THE countdown is on. In a matter of months we’ll all be caught up in a whirlwind romance of the new VE Commodore. Much will be said, and published, about Holden’s newcomer. Adjectives will be as forthcoming as a politician’s promises at election time. The VE will be sleeker, safer, stronger, possibly heavier but hopefully quicker than the last of the current Commodores. The Holden chorus will echo loudly as the VE is sung in to its new position at the top of the Holden food-chain and the VZ is gracefully retired. However, Holden has already given us a taste of the future with the Gen IV 260kW 6.0-litre V8 in the sporty SS sedan – it’s an engine that will appear in the VE. As we discovered, if this sweet-revving performance oriented bent eight is a guide, expect the VE to be full of surprises.
Holden Commodore SS
Released: August 2004
Ended: January 2006
Family Tree: CommodoreThe previous model VZ SS ran with the 5.7-litre Gen III V8 from August 2004 until December 2005, after which tighter new emissions laws prevented Holden building cars with the Gen III (but not selling them if built pre-2006). A direct predecessor to the VZ Commodore SS is the VYII of August 2003, which replaced the VY launched in October 2002, which in turn replaced the facelifted VX SS in October 2000. VX was the first facelift of the then all-new VT Commodore that appeared in September 1997, though the SS only packed the Chev-sourced 5.7-litre Gen III V8 from the VTII update in June 1999. That SS offered 220kW/446Nm (up from the Aussie 5.0-litre V8 the VT SS launched with, which made 179kW/400Nm), while successive SS outputs increased to 225kW/460 (VX), 235kW/465Nm (VY), 245kW/465Nm (VYII) and 250kW/500Nm (VZ).
Road Test
Facebook Twitter Instagram