Monaro Styling prototypes page 1

 

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HR sketches

These photos from Holden's archives were scanned from Street Machine Aug-Sept 1985 issue, and were part of their Holden's Phase Three article by John Wright.

There was this conventional coupe drawn of the HR model but also the fastback coupe shown below (Holden archives photo scanned from Motor November 2001). This is the second view of the fastback I have seen - I surmise that (not completely surprisingly) the stylists seemed to prefer the fastback then highly fashionable (at least in the US!). Running out of time meant neither went beyond drawings.

HK prototypes

The top left car has body sides similar to contemporary Oldsmobiles and the square headlights impart an Opel look, though a trace of HD kidney scoop front fenders and bumpers comes through. Earliest attempts have "coke-bottle hips" more conventional and more pronounced than ultimate car.

At one point the wheelbase of the HK was stretched to match the 111" of the XR Falcon (1966); some of these pictures show the version before the stretch.

The "finished article" actually still had a little way to go; the top corners of the windscreen are rounder than this on production coupes. In fact, the same effect was carried on to HT-HG Belmont/Kingswood sedans; wagons, utes, panel vans, Premiers and Broughams all retained the square corners characteristic of only those lowest series sedans in the HK series .

This pic is courtesy of Gaza @ Holden Heaven. Click here to visit his site!!

The press were trying to work it out too!

This was a modified sedan photo magazine Australian Motor published in it's July 1968 issue to show an idea of what the HK coupe would look like. They fell into the trap of assuming that the hip line of the sedan would be maintained and the rear fender edge would merge into the sail panel horizontally instead of rising into the roof and surrounding the rear window (later extended to HT-HG Belmonts and Kingswood sedans).

Coupe's name was expected to be Kingswood and Premier but GTS and GTS327 models were mentioned. Roofline of the car in this "doctored" photo was very thin and light compared to that of the production car.