Australian Holden Monaro GTS makes Concours History

Not because it's fast, not because it's a limited edition car and not because it still resides in its home country of Australia. It's because the car has had one of the most comprehensive restorations possible, good enough for it to enter concours events and take home the top silverware. That in itself is believable just by taking a look at the pictures of the car, but it's more than that.

It's hard to believe, but this is the first car of it's kind, a Holden, that has ever won a major concourse event, even in Australia. Concours events have been going since the first wheel was fashioned out of rock and polished up by some cavemen to look better than the rest of them, so we're not sure why one has never been able to do it. The cars are popular with collectors and many pristine examples exist. Maybe it's because this one from the crew at Re-Creation Automotive based out of Lilydale in Australia is just that much better than any out there. The Australian Concours d'Elegance is the biggest in the land attracting the likes of classic Ferraris and Rolls-Royces, and none of them could match this Holden.

The prefect Monaro is now the first known to have won a major event like this, a great achievement for the company. "For a Holden of any type to win an international concours event is certainly unexpected," said Paul Mathers, director of Motorclassica who host the Melbourne show. The Monaro is 100 percent original and features a 350-hp V8 based on the small block Chevy lump and a manual transmission. The car belongs to one Terry Smart from Victoria who commissioned the car's restoration, and he only saw the car return a couple of days before the event, cutting it close. The car first won the Restoration of the Year award, which saw it qualify for the top class, where it again took the win.