STATESMAN/ CAPRICE

THE NEW MONARO’S GESTATION WAS REMARKABLY SHORT – JUST 22 MONTHS AND $60 MILLION

DESPITE the heavy investment in the VT, including a long-wheelbase wagon, the Vt-based WH Statesman and Caprice twins were not a sure thing. The early 1990s saw Holden selling around 200 units per month of the VQ, which heralded the company’s return to the long-wheelbase market, but it wasn’t enough to justify continuing the model.

Bill Hamel set a target; with the March 1994 release of the VR Statesman/caprice, Holden had to shift around 400 units per month or a big, new Vt-based limo was off the cards. Fortunately, the VR’S American-inspired styling struck a chord with private buyers and hire car fleets alike; it sold around 500 units per month before being replaced with the same-but-different VS model.

Hamel approved the Vt-based WH in late 1994 for release in June 1999, with the new LS1 optional on the Stato and standard on the Caprice. The WH Series II copped the relevant VXII upgrades in August 2001 and the model saw two further updates, WK and WL, in line with VY and VZ Commodore releases. The line proved so popular in both Australia and overseas that when the all-new VE Commodore was introduced in July 2006, there was no delay in the long-wheelbase version; the new-gen WM was released alongside the Commodore, with development of a replacement wagon taking a back seat.