DID YOU KNOW?

• The VN model included the final homologation special built for local touring car racing, but the mighty Commodore SS Group A was not the nastiest V-platform car available. The UK’S Lotus Carlton/omega (top left) packed a 24-valve, 3615cc straight-six, force-fed by a pair of intercooled Garrett T25 turbos running 10lb of boost. It was good for 281kw. Backed by a six-speed manual sourced from the Corvette ZR-1, the diff centre came from our own VN Commodore SS Group A. With a 0-100km/h sprint of just 5.2 seconds and a top speed of 285km/h, performance was on par with the supercars of the day. A ram-raider’s delight, only 950 were built: 320 Carltons and 630 Omegas, all in Imperial Green.

• Holden exported a variant of the Calais, badged as an Opel, in small numbers to Malaysia and Singapore across the VR and VS models. The VR Opel Calais ran a Statesman grille, bonnet and bumper, while the VS upgraded to a Caprice item. Both ran a 2.6-litre Opel straight-six, imported from Germany and installed on the line at Elizabeth.

• The ill-fated UAAI agreement resulted in the Commodore also being sold as the Toyota Lexcen (left and below) throughout the VN-VS run. Future Holden design boss Richard Ferlazzo handled the Lexcen’s mild restyle during his early days at Toyota, but the V6 auto-only Lexcen convinced few, averaging around 12 per cent of Commodore’s sales. The UAAI agreement was dissolved in 1996 and the Toyotadore discontinued in 1997, but not before a Vt-based Lexcen was prototyped, just in case.