Holden Commodore (VT)

The Holden Commodore (VT) is a full-size car that was produced by Holden from 1997 to 2000. It was the first iteration of the third generation of the Commodore and the last model to be powered by a locally made 5 litre V8 engine along with the VS Series 3 Statesman/Caprice and utility models, finishing production in 1999 and 2000. Its range included the luxury variants, Holden Berlina (VT) and Holden Calais (VT) but not a new generation utility version.

Introduced in August 1997, the VT-series represented Holden's largest development yet. On debut, it won the 1997 Wheels Car of the Year award, resulting in the fourth time that this award was won by a Commodore. It found ready acceptance in the market as many buyers steered away from the more radically designed Ford Falcon (AU), becoming the best selling Commodore and cementing its place as number one in Australian sales at its time.

The VT Series II (VT II) was released in June 1999, before being replaced by the restyled VX model in October 2000. In 1998, the VT formed the basis of a prototype that became the catalyst for the reintroduction in 2001 of the Holden Monaro coupé based on the Holden Commodore (VX) a nameplate on hiatus since the HZ Monaro GTS which finished production in 1979.

As with previous Commodore models, Holden looked to Opel in Germany for a donor car platform. The VT series was derived from the Omega B by broadening that vehicle's width and adapting the mechanical setup for Australian conditions. The alternative would have been to adopt the Omega as is (which, notably, was also sold in North America as the Cadillac Catera between 1997 and 2001), save for the engines and transmissions or just reskinning the second generation (VN–VS) architecture.

The VT series ended up being a A$600 million development program that spanned more than half a decade. It sported many firsts for an Australian-built car (such as more advanced electronic systems), improved dynamics and increased crash safety also thanks to a body that was 30 percent stiffer than its predecessor, the VS series.

Its rounder exterior design (with a 63 degree rake for the front windscreen), which made it more attractive to buyers than the more aerodynamic rival, Ford Falcon (AU), was considered only a styling exercise with low emphasis on aerodynamics given the sedan's ordinary drag coefficient of Cd=0.33. At the time of the VY series launch in 2002, Holden aerodynamic engineers conceded that the design was not ideal, primarily because of the rounded trailing edge of the sedan's boot lid, which did not promote a clean separation of the airflow off the back of the car as would have a sharper change of angle. As such, the VY series rectified this problem.

In 1999, the VT wagon platform served as the basis for the second generation Statesman and Caprice luxury cars. This third generation Commodore also formed the basis for the resurrection of the iconic Monaro coupé from the 1960s and 1970s. Presented as the "Holden Coupé" concept car at the 1998 Australian International Motor Show held in Sydney, overwhelming public interest resulted in the coupé finally reaching production in 2001 as the Monaro albeit by then based on the VX series.

As part of this project came a spend of A$275 million to upgrade the Elizabeth plant, which saw a 43 percent increase in robots (to a total of 130), more efficient pressing process (with 59 presses instead of 104) and welding (that sees the main body spot-welded in 101 seconds), reducing the VT's final assembly time by 2.5 hours.