HDT 'Blue Meanie'

[tickford2001]

i see HDT have launched a new toy...?

http://www.bluemeanie.com.au/#/51

[FTE72]

looks much better than the VC tribute. I like it. The VK group A is my favourite commodore looks wise, and this is a very well thought out retro styling.

[tickford2001]

not too much on the net yet...this tops the google results :

[Polyal]

Oh No!

I really like that. This and the other HDT are about the only cars that the flared look really works.

The original is awesome aswell.

[TP351]

I kinda like it. Needs the HSV taillight treatment though IMO. Unfortunately, wrong badge.......

[tickford2001]

350kw is decent too, and i see there is a supercharger option

[gcg2503]

VK GrpA Blue Meanie - mmmm 196kw back in the day

Favourite HDT

Like this tribute version too actually - interior needs to be toned down a tad if anything

[fatxagt]

Looks Fantastic,,,, oops did i say that?

[burnz]

notice the exhaust Grp 4

[Fev]

i have to say that looks effn incredible

[PepeLePew]

Noice! I saw a VC tribute on the road the other day and it actually looked better in the flesh than the pics.

But THIS, is sweet... be interesting to see it in the flesh, pretty friendly camera angles.

[Fev]

Originally Posted by PepeLePew

Noice! I saw a VC tribute on the road the other day and it actually looked better in the flesh than the pics.

But THIS, is sweet... be interesting to see it in the flesh, pretty friendly camera angles.

i've gotta say the same about the VE2 HSV's. I've seen 2 since the weekend - one im pretty sure was a media car (number plate: HSVR8) and one in the showroom at Waitara Holden. The front end actually looks pretty good but the bum still looks like a pile of puke.

[auxr]

That looks the goods - best looking version in my books, powers up there as well.

Wrong badge, but the colour's good. he he

[Cheese3]

that looks great, not over the top or anything, love the wheels.

[HLC]

that looks wicked! love it!

[Fairlane]

howmuchizzit?

[R-Design]

Originally Posted by words & photos - Joshua Dowling

Modern version of Brock 'Blue Meanie' breaks cover at Bathurst

Peter Brock may be gone but the legend lives on. A modern version of the most popular Brock Commodore road car ever made was unveiled at the Bathurst 1000 today -- and will be on the road by the end of the year. The new-generation HDT 'Blue Meanie' -- inspired by the 1985 VK Group A Commodore -- was unveiled by Bev Brock at Mount Panorama today (Friday, October 9).

"Peter would be very proud of this car," Bev Brock told the Carsales Network.

"He always wanted to get back into the performance car business and what has happened today continues his dream. This is the modern version of what Peter would have done today."

Brock said her racer husband never picked a favourite among his road cars but she said he had a "soft spot" for the VK Group A, which earned the nickname 'Blue Meanie' because it was: "lean and mean and built for Group A racing".

Priced from $77,000, the new Blue Meanie is the third in a line-up modern HDT heritage series of vehicles based on the latest VE Commodore SS and inspired by the original Brock road cars. They cannot be purchased at Holden dealerships; instead customers must first buy a Commodore SS and then take it to HDT for conversion.

Over the past two years HDT has released models inspired by the original VC Brock Commodore and the VH Group 3 Brock Commodore.

The 'Blue Meanie' is painted exactly the same colour (Formula Blue) as the 1985 original and wears the same nickname because of its tough appearance. HDT has even reproduced a modern version of the single-slot grille, race-car style rear wing and turbine-style wheels with centre areo disc.

As with the original Brock VK Commodore road cars, customers will have a choice of alloy finish or white wheels.

The show car is powered by a 500kW and 1000Nm supercharged 7.0-litre engine, but the road cars that will be offered for sale are based on the 6.0-litre V8 that comes with the Commodore SS. However, it will have modifications including a special cam, high-performance exhaust and an engine tune that, combined, produces a claimed 350kW of power.

To date, HDT has sold 30 retro-inspired cars -- 15 VC models and 15 VH models -- over the past two years, but it plans to produce 250 of the 'Blue Meanie' model. The new car is slightly dearer than a HSV Clubsport, but HDT says its car will be more exclusive.

"We are not competing with HSV, we are offering customers something who want a more unique package and who want what Brock would have built today," HDT owner Peter Champion, a long time friend of Peter Brock and former mining contractor, told the Carsales Network.

"I got the Brock bug after buying my first car years ago and I didn't stop," he said.

"There are a lot of people out there who, like me, are Brock fans and would love to drive a car that Brock would build today.

"When Brock retired from full-time racing we spoke about his dream a lot, and I've been fortunate enough to be in a position to try to continue that for him."

The Rockhampton-based 55-year-old owns the largest collection of Brock road and race cars in Australia. More than 40 vehicles from his personal collection are on public exhibition at Champion's Brock Experience at Yepoon on the central Queensland coast.

"This is without a doubt the biggest project we've undertaken," said Champion.

"The original 'Blue Meanie' Brock Commodores are the most popular among Brock collectors and that's why we think there will be strong interest in this car."

HDT has already taken its first order today and expects to have a handful of cars on the road by the end of this year.

The company is hopeful the modern version will share of the original model's popularity. An original VK Group A with just 94km on the clock and known affectionately as "the bubble car" because it was so immaculate, was sold at auction at the Sydney Motor Show two years ago for $250,000 -- the highest amount paid for a Brock Commodore on record. Typically, other Brock models fetch between $50,000 and $130,000.

http://carpoint.com.au/news/2009/lar...-group-a-16997

[Polyal]

JD would have been having a bat while writing that piece.

$77k is not bad, rather that than any HSV. Who runs HDT, is it an arm of HSV/TWR but not advertised? So many fingers in the pie over that side.

[ON_DUBS]

not a fan of any of these retro inspired VE...

what I WOULD like to see is somebody put the 20" retro HDT wheels on a VC or VK HDT

[Mark s]

Well I think it looks wonderful. I think it is the best looking VE so far. I agree with the others on the VC copy been a little tacky.

This looks tough and I would own one in a second.

[gcg2503]

Originally Posted by Polyal

JD would have been having a bat while writing that piece.

$77k is not bad, rather that than any HSV. Who runs HDT, is it an arm of HSV/TWR but not advertised? So many fingers in the pie over that side.

I believe it is a totally independant operation with no HSV type asosciation

Financed by that Peter Champion bloke

[LeadFoot81]

I loved the VK grp A look back in my teens when I was a non partisan enthusiast. The VE tribute looks great!

[Falcon Coupe]

I quite like that, much better than the new E series.

Retro stlye done tastefully.

[R-Design]

non-factory = rice.

[Sprint347]

Is that $77k on top of the purchase of the SS?

[1LOUDXFUTE]

i like it, looks tough as

[Mr Hardware]

looks legendary
looks just plain tough. why don't they make tough looking cars anymore?

[Nikked]

iLike, but i think the wheels are a bit too much.

[R-Design]

Originally Posted by Richard Blackburn, drive.com.au, October 9, 2009

A Queensland businessman has developed a modern version of the Brock Commodore based on the touring car legend’s 1985 Group-A VK Commodore.

The king of the mountain may be gone, but his spirit has been revived in a 21st century take on the VK Brock Commodore.

Queensland businessman and Brock fanatic Peter Champion today unveiled a re-make of the VK Group A Commodore raced by the nine-time champion at Bathurst in 1985.

The retro-styled car, which is based on the current model VE Commodore but has styling cues from the VK Brock Commodore of the eighties, can be bought for $75,000.

Champion has bought the rights to the HDT brand name that Brock established before his famed falling out with Holden in the eighties.

Champion, who has also set up a museum in Brock’s honour at Yepoon, near Rockhampton in Queensland, has previously developed retro versions of the VC and VH Brock Commodores, which have sold in very limited numbers.

But the new HDT Commodore, unveiled at Bathurst by Brock’s long-time partner Bev, will have an ambitious production run of 250 cars.

The general manager of HDT, Darren Gillis, says that although the company has only sold 30 cars so far, he expects the VK to sell in much bigger numbers.

“We feel this will be a lot more popular, because the VK was the most popular of the Brock Commodores,” he says.

He says the company is confident of re-building the nameplate that was once revered as the pinnacle of performance by Holden enthusiasts.

“We have been trying to put the HDT name back where it belongs. It was an icon in the 80s and we’d like it to be that way again,” he says.

The original HDT VK was a “homologation special” limited run of 500 cars, designed to qualify the model for Group A racing at Bathurst.

As new, the car cost $21,950 and put out 196kW, slightly more than the current base model Commodore.

The VK model is now probably the most collectible of the Brock Commodores, with some models worth up to $120,000.

Buyers who order an HDT Commodore first have to buy a manual black VE SS-V Commodore (No autos are available) from a Holden dealer. The car is then re-sprayed in the original “Formula Blue” of the VK version, before undergoing extensive modifications to the engine, brakes and suspension.


Tweaks to the camshaft, engine management system and exhaust boost the car’s output from the factory’s 270kW to a hairy-chested 350kW. A more powerful, supercharged version putting out 500kW is available on request. The car also gets Billstein springs and shock absorbers. HDT covers the modifications under a separate warranty, as the changes void the Holden warranty.

Apart from the mechanical changes, HDT also makes modifications to the interior, including “HDT” embossing on the seats. A four-seat interior can also be ordered as an option.

Gillis says that while Holden does not endorse the HDT range, “we have a relationship with them”.

http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/Ar...rticleID=66261

[DJM83]

I think it looks nice, ive seen afew VC retros on the road i must say they look a ton better on the road. Pity they dont come with the motor that powered the show car Whats next the VL Walkinshaw retro, wonder what that would look like.