Holden Commodore SS-V leaked
BY RON HAMMERTON | 10th Feb 2013
Although Holden had elected to hold back the unveiling of the sportiest of its new large car range until it is publicly revealed alongside the V8 Supercar racing version at Sydney’s Eastern Creek raceway next weekend, a couple of images accidentally slipped through the net in a package of pictures of the Calais V that was publicly unveiled in Melbourne today.
The car is seen as a prop behind two of the designers responsible for the new Commodore, Holden Design director Andrew Smith and designer Justin Thompson.
Called VF Sport, the car shown in the images is expected to go into production not only as the Holden Commodore SS-V but also the Chevrolet SS export model that is also set to be revealed next weekend.
The American version, which will be made alongside the Commodore in Adelaide, is scheduled to be formally previewed in Florida next weekend ahead of the Daytona 500 NASCAR season opener in which the Chev SS will make its debut as GM’s challenger in the world’s biggest sedan racing category.
The public unveiling of the Chevrolet SS, which will be powered by the same V8 engine as the SS and SS-V Commodore, forced Holden to show its own Commodore earlier than the Australian branch of GM would have liked, as it still has four months of VE sales to manage before the new VF hits showrooms in June.
No powertrain, performance or pricing figures for any of the Commodore or Chevrolet models have been given yet, with Holden holding those back until closer to launch.
The images of the VF Sport shows two big air openings at the front of the car, with a black grille surrounded by chrome trim, true to the graphics displayed on a NASCAR mock-up of the Chev SS revealed late last year.
LED daytime running lights can be seen in openings either side of the lower main air inlet.
The headlight clusters seem to be shared with the Calais V, but the remainder of the front fascia is quite different from the large chrome-dominated grille on the luxury flagship.
The Holden Commodore SS-V is likely to be unveiled by Holden’s four main drivers in the Australian V8 Supercar Championship, Triple Eight Racing’s Jamie Whincup, Craig Lowndes and Holden Racing Team’s Garth Tander and James Courtney.
The racing version the VF is about to hit the track in pre-season shakedowns, with the Commodore body parts sitting on the new Car of the Future architecture common to all V8 Supercars of all brands from this season.
