1985 Holden VK Commodore – Today’s Tribute Tempter

By: James Robinson, Unique Cars magazine

Date: 08.06.2017

It may not be the real thing, but it’s pretty awesome anyway

The Holden VK Commodore SS HDT Group 3 was a bit of a mouthful and, with a proper thumping V8, it was also a bit of a handful and a worthy successor to the VH Group 3.

Unlike the VH HDT Commodores that came before it though, the VK series dropped the Group 1 and Group 2 specification and was only ever offered in Group 3 guise.

HDT employed a raft of changes over a standard VK Commodore, including a redesigned exterior, different suspension and chassis tuning and a reworked version of the 308ci V8.

The fettling to the 308ci pushrod V8 was extensive, and resulted in the hairy-chested donk pushing out 177kW and 419Nm.

That was enough grunt to hurtle the HDT from zero to100km/h in 7.6 seconds and on to a top speed of 210km/h.

The Group 3 was also said to do the quarter-mile in 15.7 seconds, a respectable time even by today’s standards.

This stonking power was pumped through to the rear wheels via the M21 4-speed manual box and a 3.08 limited-slip diff.

Other special bits that HDT anointed the Group 3 with included a long-range fuel tank (90lt), 16-inch Aero wheels, new front bumper with deeper air dam, swooping rear spoiler and an SS sticker pack.

This particular VK is not an original Group 3 HDT, however. According to the seller the vehicle has undergone a full nut-and-bolt restoration to exacting standards and specifications.

To some this may be sacrilege and unworthy of affection, but to be honest, for $49,990 it could be seen as a bit of a bargain considering the amount of money and energy that gone in to this faithful replica.

It’s also worth a look because real VK Group 3 values are now north of $100-grand.

Anyone keen on this cut-price tribute can view the full listing here.

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