Holden Bringing Three Iconic Concept Cars To Melbourne MotorEx

Holden has announced it is bringing three of its greatest concept cars to the Meguiar’s MotorEx in Melbourne this weekend, the biggest automotive show of its kind in Australia. The three cars, EFIJY, Hurricane and Coupe 60, are being brought to the show to celebrate Holden’s rich 66-year history of designing and producing iconic Australian vehicles, the automaker says.

“We’re incredibly proud of these vehicles as they truly represent the incredible talent we have within Holden,” Holden design director Richard Ferlazzo said in a statement. “Each of these vehicles have their own unique story and perfectly illustrate why Holden is recognised globally within General Motors as a centre of excellence for concept vehicle and show car development.”

The first of the cars, EFIJY, is a 21st Century hot rod-style car which was introduced to the public in 2009. Underpinning the concept is a Corvette chassis, while powering it is a 6.0-liter supercharged V8. The curvaceous ‘Sporano Purple’ body is meant to mimic the classic 1953 FJ Holden, the second all-Australian car the lion and stone produced.

Bringing a more modern look to the Holden booth will be the popular Coupe 60 from 2008. The Coupe 60, which rides on a short-wheel base version of the VE Commodore, is a performance-oriented, pillar-less coupe powered by a 6.0-liter LS2 V8. It has several racing-derived features such as a side-exit exhaust, a full flat under body, a rear underbody air diffuser and a functional rear deck-lid spoiler. Of all Holden concepts, the Coupe 60 appears the most production-ready.

The last of the Holden concepts to show up at MotorEx will be the radical Hurricane, the company’s very first concept car. Introduced in 1969, the futuristic research vehicle was built “to study design trend, propulsion systems and other long range developments”. The Hurricane is a mid-engined, rear-wheel drive two seater sports car which had a slew of technologies that have only reached production cars in recent times. These included electronic digital instrument displays, station-seeking radio, automatic temperature control air conditioning, rear vision camera and an automated route finder. Holden says the “Hurricane stole headlines and dropped jaws nationwide,” when it was debuted and “continues to impress and build Holden’s global reputation for envisioning and executing world-class concept vehicles.”