The wild and unusual Holden Commodore you never knew existed

Of all the crazy, weird Holden Commodore concepts, this 2002 show-stopper was arguably the wildest. And it was meant for production.

Original story first published in Drive on 18 October, 2002

Holden has a reputation for springing surprises at the Sydney Motor Show – and this year is no exception.

At the media preview yesterday morning, the company unveiled the SSX concept car.

The name stands for SS and cross-over: it is a high-performance, all-wheel-drive, five-door hatch based on a Commodore. Holden’s chairman and managing director, Peter Hanenberger, says the SSX is the company’s “vision of the future”.

RELATED: The best car Holden never made

He wants the public’s help to decide if the car should be built.

“We’re asking questions with this show car,” he says. “We want people to tell us if a flexible performance vehicle like this is something they’d like to see in a few years.

“We’re saying the Commodore SS right now isn’t necessarily the only way to go. We intend to expand the range with … niche models.”

The SSX has a wider stance to accommodate the AWD hardware.

Hanenberger says it could be in showrooms within two years. The show car can be driven.

“We have a policy now that concept cars are not just about show. We will always display a vehicle that can be built.”

The SSX is further confirmation that the future of the fleet sedans – such as the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon – is under a cloud.

New car sales figures show a steady decline in large car market share – and a swing to soft-roaders and small European luxury cars.
In order for local manufacturing to continue, Holden says it must find new niches. The SSX, if it goes into production, will be the eighth vehicle built from the Commodore platform. Drive

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Did the Holden Commodore SSX go into production?

Despite wowing crowds at the 2002 Sydney motor show, the Holden Commodore SSX didn’t see the light at the end of the production line tunnel.

Which is a bit of a shame, because the show car concept hit a lot of interesting notes.

A stonking 235kW/465Nm 5.7-litre V8 mated to a four-speed automatic transmission sending drive to all four wheels was a potent recipe.

Holden didn’t scrimp inside either with plenty of premium materials, such as nappa leather seats, and a strictly four-seat layout, replacing the three-across bench of the second row in the regular Commodore with individual captain’s chairs.

Holden SSX Concept
Body Type	Five-door liftback
Engine	Gen III 5.7-litre V8
Power	235kW
Torque	465Nm
Transmission	4-speed automatic
Drivetrain	All-wheel drive with front, rear and centre open differentials
Wheels	19-inch x 8-inch ‘Titan’ magnesium
Tyres	245/35 ZR19 Bridgestone Potenza S-03
Seats	Four
Boot space	350L seats up 720L second row folded

But it was what happened behind the front row that really set the SSX apart from the standard VY Commodore SS.

Was the Holden Commodore SSX really a hatchback?

In a word, no. But, thanks to its unique tailgate design, the SSX would almost certainly have been classed as a liftback had it made production.

Five-door liftbacks were, of course, nothing new, and especially prevalent in the 1980s where models like the Toyota Camry, Ford Telstar, Nissan Pintara and Mazda 626 all sported the distinctive design.

Holden itself had championed liftbacks in the 1970s with the Holden Torana. But, unlike the SSX concept – and unlike the largely forgettable influx of 1980s mediocrity – the Torana adhered to the more traditional three-door layout. It served Holden well, too, the Torana liftback etching itself into Australian motoring iconography, and remains revered to this day.

The SSX though, was different, a five-door, four-seat liftback that blurred the lines between family sedan, hatchback, and ute. Wait, what? Ute?

Yep, the SSX concept featured a unique lower tailgate design that blended the practicalities of a liftback with a drop-down tailgate, more commonly seen on utes.

That combination opened up a practical loading area, complete with aluminium protection strips. The quoted luggage capacity came in at 350 litres, expanding to 720 litres with the second row seats folded flat.

Was the SSX bigger than a regular Holden Commodore?

In a word, yes. And there several factors contributing to the SSX’s increased proportions over a regular VY Commodore.

For starters, in order to integrate the SSX’s distinctive liftback, Holden’s designers and engineers needed to completely rework the rear end.

The rear glass was shifted 200mm rearwards while the C-pillars gained some angle and breadth, lending the SSX a more coupe-like profile. The C-pillars feature motorsport-inspired aluminium fuel filler caps, one on each side that would, in all likelihood, have made it onto the final production car had Holden pulled the trigger.

Overall body width was up a whopping 94mm over a regular VY SS, largely down to the SSX’s wider track, 54mm up front and 93mm at the rear.

That wider track was enhanced visually by new pumped-up guards while up front a new bumper looked deeper and more menacing, with pronounced air inlets and projector headlamps.

The overall effect was of Commodore at once fatter and lower and with a sharply angled rear end that lent it a coupe-like appearance.

Sadly, the SSX ultimately did not make it into production but it did presage a more recent trend that saw luxury brands like Audi and BMW release ‘sportback’ variants of some of its popular models. Cars like Audi A5 and A7 Sportback along with a series of BMW ‘Gran Coupes’, while not following Holden’s formula exactly, did reinvigorate the 1980s and 90s liftback trend.

None of them though, feature that cool drop-down tailgate.

What happened to the Holden SSX concept?

The lone example of one of Holden’s most audacious concept cars forms part of the Holden Heritage Collection which is on display at the National Motor Museum in Birdwood, South Australia.

It’s not the only Holden concept car on display, sitting proudly alongside cars like the 1969 Hurricane, the 1971 Torana GTR-X, the show-stopping Torana TT36 and of course, the award-winning Efijy. Rob Margeit

So, what do you think? Would a V8-powered five-door liftback variant of the Commodore SS have been a welcome addition to the Holden line-up? Let us know in the comments below.

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