The Holden Monaro is an automobile that was produced by GM Holden Ltd, an Australian subsidiary of General Motors, between 1968 and 1977 and between 2001 and 2005. Since 1968, three generations of the Monaro have been produced. Named after the Monaro region in New South Wales, the Monaro was introduced in July 1968 as a two door pillarless hardtop coupe available in three models.
The basic Monaro coupe, Monaro GTS coupe and Monaro GTS 327 coupe. The GTS versions had full instrumentation which included a tachometer mounted on the centre console. This proved to be a bad location as the drivers knee would obstruct the view and it often rattled. The cars could be ordered with a choice of six cylinder engines of 161 cu in (2,640 cc) capacity (base only) or two versions of 186 cu in (3,050 cc) capacity (GTS with the uprated 186S only), or a 307 cu in (5,030 cc) capacity Chevrolet sourced V8. The exclusive GTS 327 model was powered by the 250 bhp (186 kW) Chevrolet 327 cu in (5,360 cc) V8. In early 1969 the HK Monaro range was awarded Wheels magazine’s Car of the Year for 1968.
The HT Monaro can be distinguished from the HK by the adoption of plastic grilles, a round speedometer instead of strip style allowing for bringing the tachometer into the main instrument cluster instead of on the floor console, rubber front suspension bushes instead of the HK’s sintered bronze, and larger taillights where the turn indicators also wrapped around the now slightly undercut edges. Bodywork go faster stripe designs varied for each series, HK stripes were offset to the driver’s side of the bonnet and trunk, the HT had two broad stripes down the centre of the car. HT also had twin air scoops incorporated into their bonnet, which served no real purpose in delivering air into the engine bay.
A completely new generation body design emerged with the HQ series in July 1971, including the new Monaro LS model. There were no longer any six cylinder versions of the Monaro GTS, just 253 or optional 308 V8s or the top level GTS350 coupe. The base model Monaro standard engine was enlarged to 173 cu in (2,830 cc) whilst the Monaro LS had a broad spectrum of engine options from a 202 cu in (3,310 cc) six to the 350 cu in (5,700 cc) V8. The new coupe design had a much larger rear window and a squarer rear quarter window, it was somehow seen as not as sporty looking compared to the earlier HK,HT,HG series, but is often now considered one of the best looking body designs to come from an Australian producer.
Some 20 years had passed before the Monaro reappeared in the form of a Holden Commodore Coupe prototype, codenamed Matilda, that was shown at the Sydney Motor Show in 1998. Using the existing Holden Commodore, already based on the Opel Omega B modified chassis, Journalists quickly christened it the Monaro, encouraging Holden to build it. Public interest in the car grew and orders came flooding in. Eventually, Holden took the Matilda and redesigned it for production and by 2001, the V2 series Monaro was launched after General Motors spent A$60 million over a 22 month gestation period. It was available in CV6 and CV8 models with a supercharged 3.8 L V6 and a 5.7 L Gen III V8, with a choice of a 6 speed manual or 4 speed automatic gearbox.
Two special edition CV8-R Monaros were released, the first in a grey colour and the second in a more muted red. Each had special wheels and other distinguishing features. In late 2004, Holden introduced the VZ range of Commodore vehicles which in 2005 were upgraded to feature the 6.0 litre L76 V8 engine in SS sedans and other variants. The Monaro CV8 was similarly upgraded and also received revised front and rear bumper assemblies, to be now referred to as the VZ Monaro CV8. The revised rear bumper and new ducted bonnet pressing would soon find their way onto the export Pontiac GTO. However, in July 2005 Holden announced that production of the current generation Monaro CV8 would soon be coming to an end.
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Paul Polkinghorne
