HDT VK GROUP A MARKET REVIEW

AUTOMOTIVE ICONS come but rarely go and one model that has stood tall ever since its 1985 debut is the VK Group A.

Painted Formula Blue and nicknamed ‘Blue Meanie’, this was the car Peter Brock believed could challenge Europe’s best by contesting iconic Touring Car races and thereby putting his products on the world motor sporting stage.

Reducing the stroke of Holden’s 5044cc V8 to comply with international capacity regs did nothing to harm the engine’s output or tractability. To complement its 4987cc, the ‘Meanie’ motor featured roller rockers, a dualrow timing chain, L34 connecting rods, a revised camshaft and inlet manifold. In stock trim it gained 20kW on the larger engine, with improved response across the rev range.

To qualify for World Touring Car Championship contention, HDT needed to build a minimum 500 examples of the VK and there was no shortage of buyers wanting to help meet the requirement. Survivors aren’t difficult to locate either, however many owners are reluctant to part with their piece of the Brock legend while values keep bubbling.

The ‘boom’ of 2005-07 sent VK values – along with many others – soaring before plummeting at equivalent pace. If you climbed aboard a Group A just as the world emerged from its Global Financial Crisis hibernation, chances are you bought a lowkilometre example for around $80,000. That same car, three years earlier, would have been bringing $125-150K.

Holding onto this lump of rolled gold Holden heritage would not only have brought immense enjoyment but a significant boost to the owner’s net worth as well.

By 2020, the money being bid for exceptional cars was pushing past $300,000 and that was even before Brock’s Own VK with 77,000km on the clock hit the auction block. As a result, the $1 million barrier got skittled for the first time by a road-spec HDT.

Not many road-going Brocks are likely to top that price, however there will likely still be Group As hidden in sheds that haven’t been traded in years and must rate a good chance of clocking $500K or more.

‘Replica’ or ‘tribute’ HDTs were generally created many years ago when the donor cars were cheap and getting the details right didn’t matter much.

Today, with genuine Group As bringing massive prices and even V8 SLs or Berlinas worth way more than they were 20 years ago, taking a fake VK back to its original state could be smarter than persevering with a half-arsed Group A ‘tribute.’