by Mike –
The Holden Hurricane is a concept car designed and made by GM Holden in 1969. I think this design style is very attractive and would have been well suited to compete with the Corvette. Since both are owned by GM it would have been an interesting competition.
Under various names GM Holden, Ltd (Holden) in Australia has been a subsidiary of General Motors since 1931. Holden has designed and manufactured cars to suit the Australian market and Asia as well.
The futuristic concept vehicle was an experiment “to study design trend, propulsion systems and other long range developments”.
Code named RD 001, the Holden Hurricane is a mid-engined, rear-wheel drive, two-seater, fiberglass bodied sports car that uses an array of innovative features and technology, much of it was way ahead of its time.
Electronic digital instrument displays, station-seeking radio, automatic temperature control air conditioning, rear vision camera and an automated route finder were all in the Holden Hurricane when it was introduced at the 1969 Melbourne Motor Show.
The Holden Hurricane incorporated some advanced technologies when it came to the power train. It was powered by an experimental 4.2-liter (253 cid) V8; this engine was the precursor to the Holden V8 engine which entered production in late 1969.
Two innovative features were the “Pathfinder” route guidance system and the rear-view camera.
The “Pathfinder” used magnets embedded at intersections along the road to guide the driver to the desired route. A panel on the dash board let the driver know which turn to take by lighting up different arrows and sounding a warning buzzer. This was long before GPS systems were available to the public.
The rear-view camera was also innovative; it used a Closed Circuit Television system with a camera mounted in the rear bumper transmitting to a small black-and-white TV located in the center console. This camera feature is available on many new cars today.
The Hurricane is only 39 inches high and has no doors. Entry and exit is through a hydraulically-powered canopy that opens upwards and forward over the front wheels. The powered seats rise upward and pivot forward as does the steering column allowing the occupants to easily enter and exit the Hurricane.
Holden has been in the automotive business in Australia for many years and has been a part of General Motors since 1931. Unfortunately the Hurricane did not go into production but you can still buy a Holden.
The canopy looks similar to the Sterling design.
What do you think – would this have been a good alternative to the Chevrolet Corvette in 1969?
Let us know in the Comments.
The photos are from NetCarShow.com.
Click here to see the Holden Hurricane Brochure.
Yes, it most certainly would!
reminiscent of the Astro 1 Corvair concept that was done stateside… what a neat car in Rocky terms could have been a contender…
I don’t think the Holden would have ever made it through the US safety tests, beyond that there is the issue of a substantial transaxle that can handle 300 plus HP. To this day I don’t think GM has had a HD transaxle.
Well, Mad Max didn’t drive one…
Mad Max was smart and drove an Australian Ford Falcon Coupe .However the Holden Hurricane was a pretty looking & smart concept car .