Holden Coupe 60

Holden Coupe 60
Holden Coupe 60
Overview
Manufacturer	Holden (General Motors)
Assembly	Australia
Designer	Tony Stolfo
Body and chassis
Class	GT Coupe
Body style	2-door coupé
Layout	Front-engine, rear-wheel drive
Platform	GM Zeta
Related	Holden VE Commodore ; Chevrolet Camaro
Powertrain
Engine	6.0 L LS2 V8
Transmission	6-speed manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase	2,858 mm (112.5 in)
Length	4,837 mm (190.4 in)
Width	1,895 mm (74.6 in)
Height	1,400 mm (55.1 in)

Last updated April 07, 2019

The Holden Coupe 60 concept is a sports coupe developed by Holden in Australia. The Coupe 60 is a pillarless concept car that explores the limits of Holden's current Zeta rear-wheel drive architecture, combining V8 Supercar-inspired styling with innovative technology to form a road-going sportscar. The Coupe 60 is based on a short-wheelbase version of the Holden VE Commodore.

A sports car, or sportscar, is a small, usually two-seater automobile designed for spirited performance and nimble handling. The term "sports car" was used in The Times, London in 1919. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, USA's first known use of the term was in 1928. Sports cars started to become popular during the 1920s.

Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, is an Australian automobile importer and former automobile manufacturer with its headquarters in Port Melbourne, Victoria. The company was founded in 1856 as a saddlery manufacturer in South Australia. In 1908 it moved into the automotive field, becoming a subsidiary of the United States-based General Motors (GM) in 1931, when the company was renamed General Motors-Holden's Ltd. It was renamed Holden Ltd in 1998, and General Motors-Holden in 2005.

Concept car an automobile manufactured to showcase design features that may be present in a future production model

A concept car is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often shown at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not be mass-produced. General Motors designer Harley Earl is generally credited with inventing the concept car, and did much to popularize it through its traveling Motorama shows of the 1950s.

The concept car was first revealed at the 2008 Melbourne International Motor Show, along with the HSV W427. The Coupe 60 celebrates the six decades since Holden built the 48-215 at its Fishermans Bend plant in Port Melbourne, Victoria, and provides a glimpse of Holden's future directions in design, engineering and emerging engine technologies.

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia and Oceania. Its name refers to an urban agglomeration of 9,992.5 km² (3,858.1 sq mi), comprising a metropolitan area with 31 municipalities, and is also the common name for its city centre. The city occupies much of the coastline of Port Phillip bay and spreads into the hinterlands towards the Dandenong and Macedon ranges, Mornington Peninsula and Yarra Valley. It has a population of approximately 4.9 million, and its inhabitants are referred to as "Melburnians".

Port Melbourne is an inner suburb of Melbourne, Australia, 5 km south-west from Melbourne's central business district. It is split between the local government areas of Melbourne and Port Phillip. The area to the north of the West Gate Freeway is in the City of Melbourne. The area to the south is in the City of Port Phillip. At the 2016 Census, Port Melbourne had a population of 16,175.

It cost A$2.5 million to manufacture.^[1]

Production feasibility

At the time of launch, a great deal of speculation ensued that the Coupe 60 may point to another incarnation of the iconic Monaro. The designer stated that the car is production-feasible, including the B-pillarless design.

The Holden Monaro is a rear-wheel drive coupé that was produced by Holden between 1968 and 1977 and between 2001 and 2005. Three generations of the Monaro have been produced, with the last spawning a limited edition model (CV8-Z) to farewell the historic name.

Nevertheless, the Coupe 60 remained a concept car largely because of unjustified development and production costs relative to small sales volume unless accompanied by any export program. Such program was not feasible especially as General Motors, by that time, was developing the larger volume fifth-generation Chevrolet Camaro based on the same Zeta platform shared with the Coupe 60.

General Motors Company, commonly referred to as General Motors (GM), is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Detroit that designs, manufactures, markets, and distributes vehicles and vehicle parts, and sells financial services, with global headquarters in Detroit's Renaissance Center. It was originally founded by William C. Durant on September 16, 1908 as a holding company. The company is the largest American automobile manufacturer, and one of the world's largest. As of 2018, General Motors is ranked #10 on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.

The fifth-generation of the Camaro was manufactured by American automobile manufacturer Chevrolet from 2010 to 2015 model years. It is the fifth distinct generation of the muscle/pony car to be produced since its original introduction in 1967. Production of the fifth generation model began on March 16, 2009 after several years on hiatus since the previous generation's production ended in 2002 and went on sale to the public in April 2009 for the 2010 model year.

Zeta was the original name for General Motors' full-size rear-wheel drive automobile platform developed by GM's Australian subsidiary company Holden and was most recently referred to as the "Global RWD Architecture". The GM Zeta replaced the V-body, and debuted with 2006 Holden Commodore (VE) sedan and utility. This platform was considered as the replacement for the North American W, H, and K platforms until plans were cancelled due to fuel-economy considerations and GM's financial situation. Although the future of the Zeta program was in doubt at that time, in May 2009, Holden began the development of an improved second version of the platform that went on to form the basis of the 2013 Commodore (VF) and Chevrolet SS.

Specifications

The luxury-sports theme of The Coupe 60 is emphasised by such features as a racing-derived chassis setup, including rear-diffuser, front-splitter and carbon-fibre spoiler, and 21-inch centre-lock alloy wheels with unique design Kumho high performance semi-slick tyres.

A chassis is the framework of an artificial object, which supports the object in its construction and use. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart of a motor vehicle, on which the body is mounted; if the running gear such as wheels and transmission, and sometimes even the driver's seat, are included, then the assembly is described as a rolling chassis.

The Coupe 60 is powered by a 6.0-litre LS2 V8, with Active Fuel Management and ethanol (E85) capabilities. Coupled to the same six-speed manual transmission as in the standard Holden Commodore SS, the powertrain delivers upwards of 275 kW (369 bhp) at 5700 RPM and 540 nm (398 lb⋅ft) of torque at 4400 rpm.^{[ citation needed ]}

Active Fuel Management is a trademarked name for the automobile variable displacement technology from General Motors. It allows a V6 or V8 engine to "turn off" half of the cylinders under light-load conditions to improve fuel economy. Estimated performance on EPA tests show a 5.5–7.5% improvement in fuel economy.

E85 is an abbreviation typically referring to an ethanol fuel blend of 85% ethanol fuel and 15% gasoline or other hydrocarbon by volume.

The Holden Commodore is a medium to large sedan sold by Holden since 1978. It was manufactured from 1978 to 2017 in Australia and from 1979 to 1990 in New Zealand, with production in Australia ending on 20 October 2017. From 2018 the Holden Commodore is fully imported from Germany.

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The Pontiac GTO is an automobile that was manufactured by American automobile manufacturer Pontiac from 1964 to 1974 model years, and by GM's subsidiary Holden in Australia from 2004 to 2006 model years.

The Opel Omega is an executive car engineered and manufactured by the German automaker Opel between 1986 and 2003. The first generation, the Omega A (1986–1993), superseded the Opel Rekord, was voted European Car of the Year for 1987, and was available as a saloon or estate. The second generation, the Omega B, was manufactured from 1993 to 2003.

Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) is the officially designated performance vehicle partner of Australian marque, Holden. Established in 1987 and based in Clayton, Victoria, the company modified Holden models such as the standard-wheelbase Commodore, long-wheelbase Caprice and commercial Ute for domestic and export sale. Over the years, Holden Special Vehicles had also modified other non-Holden cars within the General Motors portfolio, in very low volumes.

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The Opel Monza is an executive fastback coupe produced by the German automaker Opel from 1978 to 1986. It was marketed in the United Kingdom as the Vauxhall Royale Coupé by Vauxhall.

The Holden Caprice is a full-sized car which was produced by Holden in Australia from 1990 to October 2017. The similar Holden Statesman, which was also introduced in 1990 as a model below the Caprice, was discontinued in September 2010. Between 1971 and 1984, Holden marketed their long-wheelbase sedans under the Statesman marque.

The Holden Kingswood is a full-size car that was manufactured in Australia by Holden, from the beginning of the HK series in 1968 through to the conclusion of the WB series in 1984. Prior to 1968, the full-size Holden range of family cars comprised the Holden Standard, the Holden Special, and Holden Premier models. Initially, the HK range of models included the basic Holden Belmont, the Kingswood, and the luxury-oriented Holden Premier, all of which were manufactured in a choice of sedan and station wagon bodies. Commercial variants were offered in three types: coupé utility, panel van, and later from 1971, a heavy-duty Holden One Tonner cab chassis. The utility (ute) version was originally marketed in both Belmont and Kingswood configurations. However, after the Belmont name was deleted from commercials at the end of HQ in late 1974, the base model commercials were sold only with the "Holden" badge.

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References

↑ Pettendy, Marton (29 February 2008). "First look: Holden's Monaro lives again". GoAuto.com.au. Retrieved 18 April 2015.

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[1] Pettendy, Marton (29 February 2008). "First look: Holden's Monaro lives again". GoAuto.com.au. Retrieved 18 April 2015.

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Holden Coupe 60

Contents

Production feasibility

Specifications

Related Research Articles

References