HDT revives Group A

Peter Brock may be gone but the legend lives on. A modern version of the most popular Brock Commodore road car ever made was unveiled at the Bathurst 1000 today -- and will be on the road by the end of the year. The new-generation HDT 'Blue Meanie' -- inspired by the 1985 VK Group A Commodore -- was unveiled by Bev Brock at Mount Panorama today (Friday, October 9).

"Peter would be very proud of this car," Bev Brock told the Carsales Network.

"He always wanted to get back into the performance car business and what has happened today continues his dream. This is the modern version of what Peter would have done today."

Brock said her racer husband never picked a favourite among his road cars but she said he had a "soft spot" for the VK Group A, which earned the nickname 'Blue Meanie' because it was: "lean and mean and built for Group A racing".

Priced from $77,000, the new Blue Meanie is the third in a line-up modern HDT heritage series of vehicles based on the latest VE Commodore SS and inspired by the original Brock road cars. They cannot be purchased at Holden dealerships; instead customers must first buy a Commodore SS and then take it to HDT for conversion.

Over the past two years HDT has released models inspired by the original VC Brock Commodore and the VH Group 3 Brock Commodore.

The 'Blue Meanie' is painted exactly the same colour (Formula Blue) as the 1985 original and wears the same nickname because of its tough appearance. HDT has even reproduced a modern version of the single-slot grille, race-car style rear wing and turbine-style wheels with centre areo disc.

As with the original Brock VK Commodore road cars, customers will have a choice of alloy finish or white wheels.

The show car is powered by a 500kW and 1000Nm supercharged 7.0-litre engine, but the road cars that will be offered for sale are based on the 6.0-litre V8 that comes with the Commodore SS. However, it will have modifications including a special cam, high-performance exhaust and an engine tune that, combined, produces a claimed 350kW of power.

To date, HDT has sold 30 retro-inspired cars -- 15 VC models and 15 VH models -- over the past two years, but it plans to produce 250 of the 'Blue Meanie' model. The new car is slightly dearer than a HSV Clubsport, but HDT says its car will be more exclusive.

"We are not competing with HSV, we are offering customers something who want a more unique package and who want what Brock would have built today," HDT owner Peter Champion, a long time friend of Peter Brock and former mining contractor, told the Carsales Network.

"I got the Brock bug after buying my first car years ago and I didn't stop," he said.

"There are a lot of people out there who, like me, are Brock fans and would love to drive a car that Brock would build today.

"When Brock retired from full-time racing we spoke about his dream a lot, and I've been fortunate enough to be in a position to try to continue that for him."

The Rockhampton-based 55-year-old owns the largest collection of Brock road and race cars in Australia. More than 40 vehicles from his personal collection are on public exhibition at Champion's Brock Experience at Yepoon on the central Queensland coast.

"This is without a doubt the biggest project we've undertaken," said Champion.

"The original 'Blue Meanie' Brock Commodores are the most popular among Brock collectors and that's why we think there will be strong interest in this car."

HDT has already taken its first order today and expects to have a handful of cars on the road by the end of this year.

The company is hopeful the modern version will share of the original model's popularity. An original VK Group A with just 94km on the clock and known affectionately as "the bubble car" because it was so immaculate, was sold at auction at the Sydney Motor Show two years ago for $250,000 -- the highest amount paid for a Brock Commodore on record. Typically, other Brock models fetch between $50,000 and $130,000.

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