Holden Commodore SS to be axed – for now

Holden's hallowed SS nameplate will be put out to pasture when the last Australian-made Commodores roll down the production line on October 20.

Although the homegrown Commodore will continue to be available alongside the new European-sourced large car that will replace it in February 2018, or while stocks last, Holden has now confirmed the SS and SV6 nameplates will be retired, marking the end of an era for Australian sports sedans.

At present, V8-powered SS models account for around half of all Commodore sales. Holden has previously announced that, from launch, the performance flagship of the new Commodore line-up will be an all-wheel drive V6-powered variant called the VXR.

It's yet to reveal what entry-level, front-drive 2.0-litre turbo-petrol and turbo-diesel four-cylinder versions will be called, or whether the Evoke and Calais badges will continue.

"We're not going to go through model lines yet, but there is no SS and there is no SV6," lead development engineer for the new Commodore, David Johnson, told motoring.com.au.

GM executives have said the new ZB Commodore – essentially a re-badged, re-engineered version of Opel's latest Insignia – cannot accommodate a turbocharged V6, let alone a V8.

The 2018 Commodore VXR will come with a naturally-aspirated 3.6-litre V6 generating 235kW/380Nm – well down on the 304kW/570Nm outputs of the 6.2-litre LS3 V8 in the current Commodore SS.

Fitted with a nine-speed auto and Twinster all-wheel drive system, the VXR is expected to clock 0-100km/h times below six seconds. Current V8 Commodores are in the low fives, while supercharged V8 HSVs are in the 4sec bracket.

But if it wasn't for its insistence, Holden says there wouldn't even have been a V6 engine, explained Johnson.

"We looked at it, in a lot of depth, but the architecture wasn't designed for it. There's just no where to put the turbos. It was a stretch to get a V6 in it at all," he said.

Meantime at the bottom of the range, a circa-190kW 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four will be the quickest entry-level Commodore says Holden, with a 0-100km/h time in the low 7sec bracket.

That would make it quicker than the outgoing 185kW/290Nm 3.0-litre V6 Evoke, and almost as quick as the existing 210kW/350Nm 3.6-litre SV6.

Holden is keeping mum on the names of the new models, except for the VXR, but Johnson confirmed there would be four suspension tunes for the new Commodore range, including the all-new Tourer crossover wagon.

That suggests there will be at least two model grades below VXR – likely a mainstream model to replace Evoke and a luxury model to replace Calais.

"There's a sports tune, a comfort tune, a unique set-up for the Tourer [crossover wagon] and the VXR has continuously variable damping."

HSV is known to have investigated a hotted-up version of the new Commodore, but it's unclear if that vehicle employed a 2.0-litre turbo or atmo V6 engine, or whether it would have been badged as an R8 or GTS.

We understand those efforts have come to nought, however, leaving HSV to offer the imported Commodore line-up only with bolt-on extras including a body kit, bigger wheels, performance brakes and perhaps suspension.

But although it seems unlikely Holden will ever bring back the SV6 or SS names for the Commodore (an SS car coming out of a German factory would be controversial), it hasn't ruled it out.

"I haven't heard any discussion of that, but who knows what the clever people in marketing will decide to do in the future?” said Johnson.

If a new-generation Commodore SS did eventuate, and it was powered by a twin-turbo V6, it would be conveniently similar -- at least in engine configuration -- to the Holden race cars competing in the Australian Supercars Championship from 2019.