Closed doors opened to reveal Holden opportunity

Though some departments stayed firmly locked down and security and minders were never too far away, Holden threw open the doors of its top-secret design centre yesterday (July 17). The virtually unprecedented access was part of the multi-day launch of the new VE Commodore.

Not since the carmaker debuted the reborn Monaro coupe in 2001 has the facility been open to media. Since then, the Holden Design operation has grown to employ more than 170 staff and been recognised in the GM world as the company’s global centre of excellence for rear-wheel drive development.

Assembled media were briefed on nearly every aspect of the design of the new VE range today – in substantially more detail than we could hope to relay here. The interior and exterior design, the colours and trim, virtual design techniques and more were all explained.

In the process Holden summarized the 520,000 hours it’s taken (over a period of six years) to bring the all-new car to market. A large contingent of Holden Design staff did the talking relaying many multiple man-years of experience in all facets of modern vehicle design.

However, one aspect above all is the key to the importance of VE – not only in local terms but on a world scale: the architecture of the new car.

Put simply, the VE is built in three modules (each packages the major mechanical components/assemblies) with what Holden terms ‘slip planes’ between them. These ‘slip planes’ aren’t physical items but rather locations where the relationship between the three modules can be changed. Moved closer together, further apart, etc…

It is this structure’s ability to accommodate changes in these relationships that dictate the flexibility of the new VE platform – and generates the opportunity for myriad variants both Down Under and in other GM markets (and production entities) around the world.

As our separate story will detail, the dimensions of the VE are all-new, however, the long-wheelbase WM has been created using the concept of slip planes. In fact the rear door apperature of the longer WM car was designed first and ‘shrunk’ using the slip plane concept to suit the shorter VE. This is the opposite of previous generations of Commodores and Statesmans.

The ability to further manipulate dimensions could see the structure that underpins the VE find its way into wide range of vehicles. Equally overhangs can be changed to accommodate regional styling requirements and key dimensions have been ‘future proofed.’  Need a down-to-earth example? Witness the distance between the rear suspension and chassis structure at 12230mm (approx) --  spot on to satisfy the US market benchmark requirement of fitting a 4ft wide building sheet between the ‘virtual’ wheel arches of a VE ute.

While Holden Design Director Tony Stolfo won’t detail the ‘bandwidth’ (ie: how short and how long the new Holden can go) the flexibility is in a different league to the VT platform from which Holden spawned no less than 10 model types.

It’s easy to speculate that we will see a wagon/estate, utility and possibly even a short wheelbase coupe emerge from Holden Design for the local market in due course. Equally it’s no stretch at all (pun intended) to envisage a rear-wheel drive premium sports package or indeed a super-long wheelbase limo variant or pick-up emerge for the US or other markets.

With the existing architecture able to be built in right or left-hand drive, and structures such as the transmission tunnel and front footwells already designed to accommodate the space demands of four-wheel drive componentry, the VE platform is a more a work of art than a work in progress.

Where to now is largely up to the head honchos at GM head office. It’s perhaps no surprise then that there’s already a schedule to get completed VEs to Detroit. And quickly…

Keep an eye onCarPoint and 

If you missed ninemsn's live webcast of Sunday's VE launch you can check it out