With Holden pulling up stumps in Australia, a number of eager Holden enthusiasts have questioned the fate of countless items of Holden memorabilia which is on display in dealerships across the country.
As General Motors begins to split its assets across museums and public collections, two important concept cars, revealed at the 2004 Melbourne Motor Show, have made their way to Elfin’s Heritage Centre in the suburb of Moorabbin.
the MS8 Clubman and MS8 Streamliner, both the invention of Mike Simcoe, (now the head of design for the global General Motors) in collaboration with iconic Australian Manufacturer Elfin, were both built on the same chassis and boast a 5.7-litre LS1 LL Commodore V8 engine.
The manufacture of both prototypes was a well-kept secret as Elfin employees worked tirelessly to complete the models to reach the unveiling deadline at the 2004 Melbourne Motor Show.
The vehicles were exhibited as Holden concepts, but carried the Elfin badge. Public interest was strong and both brands spent two years gaining Australian design compliance to produce the vehicles for market.
The original plans for the concept vehicles was to gain enough interest to see production through to 100 builds for each model. Unfortunately, after only 30 models were manufactured the project ceased and failed to get back off the ground.
Thankfully, the Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Act 1986 prevents these, and other vehicles of cultural significance from being exported from Australia.
Source: Car Advice