2017 Holden Commodore Limited Editions reviewed

By the time you're reading this, it is likely to be too late.

Holden has this morning revealed details of a trio of limited edition Commodores designed to celebrate its Aussie muscle car heritage, a week after confirming the end date for its local manufacturing presence later this year.

But the three cars - a Motorsport Edition based on the range-topping SS-V Redline, a Director that uses the Calais V as its underpinnings and a Magnum ute - have sold-out within hours to loyal Holden fans and collectors, highlighting there is still a huge level of passion patriotism for the greatest Australian built car.

Holden will build just 1200 of the Motorsport Edition models, with 200 reserved exclusively for employees, while there will be 360 Directors (60 of which are available to employees) and 240 Magnum utes (with 40 of them reserved for Holden staff), and each features a range of upgraded mechanical components, unique visual enhancements and exclusive customer benefits such as a scale model, special commemorative presentation case and an optional car cover that can be personalised with the owner's name and the car's specific build number.

Collectors intending on keeping the vehicle in pristine condition can even order the car in a special 'Ex-Factory' specification, which ensures it is representative of exactly how it left the South Australian facility including plastic covers on the seats and the chromework, travel chocks in the suspension and all the stickers and markings associated with its production.

The Motorsport Edition costs $61,790 (plus on-road costs) when fitted with a six-speed manual transmission with an automatic available for an additional $2200. While there is no more power from its 6.2-litre naturally-aspirated V8 - maintaining its 304kW/570Nm peak outputs - it picks up multi-mode Magnetic Ride Control suspension, a revised rear sub frame, lightweight cross-drilled brakes, forged 20-inch alloy wheels and a modified cooling package that gives it a GM Level 3 track rating that puts it on par with top-level Corvettes and Camaros in terms of withstanding prolonged spirited driving.

It also has heated performance seats from the Commodore-based Chevrolet SS, a leather-wrapped instrument panel, a blacked-out roof, red highlights and special Motorsport Edition badges and decals.

The $63,990 (plus on-road costs) Director gets its name and inspiration from the controversial HDT luxury sedan that ultimately led to the split between Bathurst legend Peter Brock and Holden in 1987 over its fitment of the Energy Polarizer, a box of crystals which Brock believed harmonised the car to improve its performance and economony.

The new-age (pun intended) Director misses out on the Polarizer but collects the same upgraded mechanicals as the Motorsport Edition - chiefly the Magnetic Ride Suspension, lightweight brakes, alloy wheels and cooling package. In order to maintain its more luxury-biased driving character it maintains a set of standard rear subframe bushes rather than the track-oriented set-up.

The Magnum also revives a badge used by HDT on a limited number of utes and Caprice limousines back in 1983, and, like the Motorsport Edition and Director, is intended to be the most driver-focused version of the Commodore ute ever.

But the hay hauler's unique rear-suspension set-up means the magnetic dampers couldn't be fitted. Instead it gets an exclusive rear-end that has the shorter conventional shock absorbers from the SS sedan, as well as the lightweight brakes, larger alloys, the performance seats and exterior highlights with the inclusion of a lockable hard tonneau cover.

Having sampled all three limited editions on track at Phillip Island, it's pretty easy to categorise them as the best iterations of the Commodore ever created.

The Motorsport Edition amplifies all the great character traits of the SS-V Redline to make it an ever better muscle car that is both more engaging to drive and more capable of being driven enthusiastically.

The three drive settings - Tour, Sport and Performance - offer incremental improvements in body control up to the point where the car has excellent grip, is finely balanced and genuinely challenging and thrilling to drive quickly through Phillip Island's fast and flowing turns.

The stiffer suspension bushes in the rear sub frame add to the car's at-the-limit handling, reducing lateral movement across the axle to improve traction under acceleration, limiting its tendency to axle tramp under heavy braking and increasing its overall cornering ability.

In Performance mode, the stability control can also be relaxed enough to make the car equally adjustable on the throttle - manipulating its stance through the middle and out of the corners by hanging the tail out gently - as it is through the well-weighted steering, which feels a little more responsive and slightly sharper than it does in the regular SS-V Redline.

It's the same with the brakes, which offer more feedback and modulation through the pedal and greater consistency over longer periods of track driving.

The Director drives with largely the same character, although its rear-end moves around a little more at the limit without the stiffer suspension bushes. Its auto-only prospect means it isn't quite as engaging on the track, but more than likely the easier variant to live in day-to-day traffic.

The Magnum doesn't feel as sophisticated as the sedans without the multi-mode suspension, but it is easily the greatest version of the Commodore Ute Holden has produced. And that means plenty of tail-wagging fun.

Again, it's all about the rear suspension, which has softer rear springs, a lowered ride height and shorter shock absorbers, which while it has an adverse affect on its payload, reducing it to 540kg, significantly improves it cornering and stability. It's definitely not as skittish as a regular SS-V Ute, as the softer springs generate more traction but consequently promote a little more understeer, where the front pushes wide. Whatever the case, it's a ute that hardly feels like one from the driver's seat. And, for that, Holden has taken the home-grown concept of car-based pick-up and turned it into a legitimate sports coupe.

In all three limited editions, the V8 remains a pearler of an engine with a crisp power delivery and a glorious exhaust note, and while Holden's high-performance cousins at HSV have extended its outputs even further it never feels lacking for anything - power, performance or overall character - in standard guise. 

With the fitment of MRC - which has previously been exclusive to HSV models - the Motorsport Edition and Director close the gap between Holden and HSV variants to be as tight as it has ever been. In some ways, they actually feel better balanced too.

The rest of the package nicely represents the special nature of these limited editions without being over the top or, conversely, overly retro considering the back-from-the-dead badges of the Director and Magnum, which have been endorsed by Brock's family. The seats are big and comfy yet supportive, the styling enhancements are subtle yet unique and the extra lengths Holden has gone to for customers is both thoughtful and innovative.

All in all, Holden has done a bang-up job making these last-of-the-line limited editions the best examples of the Commodore ever, celebrating the brand's legacy as an Australian car maker and the badge as an icon, as well as the skills of all of those involved in crafting Australia's own muscle car.

By the simple virtue that, hours after details were finally released to the public, they have all but sold out means it has also created a trio of Commodores that will be admired by many, no matter whether they are Holden employees that played a role in its existence, or whether it is being driven by an enthusiast on the track or kept under wraps by a collector. In any case, there won't be anything like them... ever again.

2017 Holden Commodore Motorsport Edition

Price: $61,390 (plus on-road costs)

Engine: 6.2-litre V8 petrol

Power: 304kW at 6000rpm

Torque: 570Nm at 4400rpm

Transmission: 6-spd manual, RWD

Fuel Use: 11.8L/100km

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