The Holden Monaro (/məˈnɑːroʊ/ Mon-AH-ro) was a rear-wheel drive coupé and saloon car that was produced by Holden between 1968–77 and between 2001-05. Three generations of the Monaro have been produced, with the final spawning a limited edition model (CV8-Z) to say goodbye to the historic name.
The Monaro body was used by several different manufacturing brands around the world, seeing export models, various concept cars and, even an all-wheel drive variant.
Named after the Monaro region in New South Wales (although pronounced differently), Holden's new coupé was introduced in July 1968 as a two-door pillarless hardtop coupé available in three models: Monaro base model, Monaro 'GTS', and Monaro 'GTS 327'. The GTS versions had "full instrumentation" which included a tachometer mounted on the centre console. This proved to be a bad location, as the drivers knee would obstruct the view and it often rattled.:6–7 The cars could be ordered with a choice of six-cylinder engines of 161 in3 (2,640 cc) capacity (base only) or two versions of 186 in3 (3,050 cc) capacity (GTS with the uprated 186S only), or a 307 in3 (5,030 cc) capacity Chevrolet-sourced V8. The exclusive 'GTS 327' model was powered by the 250 bhp (186 kW) Chevrolet 327 in3 (5,360 cc) V8.
Uniquely styled by Holden, the Monaro nevertheless featured styling cues derived from Chevrolet designs, employing a "coke bottle" look similar to that of the Camaro, Corvair, and Nova coupés of the late 1960s.
After Holden engineers had originally claimed that the Monaro's engine bay was too small to house the 327 Chevrolet V8, the decision was made to speed up development of Holden's first ever Australian-developed V8, the 5.0L 308 in3 (5,050 cc) capacity Holden V8 engine, and the smaller, 4.2L 253 in3 (4,150 cc) V8. However, as this particular V8 engine project ran behind schedule, this led to engineers remeasuring the engine bay and finding that the original measurement calculations had been incorrect, thus allowing the use of the imported Chevrolet engine after all.
The HK Monaro GTS327 gave Holden its first victory in the Bathurst 500 in 1968 at the hands of Bruce McPhee and co-driver Barry Mulholland. Whilst Mulholland only drove one of the total 130 race laps, McPhee drove the remainder and also scored both pole position and fastest lap of the race.
Norm Beechey drove a HK Monaro GTS327 to third place in the 1969 Australian Touring Car Championship, the first time the ATCC was held as a series rather than a single race. Beechey showed the capabilities of the Monaro when he won the final two rounds of the five-round series at Surfers Paradise and Symmons Plains.
In early 1969, the HK Monaro range was awarded Wheels magazine's Car of the Year for 1968.
In June 1969, the HK Monaro was replaced by the facelifted HT Monaro.:39 The 'GTS 327' became the 'GTS 350' with the replacement of the Chevrolet 327 in3 (5.4 L) V8 by the 300 bhp (224 kW) Chevrolet 350 in3 (5.7 L) V8. As the Monaro was Holden's main car in Series Production racing, this was primarily in response to Ford who had released the Ford XW Falcon GTHO Phase I in 1969 which was powered by the 351 Windsor V8 engine (5.8 L). There was also an automatic version of the 'GTS 350' introduced which used a lower power version of the 350 in3 (5.7 L) engine coupled to a 2-speed Powerglide transmission. HT Monaro also marked the phasing out of the 5.0-litre Chevrolet V8, and the introduction of Holden's own locally made V8 engines, the 4.2-litre 253, and the 5.0-litre 308. Late in the HT model run, a new locally produced 3-speed automatic transmission, the Trimatic, was offered as an option, although it was not available on the 'GTS 350'.
The HT Monaro can be distinguished from the HK by the adoption of plastic grilles (previously metal), a round speedometer instead of "strip" style allowing for bringing the tachometer into the main instrument cluster instead of on the floor console, rubber front suspension bushes instead of the HK's sintered bronze, and larger taillights where the turn indicators also wrapped around the now slightly undercut edges. Bodywork 'go-faster' stripe designs (delete options) varied for each series; HK stripes were offset to the driver's side of the bonnet (hood) and bootlid (trunk), the HT had two broad stripes down the centre of the car. HT also had twin air scoops / vents incorporated into their bonnet, which served no real purpose in delivering air into the engine bay.
The HT Monaro GTS350 was successful in Series Production racing. The Holden Dealer Team was formed in 1969 by longtime Ford Works Team boss Harry Firth with the team using the GTS350 in competition. The HDT entered three Monaros in the 1969 Hardie-Ferodo 500 the lead car driven by Colin Bond and Tony Roberts winning from 1968 winners Bruce McPhee and Barry Mulholland who had switched to driving a Falcon GTHO. Coming home third in the Dealer Team's 3rd Monaro was Des West and Bathurst rookie Peter Brock.
In January 1970, Bond and Roberts would win the Rothmans 12 Hour Series Production race at Surfers Paradise driving their HDT Holden Monaro.
Norm Beechey upgraded to a HT GTS350 and would win the 1970 Australian Touring Car Championship, Holden's first ever ATCC championship success. Beechey won three of the seven rounds at Bathurst, Sandown and Lakeside where he wrapped up the title. The 550 bhp (410 kW) Monaro (which Beechy and his chief mechanic Pat Purcell had bored out from 5.7 to 6.0 litres) proved too much for the opposition which included defending champion Ian Geoghegan in his Ford Mustang, Allan Moffat in his Ford Mustang Boss 302 Trans-Am, Bob Jane's Mustang and Beechey's own teammate Jim McKeown in a Porsche 911S. Beechey's win was all the more remarkable considering he failed to finish at Warwick Farm and did not start the final round at Symmons Plains after suffering an engine failure in qualifying. He also finished 2nd to Geoghegan in round 4 at Mallala.
Beechey would continue to run the Monaro (dubbed Trans-Aus in reference to its Australian build compared to the American Trans-Am cars of his opposition) for another two seasons, though unreliability plagued the car in 1971 and 1972. Norm only finished fifth in the 1971 ATCC, winning only round two at Calder. The 1972 ATCC saw Beechey retire from the first three rounds at Symmons Plains, Calder and Bathurst before his only points for the series came from a third place in round four at Sandown Park. At the end of 1972 as a result of the Supercar scare, the Improved Production class was shut down by CAMS with a new production based Group C touring car class introduced for which the Monaro was not eligible to race.
Released on 26 July 1970, the HG Monaro was the last of the original coupé design concept. HG had cleaner lines with brightwork reduced and some re-designed. The HG sported different striping (delete options) which were known as "sidewinder" stripes which ran along the top edge of the fenders, under the windows and finishing just before the rear pillar. The "Monaro" badge on both rear pillars was introduced to all models. For the HG GTS, the "GTS" badges now featured black paint fill, received new black-out paint on rocker panels, with the GTS 350 getting bold treatment with new "sidewinder" stripes and bonnet scoop black-outs. "GTS 350" designations now featured gutsier decals on the fenders and boot lid. Wheel arch moldings were deleted on all models. The "GTS 350" models no longer had the 350 Chevrolet badge on the fender, but rather a bold decal stating "350" as well as blackouts that covered the air-vents on the bonnet. The GTS badge originally above the gills in the fenders would be removed and would now be black instead of red (with the badges being placed on the passenger side of the grille and boot). The taillights had a cleaner look and the grille was redesigned.
Most mechanical specifications remained the same as HT series, with the exception of Monaro GTS (non-350), which had softened suspension, resulting in a smoother ride. Manual HG GTS 350 retained the suspension from the HT GTS 350. Other upgrades included thicker (HT GTS 350 style) power front disc brakes, now standard for all V8 and the 6-cylinder Monaro GTS. The HG would be the final model for the generation and the last to use the original body shell.
HT series Monaros were assembled in South Africa from imported parts by General Motors South Africa (GMSA) at the Port Elizabeth assembly plant.<:65 Later the HG series Monaro was assembled and sold in South Africa badged as the Chevrolet SS.:65 At this time GMSA had made a decision to market most of its products as Chevrolets. The Chevrolet SS had revised front styling unique to that model, incorporating four headlights and large turn indicators in the front edge of the fenders above the bumper. The Holden Monaro and Chevrolet SS models were both available with Holden 308 in3 (5.0L) and the Chevrolet 350 in3 (5.7 L) engines.:65 South African sales totalled 1,828 Monaros and 1,182 SS models.:65
A completely new generation body design emerged with the HQ series in July 1971, including the new Monaro 'LS' (commonly believed to mean "Luxury Sports") model which featured four headlights and chrome trim rings taken from the Holden Premier sedan. There were no longer any six-cylinder versions of the Monaro GTS, just the locally manufactured 4.15 L (253 cu in) or optional 5.0 L (308 cu in) V8s or the top level GTS350 coupé, equipped with an imported 5.7 L (350 cu in) Chevrolet motor.
The base model Monaro standard engine was enlarged to 173 in3 (2,830 cc) whilst the Monaro LS had a broad spectrum of engine options from a 202 in3 (3,310 cc) six to the 350 in3 (5,700 cc) V8. The new coupé design had a much larger rear window and a squarer rear quarter window; it was somehow seen as not as sporty looking compared to the earlier HK-HT-HG series, but is often now considered one of the best looking body designs to come from an Australian producer. Taillights were now rectangular in dual-unit style, integrated into the rear bumper; they were not unlike those of the American 1969 Chevrolet Bel Air/Biscayne.
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