Holden VK Commodore

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from VK SS Group A)
Jump to: navigation, search
Holden VK Commodore
Holden VK Commodore
Manufacturer Holden
Parent company General Motors
Production February 1984–February 1986
Assembly Elizabeth, South Australia, Australia
Predecessor Holden VH Commodore
Successor Holden VL Commodore
Class Mid-size
Body style(s) 4-door sedan
5-door station wagon
Platform FR GM V platform
Engine(s)
  • 1.9 L 54 kW Starfire
(New Zealand market only)
  • 3.3 L 86 kW 'black' engine
  • 3.3 L 106 kW EFI 'black' engine
V8
  • 5.0 L 126-177 kW Black
Transmission(s) 4-speed manual
5-speed manual
3-speed automatic
Wheelbase 2668 mm (105 in)
Length 4714 mm (185.6 in)
Width 1722 mm (67.8 in)
Height 1360 mm (53.5 in)–1378 mm (54.3 in)
Curb weight 1,220 kg (2,690 lb)–1,366 kg (3,012 lb)

The Holden VK Commodore was introduced in 1984 and replaced the VH. It was the first Commodore to have plastic (polycarbonate) bumpers and introduced rear quarter windows for a six-window design (styled by Holden, but similar in appearance to the Opel Senator) as opposed to the four-window design on previous Commodore models. Apart from the bumpers and "glasshouse", other changes for the VK Commodore included a front grille redesign and revamped dashboard instrumentation that included a full digital LED arrangement for the new luxury version, the Calais.

The exterior of the VK Commodore was also updated with a more modern and aggressive appearance. This included a new grill design much different then previous models with three bold strips rather than a metallic grill, the now plastic front and rear bumpers/skirts replacing the obsolete metal guards, and a new rear tail light assembly, whereby they now spread from one side to another with a black panel in between. This all added up to a more prominent, sharper look for the 1980s. Changes were also made to the interior where upon the panel of instruments were now square-shaped rather than the more conventional circular layout. In total, 135,705 VK Commodores were built.

Contents

Engine choices (not necessarily available on all cars in the VK range) were two versions of a 5.0 litre V8 engine (replaced by the 4.9 litre V8 when Group A rules entered Australian motorsport in 1985) and two versions of a 3.3 litre inline 'black' Straight-6 engine (essentially a refined 'blue' I6 with slight increases in power and efficiency), the latter of which was available with either a carburetor or fuel injection. The 3.3 EST carburetor engine was standard equipment for most VK Commodores, with the 3.3 EI injection engine nominated as standard equipment for the Calais sedan.

The 2.85 litre six-cylinder and the 4.2 litre V8, mainstays of the previous Commodore ranges were dropped, hence unavailable to the VK.

The VK range introduced new names for the specification levels, with Executive now a stand-alone nameplate alongside the base model SL. The Executive was basically a Commodore SL appointed with automatic transmission and power steering, and was aimed at capturing the fleet market, a market that Holden had lost its share in when the smaller bodied Commodore originally replaced the Kingswood. Also introduced was the Berlina (replacing SL/X) and Calais (replacing SL/E). The station wagon body style was available in SL, Executive or Berlina variants only, however the limited edition Vacationer name plate was also continued over for a period from the VH Commodore. Other variants produced were the Commodore SS sedan which featured its own specification - courtesy of HDT - high performance 5.0 litre V8, and the limited edition - available only through affiliated HDT Holden dealers - LM 5000, SS Group 3, SS Group A and Calais Director sedans.

The VK also had an impressive racing pedigree, winning the Bathurst 1000 on two occasions, in 1984 in Group C specification with Peter Brock and Larry Perkins, and in 1986 in Group A specification with Allan Grice and Graeme Bailey.

The VK was assembled by General Motors New Zealand at their Trentham assembly plant, near Wellington.

New Zealand VKs were similar, but had slight differences to their Australian sold counterparts, notably the lack of emissions gear, and that a Holden Starfire powered 4-cylinder model was also available. Instead of the Calais, an upmarket model badged 'Royale' was sold, available with both 4 and 6-cylinder engines.


 v  d  e Holden, a subsidiary of General Motors, automobile timeline, 1980s–present
Type 1980s 1990s 2000s
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Subcompact Barina Barina Barina Barina Barina
Gemini Gemini
Compact Viva Viva
Astra Astra Nova Nova Astra Astra Astra Astra
Mid-size Camira Apollo Apollo Vectra Vectra Epica
Commodore
Calais
Full-size Commodore Commodore Commodore
Berlina Berlina
Calais Calais Calais
Statesman Statesman Statesman
Caprice Caprice Caprice
Sports Piazza Calibra Tigra
Monaro
Utility Rodeo Rodeo Rodeo
Ute Ute Ute Ute
1 Tonne One Tonner
Crewman
Van Scurry Combo Combo
Shuttle
Compact MPV Zafira
Mini SUV Drover Cruze
Mid-size SUV Frontera Frontera Adventra Captiva
Jackaroo Jackaroo Jackaroo
Full-size SUV Suburban
Advanced Search
Included Web Search Engines


Safe Search

close

Top Matching Results

Occasionally Search.com will highlight specialized results that are based on the context of your query. Examples of specialized results include specific links to news, images, or video.

Top Matching Results may highlight information from other Search.com pages, content from the CNET Network of sites, or third party content. The listings are based purely on relevance. Search.com does not receive payment for listings in this section but our partners that provide this data may get paid for listing these products.

Sponsored Links

This section contains paid listings which have been purchased by companies that want to have their sites appear for specific search terms and related content. These listings are administered, sorted and maintained by a third party and are not endorsed by Search.com.

Search Results

Search.com sends your search query to several search engines at one time and integrates the results into one list which has been sorted by relevance using Search.com's proprietary algorithm. You can customize the list of search engines included in your metasearch from the preferences.

The search engines that are used in your metasearch may allow companies to pay to have their Web sites included within the results. To view the Paid Inclusion policy for a specific search engine, please visit their Web site. Search.com does not accept payment or share revenue with any search engine partner for listings in this section.