HISTORY OF THE HSV
Holden Special Vehicles opened its doors to the public in February 1988.
The establishment of the joint venture operation between General Motors Holden’s and British Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) group was a major coup not just for performance car connoisseurs, but also for the local industry.
The new operation began with a clear set of goals and a carefully structured business plan. The aims were simple: the brief was to maintain the tradition of Holden-based performance sedans originally established by Peter Brock’s Holden Dealer Team.
HSV’s first task was clear-cut: it was to get the recently unveiled TWR Group A VL Commodore into production. To do this, newly appointed Managing Director John Crennan embarked on a mission to sign up about 30 people capable of doing the job at the newly established Notting Hill facility in Melbourne’s south-east.
If any proof of the fledgling HSV’s credib
ility was needed, it was certainly there three years later, when the company built its 5000th vehicle.
