THE LEAD FREE BULLET

The timing could not have been better. Even if GM-H had master-planned it, no itinerary of success could have surpassed that of early October, which lead to the Sydney Motor Show launch of the VL group A Commodore on the 16th. That much maligned driver, Allan Grice, had just driven an impeccable Bathurst, proving that all the high technology that Nissan, BMW, Volvo, Mercedes and the rest could collectively throw at the Holden V8 wasn't going to be enough - the Chickadee Commodore romped to victory. In second place was the trusty HDT car of John Harvey/David Parsons.

The following week GM-H relaunched the V8 engine, this time in unleaded form - surprising to many - even more powerful and torquey than before.

Excitement ran high. Not only was the V8 back on stream, but the Group A racing Commodores were beginning to look as if they had the measure of the world. All that would be needed were further tricky bits - all achievable via a second evolution special. In other words, a VL Group A.

That car was unveiled at the Sydney Motor Show, where it was one of the most interesting exhibits. The VL Group A was the masterstroke in the performance Commodore marketing plan. Not on top of Grice's Bathurst and the launch of the unleaded V8, came the VL Group A. Resplendent in red and finally equipped with a five-peed gearbox as standard, this sports sedan offered astonishing performance value for money at $29,600.

Just as its Formula Blue VK predecessor paved the way for the Commodore assault on Europe (and Mount Panorama) in 1986, the VL evolution special opened the homologation door for 1987. And if the cars of Grice, Brock, Crosby, Perkins and company were so quick in 1986, how would they be next time around?

As we had come to expect from Mr Brock's Commodores, there was a high-capacity air cleaner with chromed cover and cold air intake. But fuel injection still hadn't found its way beneath that sleek snout and the trusty four-barrel Rochester retained the job of supplying petrol (yellow now, not pink) to those eight eager cylinders.

The exhaust system was of the low restriction, big bore variety, with particularly efficient headers that were developed with group A racing specifically in mind. So the red car not only looked and went like a road going racer, it sounded like one.

Maximum power and torque figures on Brocked Commodores can be tricky (see separate section). Official GM-H figures were 177 kW at 4400 rpm and 345 Nm at 2300 rpm. Using the same DIN measurement system the old Group A achieved 134/4400 and 328/3100. So there is no doubt that the switch to unleaded fuel is beneficial for the Group A.

Once again the build was limited to 500, all of which will be finished in Group A red. Each car naturally has its own number (from one to 500) on the firewall and the instrumental panel. But - and there hangs the irony of this homologation special - the number is GM-H one. Quite simply, Peter Brock refused to put his signature on the car because in his view, it wasn't as good as it could have been.

Naturally, the General's men were less than pleased that their number one folk hero held back 500 autographs. The basic issue was the energy polariser, which GM-H refused to fit to the Group A on the production line. Thus it happened that two versions of the VL Group A were made available to the public - GM-H's and Brock's. Brock's differed in being fitted with the energy polariser. The HDT also made changes to the water jacket plumbing, spring mounts, spring pads and sway bars. The fuel system was improved via a higher-pressure pump, a different pressure regulator and an EFI anti-pulse unit.

The official Brock version of the VL Group A was known as the Plus Pack. It also featured what many enthusiasts would have regarded as the most important item of all - Peter Brock's signature and an HDT build number on the firewall.

Seldom could any new production car be described as collectable from day one, but there was no doubt that this VL Group A was (including the unsignatured version) was. Riding on such a tide of success, the Group A could afford to show off. Its pretty extroverted styling was totally in keeping with the nature of the beast and the legend behind it. A press release declared it to be "the most overt statement of this prestigious marque."

Beneath that bright bonnet was the Brocked ULP 4987-cm V8. New lightweight high-performance con rods and a lightened flywheel were significant improvements. So too, was the heavy-duty crankshaft.

The cross flow cylinder heads featured revised combustion chambers and even bigger valves than previously. The 'race-developed' inlet manifold was matched to the head ports for improved gas flow, economy and performance.

The Borg-Warner T5 - a blessed addition to the specification - was linked to an extra heavy clutch. The clamping pressure had been increased to 1150 kg. The final drive was the evergreen 3.08 and the diff, of course, was slippery. For road use the provision of a fifth ratio certainly provided a much more relaxed cruising as well as lower fuel bills.

There was a Bilstein at every corner, along with HDT rated coils and bars. HDT Momo Star Wheels didn't detract from the purposeful look of the package. Tyres are Brigestone Potenza RE71 205/55VR16s. It is difficult to deal with the myriad minor suspension changes wrought by the HDT on this Group A. A wordy press release summed the question up this way; "Suspension systems, as the tradition with Group A, have benefited from all the accumulated knowledge built up over many years of HDT racing experience."

The body kit comprised a new radiator grille, colour-keyed bumpers, racing specification spoilers at the front and on the boot lid. Were you to race your Group A, you'd no doubt experience the stabilizing effect. But GM-H and HDT also claimed that the rear spoiler cut drag, improving fuel economy.

The interior wasn't neglected in the rush to get the VL Group A to market. The now familiar Scheel seats in a velour-and-wool tweed trim set an appropriate tone of sporty comfort. The grey trim harmonised more tastefully with the red exterior than did the greenish interior of the VK Group A with that strange Formula Blue exterior paintwork.

There was a remote boot release and a pair of electronically adjustable mirrors (handy if you've lost sight of Gricy bearing down at 270 clicks on your left). Mostly the interior was reminiscent of the previous model, except that in the transition from VK to VL, those frightful square instruments were consigned to history (from whence they should never poked their ugly faces). It was by no means the full-own luxury cabin, but it certainly wasn't sparse or inhospitable either. If you wanted more luxury, there was always the Calais Director.

Gricy might have likened his race winning racecar to a Massey Fergurson, but sometimes the proven formula is all you need for victory! It is difficult to think of any four-door sedan on the Australian market that could even come close to the VL Group A for outright performance, with the notable exception of the Turbo Commodore! But there was no turbocharger or multi-valve cylinder heads on the Group A, (the heads weren't even alloy!). and instead of state-of-the-art fuel injection, there was a humble carburettor (albeit a pretty big one!). What there was, what this whole machine was about, was sheer old-fashioned agricultural grunt.

With pressure on both GM-H and HDT to churn out 500 of these red-hot sedans, there seemed little prospect of a VL Group Three within six months of the Group A's release. But despite this, there was still a greater range of Brocked Commodores available than ever before, stretching all the way from the Corsa variant and an SL to the fully specified Calais Director. And whatever tiff might have been going on behind the scenes between Brock and the GM-H heavies, there was no denying the world-challenging status of the VL Group A in both its variants.

Commodore Crazy
1986.