Many know the ins and outs of HSV, Holden Special Vehicles, but there are plenty who have never seen the initials HDT.
HDT, or Holden Dealer Team, began as a semi-official racing team but, by 1980, the legendary Peter Brock had full custody of HDT. And he began tinkering with regular, road-going Holden Commodores and selling them through select dealerships.
Here, we have the very first HDT Holden Commodore sold to the public, car number 001. The 1980 Holden Commodore was originally a Holden company car before Brock began testing his performances goodies on it. This car would shape the inbound 500 limited-edition Commodores to come.
Despite fetching a dollar amount of only $9,600 AUD in 1980, or $7,064 USD, this rarity is poised to sell for up to $95,000 AUD, or $69,911 USD, according to CarsGuide.
The car’s authenticity has been nearly confirmed, as all Peter Brock HDT Holden Commodores were red, black or white. According to the man who has owned the car, all documentation points to HDT Holden Commodore 001 as being two-tone green.
To my knowledge, this is 001,” he says. “I’ve kept my ear to the ground and been searching for another 001 for the better part of 30 years and it’s never surfaced. No-one has ever come forward with 001 in red, white or black. We know where 002 is, it’s a red car. But to my knowledge, and according to the HDT bible, number 001 is listed as being green,” said Jim Middleton, who currently owns the car.
A special Commodore, and certainly one to hold on to, as local manufacturing continues to wind down by 2017.
Comments
I would cut off my left arm to be able to own that car, granted its not the best looking one ever made but to be able to have the very 1st one would be amazing. I will just have to be content with my VK grp A Brock for now.
Update – car sold last night for AU$125,000! This is in fact HDT build 001 and has been certified in a HDT Special Vehicles documentary made whilst Brock was still alive. There was though, a light blue car that was marked as build 000 and was in fact the initial test bed (factory 253 with M20, Brock changed this to a worked 308 with M21, a higher pressure fuel pump and a taller diff ratio). These were the only two non-red, black or white early HDT examples made before the dealer packs which were VC spec eventuated around the time the VH was introduced in 1981.