I recently took a trip to the National Motor Museum in Birdwood, South Australia, where the museum is currently displaying a Holden exhibition. When I got there, I knew exactly what I wanted to see: the 1969 Holden Hurricane.
Now, this isn’t technically the original Holden Hurricane, nor is it the first time we’re writing about it. Back in 2011, Gizmodo Australia ran a story on the restoration of the Holden Hurricane, based on the original designs of the car and the only model ever constructed.
The Hurricane was not a car built for production. It was a concept car, designed to rival the high-tech sports cars of the day. With that in mind, it was packed with sci-fi gadgets like a navigation system and a rear vision camera.
The navigation system was called “Pathfinder”. The concept involved magnetic signals built into the road to direct the driver. Of course, this navigation system was never developed and would be made redundant with the creation of GPS technology.
Upon restoration, it was put on display at the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne, and at the time of the original Gizmodo Australia article, there was no word on when the resurrected car would be put back on public display.
This is the Holden Hurricane, Holden’s first concept car from 1969, featuring… A navigation system… And a reverse camera? This thing is absolutely beautiful pic.twitter.com/VyYb2Xw8JZ
— BLM | Zachariah Kelly (@ZachariahK_) August 4, 2022
Well, 11 years later, I’m here to tell you that the Holden Hurricane is on display at the National Motor Museum, where it has resided since 2013.
Were the Holden Hurricane to be put into production, it would have been the only mid-engine Holden to ever be built. That engine would have been a 4.2 liter, 253 cubic inch Holden V8, and the car would have packed a four-speed manual transaxle.
The engine went on to have a greater legacy than the car itself and was later built into production-ready Holden vehicles. The designer of the Hurricane remains a mystery.
It would have also been one of the most beautiful Holden vehicles ever built, with the top of the car electrically lifting up so that passengers could enter or exit. A door would have also likely worked, but who doesn’t love a concept car that’s a bit extra?
But no, the Hurricane was designed to be a spectacle and a trade show gimmick. Rear-view cameras and navigation systems wouldn’t come for another 40 years on production model Holdens as the technology developed.
If you’re headed to South Australia, I couldn’t recommend the National Motor Museum enough. It’s where I also spotted the Telstra phone car that time forgot.
If you’d like to see more photos of the glorious Holden Hurricane, Supercars has a great gallery.
Long live the Holden Hurricane.