The old Holden Special Vehicles one-two in Adelaide, Larry Perkins from Denny Hulme, Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SVs, touring car support race during the 1988 Australian Grand Prix carnival.
It was the first for Tom Walkinshaw’s nascent marque, but far from the last! One of most unfortunate aspects of Peter Brock’s cataclysmic act of corporate suicide with General Motors Holden was that the jewel in the crown, Holden’s performance vehicles arm, was delivered into Johnny Foreigner’s hands. Tom Walkinshaw’s hands.
The Great Scot seized the opportunity with both hands and with strong local management led by John Crennan made a motza…and built some great cars.
The great Peter Stevens designed the car to an aerodynamic brief sketched by Walkinshaw on a Regent Hotel, Melbourne napkin. The sketch was done in Crennan’s presence, who nearly had kittens when he considered the task of selling such a visually challenging car, however effective the aerodynamics on track undoubtedly were.
Tom Walkinshaw in the Holden VL Commodore SS, he shared with Jeff Allam, to 15th place in the September 4, 1988 RAC Tourist Trophy ETCC round, won by the Andy Rouse/Alain Ferte RS500
The cars were effective on track…and hard to sell! HSV’s first model had to be memorable and it most certainly was however difficult it was for the whiteshoes to move.
While Stevens set about his task, Crennan briefed Australian corporate brand identity agency Flett, Henderson Arnold in Abbotsford, Melbourne to develop the HSV logo and a brand manual that encompassed all uses of the brandmark across the cars, signage, letterhead, in-dealership, brochures and other corporate marketing material.
Richard Henderson led a small team which came up with a range of ideas, including the one Holden fans know and love…
I’d been an outside advisor to FHA, then Australia’s pre-eminent brand design and implementation outfit in the 1990s and 2000s – Telstra, BHP Billiton, Orica, Sydney Olympic and Paralympic Games, Crown Casino were all our designs – and joined FHA as a shareholder/CEO just in time to be invited to HSV’s 1988 Bathurst junket. A weekend on the slops to start a 13-year adventure had to be a good sign.
HSV entertainment didn’t extend to hot and cold running blondes at that stage, it was very much ham and cheese sarnies and a beer in a modest tent. It was so hands-on that Crennan himself drove the ‘Kombi’ full of freeloaders to Bathurst Airport after the event. It’s all a bit hazy actually…
The TWR car raced by Uncle Tom and Jeff Allam (below) was a bit of a shitter, Q8 and DNF rear axle after only five laps. Larry’s run was a lot better, Q8 and running second in the race including giving his boss, Walkinshaw a session, but on lap 137 he pitted with engine problems. That TWR built car won Bathurst in Win Percy and Allan Grice’s hands in 1990.
Etcetera…
Cause for celebration, completion of the build of the 500th VL SS at GM’s Dandenong factory on July 18, 1988, the end of the run. Not quite actually, they later built another 250. Why was that if they really sold so poorly?
Larry during the Wellington 500, NZ 1988, he was second with Denny Hulme behind the winning Roberto Ravaglia/Emmanuele Pirro BMW M3 Evo. FHA’s race livery looks pretty good…
Perkins and Part. Larry and Neill ‘Part’ Burns, legendary engine builder in 1988. That Holden cast iron, pushrod, two-valve, fuel-injected, circa 480bhp, 4987cc V8. The car weighed about 1325kg, discs front and rear, of course, it had 11×17 inch wheels front and rear, the whole lot hit the road via a Getrag 5-speed ‘box.
Many thanks to Stephen Dalton for this September 1988 Holden Motor Sport bulletin.
Finish as we started, Larry in front in Adelaide in 1988. Maybe the HSV VL SS wasn’t the prettiest roadie but it was one helluva good looking racing car!
Credits…
Getty Images, Peter Stevens Design, daviddowsey.com, Perkins Engineering, Motorsport Images, Auto Action, Adelaide Grand Prix, Stephen Dalton Collection
Tailpiece…
It’s easy to forget, given his subsequent touring car success, that Tom cut his teeth in single-seaters. Here in the October 6, 1974 British F5000 championship at Snetterton. Q8 and DNF oil pump in this Modus M5 Ford-Cosworth GAA 3.4-litre V6.
Finito…
primotipo... 