the VT and coupe proportions would work together. Next was CAD work using Alias software, teasing the VT's surfaces into a two-door form. Using the CAD data a 30 per cent clay model was milled. After some hand work on the model, the surface changes were fed back into the computer. From this a full-size clay was built.

It had to be something that was easily executable from a corporate point of view and an engineering point of view. therefore the design side was a apiece of p... , really. I'd be taking a lot away from the amount of effort and hours that people put into building it to say it was simple, but in the big picture it was a fairly simple job. But I don't want to deride what we did by saying that.

What they did, in essence, was to take a standard VT SS from the A-pillar forward. The pillars themselves were raked back two degrees so that the roof above the front seat occupants was about 45 mm lower but the standard VT windscreen could be retained. The doors, said Simcoe, were simple but 150 mm longer than those of the sedan. Their outer surface was the result of grafting the front of a VT rear door onto the rear of a front door. Clever.

The front seats were positioned similarly to those of the sedan but lower. There was sufficient range of steering wheel adjustment so that no changes were required for the controls. The twin rear seats were mounted 50 mm lower and 50 mm forward.

The rear of the coupe was 100 mm shorter than the VT. There was room for a full-size spare and the rear width was right for standard VT taillights.

The side glass, quarter glass and the rear glass is all new but was done from real tooling, so they are actual productions parts now. We just created a computer surface and handed it off to the supplier and, bang, it's done.

It obviously needs now an engineering job to be done on it, but there's a real car there. And that's what's being looked at.

I was pretty staggered by the reaction we had. Equally gratifying was the way the coupe was a much more successful crowd magnet than anything on the adjacent Ford stand.

That last sentence was a considerable understatement. Looking back now, a comparison leaps to mind. Five years before giving up car manufacturing, Armstrong Siddeley showed its 236 'Baby' Sapphire at Earls Court. It was 1955. Not far away, Jaguar revealed its 2.4 Litre sedan, of similar size. The Armstrong Siddeley people at the stand were embarrassed by the almost entire lack of interest in their car and couldn't help notice the thronging crowds trying to get at the Jag. I wasn't in London in 1955, but I was there in 1998 to see the discomfort of the Ford Australia people. This was, of course, the first public displays of the vital AU Falcon. So the automotive historian can confidently mark this as the first day of Ford Australia's rapid decline towards the cessation of local manufacture.

Triumphant though Monica’s first public appearance was, it was by no means certain that she would actually be invited to the ball. It is one thing to build a show-stopping prototype and quite another to make the decision to produce a real world vehicle in the necessary thousands to achieve a return on investment. To some Holden management’s failure to rush to a decision seemed odd, but history always holds the clues.

Remember the XM and XP Hardtops, the first Monaro, the Charger, the XA-XC Hardtops? There was a common pattern: after strong initial sales, demand fell away. It has been the same for many other specialist vehicles. Simply, there are only so many customers who really want a two-door coupe rather than a sedan or wagon. It is much the same with retro mobiles like the New Beetle, although BMW cleverly turned its retro MINI into a whole range of vehicles answering questions customers hadn't even thought of asking.

From the moment the cover was removed from the Commodore coupe there was excited talk of a new Monaro. People were ready with the cash to buy one. (A few years on, eager punters were trying to buy the one-off Efijy show car.) Typical responses came from two taxi drivers. One said: 'I want to buy one. My wife has even said she will take money out of her super.' The other, proud of his Ford Fairlane, said: 'I'm a Ford man but I'll buy one of these if it comes out. They're mad if they don't.' 'And so say all of us', I concluded my news story on the Commodore coupe.

The business case took some making. Even if a thousand or more prospective buyers rocked up with substantial deposits, how could Holden's marketing executives be sure that the necessary additional customers would come forward two or three years after the initial demand was met? After all, launching a two-door version of the successful Commodore was hardly going to be the same as Henry Ford's introduction of the Model T or even Holden's own spectacular launch of the 48-215, not coincidentally an even half century earlier! Remarkably, it was also 30 years since the advent of the original Monaro.

 

This first version of the Pontiac GTO was not extroverted enough for US customers’ tastes.

There was another, possibly decisive factor. Peter Hanenberger was appointed as Holden's next chief executive in April 1999. Dubbed by some smart journalist Peter 'Handling-Berger' back in about 1976 when he came to Holden from Opel to mastermind 'Radial Tuned Suspension', Hanenberger was determined to diversify the Commodore range and also to increase exports. He wanted an all-wheel drive wagon (Adventra), a crew cab (Crewman) and it would have been a no-brainer for this hard-driving (in both senses) engineer to give the coupe his approval. Peter Hanenberger was Monica’s Prince Charming. It was as if Monica changed her name to Cinderella: yes, Cinderella, said Prince Charming, you will go to the ball!

But Hanenberger doesn’t get the credit for selling Monaros in the US. This was Bob Lutz’s idea. Lutz, an ex-BMW petrolhead executive, was appointed chairman of GM North America in 2001. He reckoned the Holden would make a great Pontiac GTO.

One way and another, the new century Monaro pretty much named itself. Although Mike Simcoe himself was against it, the sheer force of public opinion and the convictions of the marketing executives made the decision irresistible. Three years and a couple of months elapsed from the Sydney show to the launch of the production coupe. Unsurprisingly, Holden introduced the V2 in six-cylinder and V8 versions, just as in HK days, although there was to be no equivalent to the wild GTS 327 variant (and I'll still have mine in Warwick Yellow just like Bruce McPhee's Bathurst winner, thank you very much).

The V2 nomenclature was used because the Monaro arrived, as it were, between Commodore shifts. 

It was appropriately in time for Christmas 2001 when the V2 made its debut as the $47,990 CV6 and $56,990 CV8. The development program cost $60 million, $20m of which was spent on design re-engineering and the remaining two-thirds on the Elizabeth manufacturing plant.

The VX Series II had gone on sale in August but the significantly facelifted VY (remember Mike Simcoe's own words about facelifts!) was not due until September of the following year.

The less expensive car was aimed at those who adored the whole idea but were limited by budget or were not perhaps serious performance enthusiasts. Nevertheless, the CV6 got the supercharged version of the old sixpack. It developed 171 kW of power backed by 375 Nm of torque. The sole transmission was the nasty, jerky four-speed automatic. The more focused CV8 got the 5.7-litre Gen III Chevrolet engine with 225 kW and 460 Nm. Despite these highest numbers for the time, this considerably detuned edition of the V8 always felt underdone. (Back to back against an AU XR8, the VT SS Series II with the Gen III, while quicker, felt less forty and less characterful.) At least the CV8 offered a six-speed manual transmission as an alternative to the wretched old four-speed slushbox.

Mark Behr, senior product planner at Holden when the Monaro was launched, told me that marketing boss, Kevin Wale, wanted the Gen III to be detuned because he was anxious not to start a power war and a media-induced scare a-la 1972. The engineers and product planners saw things differently. Behr told Wale that ‘getting engineers to strangle the V8 is like going to a doctor and asking him to make you sick’.

With its 18-inch alloys to the CV6's 17s, the CV8 looked more purposeful than its six-cylinder sibling. There turned out to be little demand for the CV6, which was discontinued in August 2003. The CV8 went right through to the end of Monaro production in December 2005.

The Monaro had 84 new panels. Otherwise, it was generally quite similar to the VT. But more change was in store. Peter Hanenberger insisted on improvements to the Commodore's suspension to justify use of the Monaro name. These arrived with the VX Series II in August 2001. The most important improvement was the use of rear suspension toe control links.

In December 2002 the Monaro got a Series II facelift, the highlight of which was new five-spoke alloys. Mechanically, the CV8 got a tuned exhaust with dual outlets for an extra 10 kW (235) and 5 Nm (465).The new dashboard was pure VY Commodore.

A limited edition run of 350 CV8-Rs was offered in June 2003. These had special wheels and Turbine (charcoal) paint. The CV6 was officially dropped at the same time.

In August 2003 came the Series III with a very minor facelift but a power boost to 245 kW. Peak torque was unchanged. Nine months later 350 CV8-Rs were produced in Pulse Red.

The biggest changes to the Monaro were a result of Holden's export deal with Pontiac. Eighteen thousand left-hand drive Monaros, badged as GTOs (not to be confused with HSV’s cheekily named version of the coupe), had been slow sellers. Many of the changes demanded by that division for its GTO might not have been approved by purists. Chief among these were the non-functional bonnet 'nostrils'. Holden design director, Tony Stolfo, who succeeded Mike Simcoe, was charged with modifying the appearance of the subtle original to appeal to US baby boomers whose automotive tastes had been shaped by Pontiacs such as the Bonneville, Grand Prix, GTO and Trans Am, as well as the Mustang, Camaro and Barracuda. Stolfo dreamt up the nostrils and the vertical foglights. Bolder new alloys were fitted.

The VZ Monaro was launched in September 2004 and adopted many of the changes wrought for Pontiac. The first rebadged cars for that marque had a relocated fuel tank to meet GM’s internal safety testing. Holden decided to use this for the VZ. Placing the tank in front of the rear axle rather than behind it almost halved the boot space. It also meant the filler cap was moved from the right rear guard to high on the C-pillar. Fuel capacity was reduced by five litres.

But good news came with the dual exhaust system, not achievable with the original tank. The VZ Monaro also got the 2004 GTO’s camshaft which aided torque in the low and mid ranges. This combined with the fantastic new exhaust system to boost peak power to 260 kW and torque to 500 Nm. Impressively, more than 90 per cent of the maximum torque was available from 2300 rpm right through to 5300 for much enhanced driveability. Revised gear ratios in the much improved six-speed manual were mostly shorter. The ancient four-speed automatic transmission was also improved.

Much bigger brakes were fitted with the front discs getting Corvette C6 twin calipers. The rear discs were vented. The new power steering system felt barely different. An electronic throttle was introduced.

Inside, the VZ acquired HSV-style additional gauges on top of the dash and more piano black highlights.

While the VZ boasted more changes than the Monaro had previously received in its three-year life, things were easier at Elizabeth. The CV6 was dead. By incorporating the GTO fuel tank structure to all variants, manufacturing the car was more straightforward. Since April 2004, the Monaro had been exported to the UK as the Vauxhall Monaro with very minor changes. All versions of the VZ coupe except the British one got the new bonnet.

The beautiful Monaro began its swansong in August 2005 with the final 1200 cars being CV8-Z variants in Fusion (orange) with a sunroof and special badging. Production ended in December.

Holden Special Vehicles had its own brazen take on the Monaro from the beginning. Perhaps surprisingly, the less expensive variant was the GTO – named for the famous Pontiac which in 1964 brazenly stole the Gran Turismo Omologato acronym from Ferrari. The flagship GTS gestured back to the 1968 HK GTS 327 original.

Transforming Mike Simcoe’s pure and elegant Monaro into an HSV was probably the Clayton firm’s greatest challenge. Arguably, the hefty rear spoiler, aggressive frontal treatment and over-the-top interior treatment undermined rather than enhanced the coupe’s appeal. (In my view, there has often been a certain clumsiness – even a gaucheness – in the way HSV differentiates its vehicles.)

The $73,750 GTO and $94,750 GTS (with interior sourced from Bridge of Weir in Scotland, like the Lincoln Continental Mark 2) came to market in December 2001 along with the CV6 and CV8 Monaros, raising the price stakes considerably. Of course, they had more power and torque – 255 kW/475 Nm for the GTO, 300 kW/510 Nm for the flagship. Initial demand was strong in accordance with the theory that lots of HSV loyalists would want one, but there were only so many of those and the early surge was not sustained through to the end of production.

Perhaps the GTS will ultimately receive the greater recognition from collectors, despite its slow sales. This near-$100K coupe had a hand-built engine, something which is likely to achieve greater desirability as the vehicle grows rarer. Holden Special Vehicles, the marque, is very much about exclusivity (although that seems not to apply to the ill-fated Coupé 4).

Neil Simpson took inspiration from the HK Monaro hubcaps when designing the HSV GTO 18-inch Wheels

New Holden boss Peter Hanenberger’s determination to develop more Holdens from the one basic platform led to the introduction of this least successful of HSV’s coupes. The Coupé 4 did seem like a great idea at the time. It was a clever initiative to take the all-wheel drive system from the Adventra wagon and apply it to a dedicated performance vehicle, just as Subaru has so successfully used its asymmetric all-wheel drive for machines as diverse as the Outback high-riding wagon and the STi sports sedan.

There was a paradox at the heart of the Coupe 4. With drive to all four wheels, it had greater potential than any previous HSV product. But it had less power. Given the machismo image that has always been at the heart of the brand, this must have been hard for prospective buyers to stomach. The July 2004 edition of Wheels carried one of the most obvious lines: ‘Handle it! AWD makes Coupé the best HSV yet’. But what does ‘best’ mean to an HSV loyalist? Surely more power and more extroverted looks.

At the launch of the Coupé 4, eight months after the Adventra, then HSV boss, the always controversial John Crennan, said:

There’s no doubt in my mind that, in five years time, the role of all-wheel drive in our range will be profound. It will be a very significant part of our business.

It’s easy to see why he thought so, but he turned out to be completely wrong. Even though the Coupé 4 could accelerate from zero to 100 km/h in the dirt just half a second less quickly than on dry tarmac (6.6 versus 6.1 seconds), this was outside HSV customers’ comfort zone. Crennan predicted the model would appeal largely to buyers new to the marque, but frankly it wooed few buyers from anywhere. There was no manual transmission, maximum power was 30 kW down on the GTS’s 300 kW and weight was a hefty 1830 kg, 153 kg more than the GTO. It appeared in July 2004 and disappeared in April 2006, sinking heavily without trace and without successor. And all-wheel drive no longer seems relevant at HSV.

In summary, the Holden Monaro and the HSV variants produced between 2001 and December 2006 seem destined to win increasing regard as the years pass and as humdrum VT sedans disappear from the daily commute. My picks are the VZ Monaro CV8 (especially in the hero colour, Turismo Blue), the limited edition CV8-Z and the HSV GTS.

 

Coupé 4 had great grip but little appeal either to HSV loyalists or prospective new customers.