Up until the late 1980s/early 1990s, Aussie staples Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon offered almost every conceivable powertrain combination from base model povo spec to luxury flagships in the form of Fairmont Ghia and Calais.
Today’s offering is an immaculately-restored 1989 VN Calais, but with a major twist. This May 1989 build was not only one of the first to feature the EFI version of Holden’s ‘Iron Lion’ 5.0L V8, developing 165kW and 385Nm, but it was one of only around 50 to feature the Borg Warner T5 five-speed manual option.
Listed for $32,500, the South Australian example has 189,436km on the clock and has been treated to a full restoration.
The concept of rowing your own gears in an executive flagship was definitely on the wane as the 1990s beckoned – after all, you needed to keep an extra hand free for the in-built phone (if equipped).
This VN Calais is Cardinal Red with a two-tone finish, the requisitive four-spoke steering wheel found in high-series VN models, and the triple digital display trip computer incorporated in the instrument cluster, in lieu of the base model’s tacho-less and analogue odometer display.
It’s been up for sale for a while, which means perhaps not many have twigged onto the rarity of the thing, but if you’re interested (like we are), you can check out the carsales listing here.
This is not the first time we’ve featured rare Holdens for sale, with a VN Berlina 2.0-litre ‘Ei’ four-cylinder, as well as others. Nor is it the first time we’ve featured a row-your-own luxury barge, such as the 1970 Fairlane ZC Custom.
Is this the rarest combination you’ve seen for this model year? Have you seen any later model factory Holden Calais manuals? Let us know in the comments below.
