Holden Hurricane | |
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Overview | |
Manufacturer | Holden (General Motors) |
Production | 1969 |
Designer | Ken Genest under Don DaHarsh |
Body and chassis | |
Body style | Coupé |
Layout | Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel drive layout |
Doors | Canopy |
Related | Vauxhall SRV |
Powertrain | |
Engine | 253c.i 4.2ltr LHoldenV8 |
TheHolden Hurricane is a two-seatconcept car built byHolden in 1969. The Hurricane was one of the most advanced vehicles of its time, with Holden describing it as a research vehicle, allowing them "to study design trends, propulsion systems and other long range developments".[1]
The Hurricane stood at just 990 mm (39 in) tall and was powered by a mid-mounted high-compression 253 cubic inchHoldenV8 engine, the prototype of this engine, producing 193 kW (259 hp). The Hurricane did not feature conventional doors; instead, a hydraulically poweredcanopy swung forwards over the front wheels and the seats rose up and tilted forward. Other features included Pathfinder, which used magnetic signals built into the road to guide the driver.[2] It also contained digital instrument displays, automatic temperature controlair conditioning called Comfortron, an auto-seekradio function and a rear-view camera, which consisted of awide anglecamera in the rear bumper connected to aclosed-circuit television (CCTV) screen in thecentre console.[3]
The car was found by Corey Egan in 1988 in the Holden training centre. He was originally going to restore it himself. Instead, the managers decided to restore it after they got it out and cleaned it up. Forty-two years after the Holden Hurricane's debut in 1969, the car has now been fully rebuilt and restored following the original design by Holden Design. Restoration began in 2006 and was finished in 2011,[3] with the newly restored Hurricane first displayed in October 2011 at the Motorclassica classic car show inMelbourne.[4]