Holden to retain Calais badge

Holden has confirmed it will be retaining the Calais nameplate for its next-generation ZB Commodore.

The decision to retain the Commodore name for the all-new imported ZB, the first Commodore in the car’s 39-year history to be built overseas, has been a controversial one, however Holden is sticking to its guns.

While the SS badge will be retired along with the V8 on October 20, Calais will continue on the sports-luxury variants of the new ZB, banking on the brand equity of a badge first introduced on the VK Commodore in 1984.

Explaining the decision to continue with Calais, Holden’s Product Communications Manager Mark Flintoft told MOTOR: “Calais has long stood for luxury in the Commodore range and this new car is not short of luxury, so Calais absolutely fits.”

Holden is keen to push the ZB Commodore as the most advanced ever, with a 3.6-litre V6 powering a nine-speed automatic and all-wheel drive for the flagship models, along with adaptive LED headlights, a 360-degree camera, adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, lane keep assist and various other active safety systems.

Also available will be front-wheel drive 2.0-litre turbo petrol and turbo diesel models. The exact number of variants and their nameplates is not yet known, however sources suggest there will be a sports-oriented model and the sports-luxury Calais, both expected to feature a 230kW/370Nm tune of the V6, with the range-topping VXR to score 235kW/381Nm, Brembo brakes and adaptive dampers with a bespoke suspension tune.

The ZB Commodore will be on-sale in early 2018, we’ll bring you a review of the V6 AWD prototype and chat with chief dynamics engineers Rob Trubiani in the near future.