Holden Coupe 60: The Last Pontiac GTO

[Canuck]

The Chevrolet Camaro might not be imported to Australia, but we sure get what it's about. Big, V8-powered cars shaped like Coke bottles are as much a part of Australia's national psyche as beer, beaches and barbecues. In fact Australia makes the best muscle cars in the world.

For proof you don't have to look any farther than the streets of Detroit, where you'll see plenty of 2010 Chevrolet Camaros — a car that had to come through Australia before it was good enough for America. We did the Camaro and the Pontiac G8.

In fact, we Aussies could have given you the next Pontiac GTO, if you'd given us the chance. It was the 2008 Holden Coupe 60, a real American-style muscle car that just happened to be conceived and built in Australia. You know, the country where all the good American muscle cars come from.

Bob Lutz Is an Aussie
By now everybody knows the story of the rear-wheel-drive Zeta platform that Holden began developing back in 1999. Prior to that, Holden's usual modus operandi was to pirate another GM rear-drive platform (usually from Opel), then make it wider and try to adapt carryover equipment. For a long time this meant solid rear axles, although the VT-VZ series Commodores (1997-2006) finally had independent rear suspension thanks to Opel's rear semi-trailing arms.

Once Opel said its rear-wheel-drive Omega would be no more, Holden knew that a carryover of the existing architecture would relegate the next-generation Commodore VE to an unprofitable Oz-only future. Thanks to Bob Lutz's global strategy, the all-new rear-wheel-drive Zeta architecture was developed instead, and although the Zeta plan nearly died when GM unplugged its Oldsmobile division in 2004, a slightly less expensive version was revived for Chevrolet and Pontiac.

You can measure just how good the Commodore VE is by comparing it with the last Holden Monaro. This two-door coupe became a legend in Australia, and you Yanks begged us to sell it in the States. But once we sent it to you as the Pontiac GTO in 2004, you kicked it aside like a cur and it disappeared after 2006. There was a scandal here when Holden stopped making it, but now the Commodore VE's four-link rear suspension, front-steer rack-and-pinion and nearly 50/50 weight distribution have made everyone forget about the Monaro. You just buy the Commodore SS and get on with things.

The Pontiac GTO That Never Was
The Holden HSV Monaro went down in Oz at the end of 2006, when the corporate bean counters reckoned there was no way that a new-generation coupe based on the forthcoming Commodore VE platform could pull its weight on the showroom floor. But there were some who couldn't let go of the past, and the Holden Coupe 60 appeared at the Melbourne auto show in February 2008.

By then, this Commodore-derived concept had already been dead for three years. It had initially been developed as a coupe study on the VE architecture, alongside the sedan, wagon and ute. "It's the same when we do any new architecture," says Peter Hughes, the Holden designer responsible for the Commodore VE. "We do all the variants that could possibly go ahead."

http://www.insideline.com/holden/cou...ntiac-gto.html

[ne_one]

Painful reminder.

[JerryL]

I really like that car...............it reminds me of a street version of a DTM car !!!

[Orbit Orange]

Would have been a toss-up between that and the G8 ST as my next new car purchase. Now I look elsewhere.

[buick59]

It almost makes me cry when I see this car and realize it will never be available here. I LOVE my G8 GT and would certainly have bought this instead of ordering my Camaro SS. While I am excited about the Camaro, this car would have been my first choice. And no UTE either.

[elgreen]

The last rays of hope dim in a future of socialist crackerboxes, Maoist Buicks, and FWD misery.

[RedVee8]

At lesst you guys get the Camaro for < $128k!

[Slideways]

I still think the rear wheel opening looked horrible on the Coupe 60. Too small and too flared out. It made the car look like it was wearing shoes three sizes too small. Maybe it was an optical illusion, but every profile shot made the rear wheel/tire look smaller than the front. See what I mean:

I photoshopped the last one with slightly larger wheelwell and wheel/tire.

[stevecmh]

such a great looking car.. to bad it was not made

[KingElvis]

I don't see the beauty there. I liked the old one better. BTW, this was a very informative retrospective. I didn't realize the part about Opel being the basis for Holdens. It really is a shame they didn't have a "Zeta" sedan ready for the US in 2006 - right around the time the Dodge Charger came out.

[prototype66]

That was my screen saver for a week now. Wish it could be more than that.

[desmo9]

I think it's much more appealing than the CTS coupe, and for $20K less no doubt. It could have been a Buick of some sort. Maybe a GN?

Won't ever happen under the likes of Fritz Henderson.

[T'Cal]

A wonderful car, I'm sure. But, it's still a 2+2 pony car. The GTO was always a much bigger vehicle that a family man could justify because it wasn't a tiny sports car, it had a real trunk, and it held three in back. The Coupe 60 is merely more of the 04-06 GTO that failed here. The Camaro already fills that niche and does so with likable retro/modern styling. That was one of the biggest issues with the last GTO: it looked like a Cavalier with a Grand Am nose grafted onto it. That's not a good look for a $34K version of an automotive legend.

[montess2k]

Throw a Buick Emblem on it, call it a Grand National and it will out sell that Camaro, Mustang, and Challenger!!!! line starts behind me to get one!!!!

Joe

[Pellz]

Hello everyone, new to the forum. I've visited the site for sometime now but this article actually made me want to become a member,so I could voice my interest in this car. I maybe nostalgic with my state of mind, but it's always something sexy about fullsize coupes (Mercedes Benz CL-Class, late 60's Chevelles, Olds Cutless, Cadillac coupe Devilles, well you probably get my drift)
Ladies and gents, this should be our Chevrolet Chevelle and with some sheetmetal changes, it should be the Buick Riviera. I may lean closer to the Buick side only because it can demand a high price tag and it certainly will be that halo vehicle that can add to that performance department that Pontiac left void. Besides, if Buick does decide to build the Riviera, it adds another platform into there stable of just FWD luxury Malibus