Peter Brock’s HDT set for Bathurst rebirth

Aussie racing legend Peter Brock’s famous HDT performance brand has been sold to Australian-born businessman and racer Kenny Habul ahead of a major relaunch in Bathurst next month.

One of the most famous names in Australian performance-car history has changed hands, with HDT Special Vehicles sold to Australian-born, US-based businessman and racing driver Kenny Habul.

Long-time HDT owner Peter Champion has confirmed he has sold the company to Habul after almost 20 years at the helm, ahead of a major announcement outlining the future of the brand in Bathurst on Monday, October 12.

Motorsport website Speedcafe first reported Habul was spearheading the latest HDT revival on Friday before Champion publicly confirmed the sale.

“For those who have heard the rumours floating around, it is now official,” Champion wrote on social media.

“After nearly 20 years of owning HDT Special Vehicles – the brand that was made famous by Peter Brock from 1980 till 1987 – I felt it was time for me to move on and sell it to someone who is just as passionate as myself, and that person is Kenny Habul.”

Champion said Habul had “some amazing ideas” for HDT and confirmed the operation would move to Bathurst.

Habul, 53, was born in Sydney and later studied law at Bond University before moving to Melbourne. He has previously said nine-time Bathurst winner Brock and his partner Bev took him in after he left home, and that he worked around Brock’s race teams doing basic jobs including sweeping floors and washing wheels.

He subsequently moved to the United States and founded solar energy company SunEnergy1, while also building a successful career as a GT racing team owner and driver.

His racing record includes two outright Bathurst 12 Hour victories, and he has maintained strong links with Mount Panorama, including owning property in Bathurst and a collection of significant Brock and HDT cars.

Habul was at Bathurst with HDT as a 14-year-old in 1987 and now owns the #10 HDT VL Commodore that became Brock’s final Bathurst 1000 winner. He also owns HRT 048, the Commodore Brock drove in his final Bathurst 1000 start in 2004.

Brock died in 2006 in a road-rallying accident.

Speedcafe reports Habul has also purchased Champion’s remaining HDT road cars as part of the transaction. Champion said five cars from his collection had already been collected.

Champion will remain involved with HDT as an ambassador and is expected to attend the October 12 relaunch.

Exactly what Habul plans to do with HDT remains under wraps.

HDT has promised the Bathurst announcement will provide a first look at an “ambitious new direction” while showcasing its “future automotive plans” and establishing a renewed presence in the city.

That raises the prospect of HDT returning to the road-car business in a new form, although no new vehicles or manufacturing plans have yet been confirmed.

HDT traces its roots to the Holden Dealer Team established in 1969 under legendary team manager Harry Firth.

Brock took control of the operation in 1980 and established HDT Special Vehicles to develop and sell high-performance Holden Commodores, with the road-car business helping fund the race team.

The Brock-Holden relationship ended dramatically in 1987 amid controversy surrounding the VL Commodore-based Director and Brock’s Energy Polarizer.

HDT Special Vehicles continued under subsequent owners before Champion, a Queensland businessman, car collector and close friend of Brock, acquired the brand in 2007.

Under Champion, HDT returned to producing modified Commodores, including its Heritage Series of retro-inspired models based on the VE and VF Holden Commodore.

Habul’s takeover therefore represents HDT’s biggest ownership change in almost two decades and comes as the brand prepares to establish its next chapter in the city most closely associated with Brock.

The October 12 announcement will form part of Lap 162: The Great Race Cool Down, being staged in Bathurst on the Monday following the 2026 Repco Bathurst 1000 and as part of celebrations marking 20 years since Brock’s death.

HDT is a major sponsor of the event, which will include displays of significant HDT road cars, merchandise and fan activities.

A historically significant HDT VL SL Commodore used as a prototype and engineering development vehicle for the VL Director and Aero will be among the cars displayed.

Former HDT drivers and other prominent figures from the brand’s history will also participate in a live Q&A hosted by Supercars commentator Richard Craill.

Habul’s detailed plans for HDT remain secret, but the new owner will reveal the next phase of the brand at Bathurst on October 12.

The key unanswered question is what HDT’s promised “future automotive plans” will involve now that Holden and locally manufactured Commodores – the foundation of HDT’s road-car business – no longer exist.

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