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Car Of The Day: June 2, 2018; Classic Carlectables '99 Holden Commodore VT V8 Supercar
Topic Started: Jun 2 2018, 02:27 AM (124 Views)
Dean-o-mite
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Today's car of the day is Classic Carlectables' 1999 Holden Commodore VT V8 Supercar.


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Wikipedia
 
The Holden Commodore (VT) is an executive car that was produced by the Australian manufacturer Holden from 1997 to 2000. It was the first iteration of the third generation of this Australian made model and the last one to be powered by a locally made V8 engine (1999). As with previous Commodore models, Holden looked to Opel in Germany for a donor car. The VT series was derived from the Omega B by broadening that vehicle's width and adapting the mechanical setup for Australian conditions. The alternative would have been to adopt the Omega as is (which, notably, was also sold in North America as the Cadillac Catera between 1997 and 2001), save for the engines and transmissions or just reskinning the second generation (VN–VS) architecture. The VT series ended up being a A$600 million development program that spanned more than half a decade. It sported many firsts for an Australian-built car (such as more advanced electronic systems), improved dynamics and increased crash safety also thanks to a body that was 30 percent stiffer than its predecessor, the VS series. Holden's parent company was interested in incorporating a left-hand drive Commodore into the Buick lineup in the United States and became involved in the VT development cycle early on. Holden was provided funds for the necessary engineering changes and a prototype was unveiled to the American public in 1995 as the Buick XP2000 concept car whose styling formed the basis for the VT series. The project, known internally as "Project 127", was abandoned in early 1994, well before the VT's release but Holden made the most of the situation by exporting left-hand drive VTs to parts of Indochina and the Middle East badged as the Chevrolet Lumina, and to Brazil badged as the Chevrolet Omega.



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For more information and pictures of the real car, please visit Wikipedia: Holden Commodore VT


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Classic Carlectables has made numerous different liveried racing cars from Australia's V8 Supercar series, modeling both the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon race cars. Early models from Classic Carlectables, such as this one, were built as toys, and were not very expensive. Later models were improved to near Biante level, but the prices rose to match. Unfortunately, I never did get myself any of the nicer ones.


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Wikipedia
 
The base engine was the 3.8-litre Ecotec V6 that Holden originally launched with the Commodore VS Series II, which remained unchanged except for new exhaust manifolds and the latest Bosch EV6 fuel injectors. Apart from the 5.0-litre Holden V8 (for which Holden spent A$2 million to extract an extra 13 hp over the previous series) and uprated HSV variants, the other engine offered as an option on the Commodore S and SS, and the Calais, was the supercharged version of the Ecotec that was also launched with the VS II. In its latest guise, it generated a higher output of 229 hp thanks to a new engine management system with individual cylinder knock-sensor control. The available transmissions, depending on engine option, included a four-speed 4L60-E automatic and five-speed Getrag 260 manual (replacing Holden's previous Borg-Warner T5 choice) on V6 models and the same automatic or five-speed Getrag 260 and optional six-speed Tremec T56 manuals on V8 models. The fuel tank of 75 litres (up 12 litres for the sedan and 7 for the wagon, compared to the VS series, but down 5 litres relative to that of the previous V8 range) was mounted ahead of the spare wheel floor cavity at the rear.



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Ripa
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Interesting piece. Never heard of the brand before nor seen this casting.
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pjedsel
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:thumbup: Australian V8 Supercar Series - great racing! Yes, these first models from Classic Carlectables were very nice. I had this one and a CAT sponsored Ford that a collector friend sent me from Australia in exchange for John Deere and CAT sponsored US stock cars. :D Thinking it is possible the one Dean shows today he might have gotten from me as I downsized the collection. Outside of these nifty race cars, I really know nothing about the brand. :toy:
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94cadillacfleetwood
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Nothing good ever happens after midnight.
I am familiar with ClassicCarlectables-their main focus is 1:18 scale currently and they are VERY $$$pricey...therefore none in my collection. :(

I love watching V8 Supercars-better than NASCAR in my opinion. Imagine if every NASCAR race was run at Sonoma and Watkins Glen.
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corvairjim
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I used to look forward to the Australian Supercar Series races back when Speedvision/The SPEED Channel would carry them. Now that SPEED has become Fox Sports 2 (I think), we don't get to see this exciting racing anymore. I'm a bigtime NASCAR fan but I openly admit I really like watching those big cars on the road courses. I never heard of this brand until now, and I'd like to see more.
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Pegers
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some eye catching colors.
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Dean-o-mite
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pjedsel
Jun 2 2018, 09:15 AM
:thumbup: Australian V8 Supercar Series - great racing! Yes, these first models from Classic Carlectables were very nice. I had this one and a CAT sponsored Ford that a collector friend sent me from Australia in exchange for John Deere and CAT sponsored US stock cars. :D Thinking it is possible the one Dean shows today he might have gotten from me as I downsized the collection. Outside of these nifty race cars, I really know nothing about the brand. :toy:
This one did in fact come from you. It along with the CAT Ford Falcon have been sitting on my computer desk since their arrival. Somewhere around here, I have several others in different liveries, but have lost track of where the others are.
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cody6268
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Minivan
Why don't I have this? I know I have the Pontiac Deere sponsored,
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pjedsel
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cody6268
Jun 2 2018, 09:48 PM
Why don't I have this? I know I have the Pontiac Deere sponsored,
You might not have it as they were only sold and available in Australia and not that easy to come by back then. :wave:
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