It’s always interesting to look back at concept cars from long ago and wonder what might have been. Even more fascinating is owning one of those classic concepts, like this 1970 Holden GTR-X which was recently listed for sale. It’s quite the sports car which could have revolutionized the Australian market back in the day.
The Vanilla Sky Alpha One GTO driven by Tom Cruise is for sale.
For Down Under, the fiberglass body and steel ladder frame were quite strange, especially in a low-slung package with a long hood. But to Americans it’s a familiar equation since we’ve enjoyed the Corvette with such a setup.
Being a property of General Motors, Holden was weighing giving Australia its own home grown Corvette with the GTR-X. However, this car never progressed beyond the concept stage, thanks to Holden brass getting spooked by the economic fallout of the Vietnam War.
As a result, only three examples of the concept car were ever made and this one of them. One of the other two concepts didn’t survive. It’s not every day you come across such a rarity, especially of the Australian variety, so people are understandably curious.
However, you can tell this sports car needs a lot of loving care as it’s far from a turnkey vehicle. Holden didn’t finish it since the program was scrapped midway through the process. Instead, it was shoved into storage and pretty much forgotten about until 1987 when Holden employees were able to purchase it. One took the chance but sadly plans to finish the build never materialized.
This prototype has changed hands since, but nobody has finished it and taken the car out for a spin on the road. For the ambitious one who does, this would make quite the ride to enter into shows since it’s guaranteed nobody will have anything like it.
Body molds are being offered with the sale, so the new owner could make carbon fiber panels instead of keeping the fiberglass. There are all sorts of things one might do with this unique sports car, including keeping it as is and putting it up for display in a museum.
If you would like to have a crack at ownership, see the listing for this vehicle here.
Image via my105.com
Elizabeth Puckett