VL Group A Walkinshaw Commodore Replica
Work Carried Out
This example of the VL Walkinshaw Group A Commodore started out as a replica to begin with. Finest Restorations was tasked with sourcing the final missing pieces to complete the vehicle to give it an undetectable finish from the original. The Finest Restorations team did create a working cold air intake to fit and suit the original bonnet hole and give the 5L more character. Also sourced by the team was new VL trim, wheels, stereo and a Group A Walkinshaw steering wheel. To finish off the project, the vehicle was attended to by a PDR professional and a 2-way glass sunroof was installed. The final stage was to cut, buff and polish the vehicle for a complete paintwork correction for a flawless finish.
Vehicle Specs
Make – VL Group A Walkinshaw Commodore Replica
Year – 1998
Colour – Panorama Silver
Engine – 5L Injection
Gearbox – T5G 5 Speed
History of the Walkinshaw VL Group A
Holden Special Vehicles, operated by Tom Walkinshaw, was established in 1988 to replace HDT. Holden’s radical split with Peter Brock in 1987 had clearly left the company in need of a lucrative partnership – and that necessity brought about the new performance tuning operation. Holden Special Vehicles released their first vehicle being known as the SS Group A. Built between March and November 1988 in very limited numbers (a total of 750 were made) to homologate the car for Bathurst, Australia, the Holden Commodore SS Group A boasted a highly tuned 5-liter V8 engine with Delco EFI producing 180kW of power and 380Nm of torque. Paired with a 5-speed Borg-Warner T5G manual gearbox, Turbo 6/V8 brakes and 16 by 7-inch alloy wheels on 225/55 VR16 tyres were clothed in a dramatic body kit with the added drama of a built-up boot-lid spoiler.
With all Walkinshaw Commodores finished in the same Panorama Silver, they were priced at the same level as the best European luxury cars released at the time at $47,000, which is almost three times the price of a base VL when new. In recent years, cars of this type have experienced tremendous growth in value on the classic muscle car market and they appear to be certain to continue rising next year.
