HSV WALKINSHAW COMMODORE GOING TO AUCTION WITH SLATTERY

Slattery Auctions and Valuations will auction one of Australia’s greatest home-grown muscle cars this March in the form of a 1988 HSV VL Commodore SS Group A SV – better known as the ‘Walkinshaw Commodore’.

Genuine Walkinshaw Commodore
Build #227 from ‘first batch’ of 500
Sold new in Victoria, now located in Queensland
Three owners from new, 84,309kms
Repaint and Interior refurbishment
Documentation includes HSV Certificate of Authenticity
Signed by Tom Walkinshaw (dec. 2010)
Online auction runs from 1 to 12 March

The Walkinshaw Commodore story has been told many times and most Holden enthusiasts can speak of all the details that define the car, as well as the machinations that led to its creation, but for those that don’t know, read on…

The split between Holden and Peter Brock caused by the unauthorised HDT Director model (the Energy Polarizer put the crack in the relationship, but it was the Director that caused the split) left Holden looking for a new partner to produce and market Commodore-based performance road cars. At the time, speculation as to who would take over from Brock read like a ‘who’s who’ of Australian racing talent, from John Harvey to Allan Grice, Larry Perkins and even Allan Moffat.

Tom Walkinshaw wasn’t the first or most obvious choice to partner with Holden in building fast Commodores, but the Scot had the runs on the board in the UK and had become familiar to Aussies after his TWR (Tom Walkinshaw Racing) Jaguars won Bathurst in 1985. A range of ‘TWR Sport’ upgraded Jaguar XJ-S coupes produced in the same period showed that Walkinshaw could work with a mainstream manufacturer. As such, a deal between TWR and GM-H was signed in mid-1987, Holden Special Vehicles was created and the ‘VL Commodore SS Group A SV’ was the first product of that relationship, released in March, 1988.

As the name indicates, the SS Group A SV (the ‘SV’ suffix added to distinguish it against the HDT SS Group A that had already been produced) was created to homologate the Commodore for Group A touring car competition; an international formula that Australia had adopted in 1985. To be eligible for Group A, a set number of road cars had to be built for the racing version to be legal. This was initially 5,000, but loopholes were exploited and the VL SS Group A SV came along at a time when just 500 ‘evolution’ versions of the base model meant a car could go Group A racing.

What defined the SS Group A SV – the first HSV car - was its abundance of bodywork. Wind tunnel tested, this was all functional, designed to help the car cut through the air as efficiently as possible, while also providing enough air for the cooling system and engine, which in this case was a tuned version of the GM-H 5.0-litre V8. In its base form, this engine was carburated and produced just 124kW and 323Nm. Fuel-injection increased those outputs, but the HSV version managed to extract 180kW and 380Nm from the same capacity via the adoption of several measures, most notably the inlet manifold with twin throttle bodies developed by Walkinshaw.

To this performance V8, a Borg Warner five-speed manual transmission was added, sending power to the rear wheels through a limited slip diff. FE2 suspension with Bilstein dampers on modified mountings, heavy-duty four-wheel disc brakes, Bridgestone tyres and HSV 16-inch alloy wheels were all standard.

The “one spec” nature of homologation meant that all SS Group A SVs had the same running gear, brakes, suspension and aero add-ons. All had the same colour, too, even though they didn’t need to. Panorama Silver was unique to the model, with the only option offered by HSV being a mesh grille for the air dam, although there were instances of dealers fitting sunroofs and other extras.

Interiors were all trimmed the same, with standard features including sports front seats, a leather-wrapped Momo steering wheel and matching shifter knob, sports instrumentation, air conditioning, power windows, central locking, an alarm, AM/FM stereo cassette sound system, power aerial, fully carpeted floors and tinted windows. None of this was needed for homologation, but it helped the cars seem exclusive, as well as justifying a starting price of $45,500. This was a huge amount in 1988, being almost double the price of the most expensive VL Calais and even $15,000 more than the HDT SS Group A.

Despite the high price, response to the Walkinshaw Commodore was fast and enthusiastic, with the entire 500-unit run selling out quickly. This led Holden to get a little greedy and commission a further 250 examples. These proved much harder to sell, exacerbated by the arrival of the VN Commodore later in 1988. The final units took months to find buyers with apocryphal stories of Holden dealers stripping the aero parts off Walkinshaws in an effort to get them out of the showroom.

For the first two decades or so after its introduction, values of the Walkinshaw Commodore remained low, rarely exceeding $60 or 70K, but in the mid-2010s, prices started to creep up, with six-figure sums becoming the rule, not the exception. More recently, prices went crazy, resulting in low mileage examples with good provenance achieving $300,000 or more. Prices have settled since then (blame repeated interest rate rises and the cost of living for that), but only a little, with a good Walky still capable of achieving $200,000+.

The car offered through Slattery Auctions and Valuations is a genuine SS Group A SV, number 227 from the original batch of 500, and is described as an excellent example in terms of body, paint and interior. Sold new in Victoria, this three-owner Walky had a repaint and interior retrim completed by its second owner, who won more than a dozen trophies with the car on the show circuit.

With an indicated 84,309km on the odometer, SS Group A SV #227 is being offered by Slatterys as is and unregistered in an online auction that runs from 6:00PM AEDT on 1 March to 8:00PM AEDT on 12 March. The car is located in Queensland and includes the owner’s manual, service records, period sales literature and an HSV Certificate of Authenticity. The glovebox has been signed by Tom Walkinshaw.

Bidding starts at $150,000. For more details on this car and to bid, click HERE.

For general information on Slattery auctions, including bidder registration, how to list your vehicle and upcoming auctions, click HERE.