Photos: Holden Coupe 60 concept

The highlight of the 2008 Melbourne Motor Show was the Holden Coupe 60 — cough, Monaro, cough. Here it is in all its visual glory.

Named in recognition of the sixtieth anniversary of Holden's, and Australia's, first indigenous mass produced car, the 48-215, the Commodore coupe did a fine job of stealing limelight from Ford's public unveiling of its new Falcon.

Blaze of glory
Under the glare of strobing lights Holden's Coupe 60 concept car was driven along the catwalk at the 2008 Melbourne Motor Show. At the end, an almighty blast was given forth from the car's 6.0-litre V8 engine before we were all left to wonder, "is this the next Monaro?"

Photo credit: Derek Fung

The real deal
If this coupe Commodore does get built, it'll be pretty much as you see it here. Concept car details that will be lost in the translation from concept to production will include the race-style 21-inch alloy wheels and the racing rubber it rests on. Oh, and that pair of side-mounted exhaust pipes.

Photo credit: Derek Fung

Buffy the Vampire Slayer
When you see the Coupe 60 in the flesh, one of its stand out features is its paint. Dubbed "diamond silver", it's a multi-coat paint that was hand buffed over a number of days, lending it a wonderful satin effect — this photo only goes some way to capturing that.

Photo credit: Derek Fung

In the cold light day
In this photo it's easy to see some details that were difficult to pick out during the launch — Holden used a mix of strobe lights and purple floor lighting at the car's official unveiling — including the aggressive, black lower bodykit.

Photo credit: Holden

Sans pillars
Another feature on the concept car which will probably disappear if, or when, the Coupe 60 is transformed into a road-going Monaro is its pillar-less design. Typically cars have a piece of metal — a pillar — behind the front door joining the car's floor to its roof.

Deleting this pillar improves a car's looks but makes the car less solid, to the detriment of safety and handling, amongst other things. Few production cars nowadays go without this pillar. Notable exceptions include Mercedes' CLK and CL coupes.

Photo credit: Holden

Standing from the outside looking in
On the outside, the Coupe 60's and the Commodore's common ancestry is obvious, even though none of the bodywork is shared. Step inside and the Coupe 60's lineage is even clearer. The dash is basically a straight lift from the Commodore. Major changes include the use of a non-functioning V8 Supercar-style digital speedo/tacho screen and replacement of the air vents with open, aluminum finish ducts, as well as the unique steering wheel.

Photo credit: Holden

Boy racer
Sit, as we did, in the Coupe 60 and your body will be bear hugged by one of four racing-style bucket seats with integrated harnesses.

Photo credit: Holden

What's your size?
The Coupe 60's vital dimensions against those of the Commodore sedan. All measurements are in millimetres.

Illustration credit: Holden