Holden announced that it fully restored their first ever concept car – the 1969 Holden Hurricane. The task was completed by a dedicated group of designers and engineers, and at a first glance you might have a problem believing the fact that this car has first been seen no less than 42 years ago.
At that time the Hurricane was described as an experiment "to study design trend, propulsion systems and other long-range developments", and apart from its futuristic shape the car was also packed with innovative features such as electronic digital instrument displays, station-seeking radio, automatic
temperature control air conditioning, rear-vision camera and an
automated route finder.
The Hurricane was codenamed the RD 001 and its power came from a V8 engine capable of producing around 262 HP (193 kW), which featured advanced design components such as the four-barrel carburettor, something that was later seen on the production version 253ci Holden V8 from the late 70s.
Holden’s first concept premiered at the 1969 Melbourne Motor Show and Michael Simcoe, executive director GMIO Design, said that "It’s amazing to think that the features we take for granted today were born out of creative minds over 40 years ago."
Also former Holden Chief Studio Engineer Rick Martin, who led the modern-day
Hurricane team in researching the vehicle’s components, systems and
history mentioned that "There are some genuinely remarkable ideas and technology in the
Hurricane," "From the automatic air-conditioning and
magnet-based guidance system, to the inertia-reel seat belts and
metallic paint, this was a car that was genuinely ahead of its time".
The restored Holden Hurricane will be displayed at the Motorclassica Car Show in the Melbourne Royal Exhibition Building from October 21-23.
Video: 1969 Holden Hurrican Concept Car Restored
