Holden has described the camouflage worn by its next generation Commodore as the most effective disguise it’s ever had on a pre-production car.
But the concealment provided by strategic dummy panels and deceptive black and white graphics has been peeled away today with the five-door Liftback body style revealed – even though the next-gen Commodore won’t go on sale till early 2018.
Holden is still keeping the styling of the Sportwagon version under wraps at this stage although plenty of spy photos have surfaced.
Key elements of Holden’s fifth generation Commodore programme were confirmed when it showed the camouflaged cars in October.
The car is part of the General Motors Europe Insignia programme and it will be manufactured in Germany after Holden ends VF II production and closes its Australian manufacturing operation in late 2017.
There has been styling input from Holden designers as well as engineering work on the suspension tuning, electric power steering calibration and NVH characteristics for Australasia.
Today’s first batch of official pictures is being matched by a simultaneous reveal in Europe of the new Insignia in both Opel and Vauxhall branded variants.
The pictures reveal the sleek silhouette of the five-door design with a steeply raked rear windscreen and short rear deck giving a coupe-like appearance.
Slim-line headlights and the chrome feature line running from the base of the A-pillar, above the glasshouse and kicking back in the C-pillar echoes the design of the Opel Monza concept car from the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show.
A lower grille position, pumped-out wheel arches, short overhangs front and rear and a so-called ‘‘blade’’ light catcher in the lower doors gives the Commodore a confident stance. The pictures show cars fitted with 20-inch diameter wheels.
The rear end has a slim double-wing LED signature that enhances the wide look of the car. Holden says the Commodore will achieve a 0.26 drag co-efficient.
New Commodore will be offered in both a five-door Liftback and Sportwagon configuration with 2.0-litre direct injection and turbocharged petrol and diesel engine choices in front-wheel-drive.
An upgraded 3.6-litre direct injected V6 engine will top the range and deliver its performance via a new nine-speed automatic transmission and the world-first "Twinster" all-wheel-drive system which replaces a rear differential with two electronically controlled clutches.
Holden had previously confirmed the V6 would offer 230kW output and peak torque of 370Nm. No output figures have been confirmed for the four-cylinder models.
Efficiency gains for the V6 AWD models will come from the new transmission, the addition of Active Fuel Management cylinder deactivation and Stop-Start technology while lightweight body construction will achieve a weight saving in the region of 200kg compared to the current model.
Holden had previously provided dimensions that position the new car between the current VF II and the third-generation VT-VX-VY-VZ versions.
The new liftback measures up 74mm shorter than the current VF II sedan at 4899mm. The wheelbase is 86mm shorter at 2829mm (a figure shared with the new wagon) while the overall height is reduced by 3mm. The width is 1863mm which compares to 1899mm for the VF II.
The official pictures also give the first look at the interior with a sports cockpit theme and the efficient packaging that has reclaimed much of what is lost to the smaller dimensions.
For instance, the couple distance – the measurement from front hip point to rear hip point — is reduced by just 1mm. The five-door silhouette means there is 13mm less rear headroom than the current sedan.
"The Commodore combines technology across a number of areas in a way usually found in high-end prestige vehicles and introduces these features in mainstream, attainable motoring," said the managing director of Holden New Zealand, Kristian Aquilina.
Infotainment will be based on a new generation of Holden’s MyLink system with an 8-inch central display offering Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. A next generation colour head-up display and a configurable 8-inch LCD instrument display will be available on high-spec models.
