The Vauxhall Monaro VXR made its debut appearance at the Sydney Motor Show in 1998, after debuting as the 'Commodore Coupé show car'. Journalists quickly christened the vehicle with its current moniker, prompting Holden to pursue its production. After a rather brief 22-month gestation period and under A$60 million, the V2 series Monaro was available for sale. It offered a range of features, including a supercharged 3.8L V6, 5.7L Gen III V8, 6-speed manual and 4-speed automatic transmissions. It quickly became notorious as one of the fastest standard cars on the road.
By early 2003, the Series 2 edition of Monaro was launched, which featured a revised dashboard design, adapted from the VY series Commodore. In addition to this, several colours were dropped, while some were added. Unfortunately, the CV6 model lacked in sales and was consequently phased out. This development saw the creation of a Series 3 model in 2004.
Shortly after, HSV (Holden Special Vehicle) released their version of the Monaro, but rebranded it as 'Coupe'. This came in two options—'GTO' and 'GTS'—both powered by a 5.7L engine. The 'GTS' features included a special engine tweak from Callaway, producing 300 kW. Although the 'GTS' edition was later dropped, a four-wheel-drive version called 'Coupe4' subsequently appeared.
The most powerful variant of the Monaro came in in the form of HSV's HRT 427 or 'Holden Racing Team 427ci'. This featured a specially-modified 7L engine, coupled with unique body kits, producing 420 kW, and was capable of reaching 62 mph in under 4 seconds. For a brief moment, the HRT 427 held the title of the 'world's quickest car', however, insufficient sales caused the vehicle to be discontinued. A GT racecar version, however, proved successful at the 2002 and 2003 Bathurst 24-hour race, beating some of the world's most reputable racecars, including Porsche GT3’s, Ferarri GT Modena and Lamborghini GT Racecar.
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