Short-Lived Livery

If you saw this boldly decorated car among the ranks of vehicles in the National Motor Racing Museum in Bathurst, you would be correct in thinking it was a very fast car that won an important race. But its story goes well beyond its General Motors V8 engine and bright livery paint scheme and sticker design. 

In 1984, just two weeks before the Sandown 500 motor race, in the leadup to the legendary James Hardie 1000 motor race at Mount Panorama in Bathurst, the Marlboro Holden Dealer Team unveiled this car, and another just like it. These new VK Commodore cars, which became known as the ‘Big Bangers’, were about to be driven into motor racing history. They were painted in shocking orange pink fluoro or ‘dayglo’ – a colour borrowed from Formula 1 racing cars, which television producers hated due to the ‘bleed’ it created on camera. These cars were described as ‘cleaner, meaner and more wicked’ than any that had come before.  

But the 1984 models had not changed much since those of the previous year, except for a slight change in aerodynamics. Curiously, the Holden Dealer Team had not planned to build these cars – it was the end of the 1984 season and in January 1985, new International Group A racing car regulations meant that tamer machinery was required. These two Group C cars would be very quickly become obsolete after the 1984 race, but Holden marketing wanted its 1984 race cars to be the same as the new car that enthusiasts and race spectators could buy in the showrooms.  

One of the cars, marked ‘05’, was driven to victory in the race by Australia’s motor racing champion Peter Brock AM (1945-2006). It was followed closely by the other Holden VK Commodore, driven by John Harvey (1938-2020) into second place. Then, after the race, the cars went separate ways, and through the years their identities became confused. Ever since, the two near-identical cars have been at the centre of an ongoing dispute about which was the true winner of the 1984 James Hardie 1000. But that’s another story.