03/08/2026
and once again..Holden Blew it!!
That would have sold its arse off..
The Holden Nullarbor was the seven-seat, V8-powered SUV Holden nearly built to take on the Ford Territory.
It was developed in the mid-2000s on Holden’s Aussie designed Zeta platform, the same basic architecture used by the VE Commodore and WM Caprice. Unlike the earlier Adventra, the Nullarbor was intended to have its own SUV body, a longer wheelbase and both rear-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive capability. Styling was reportedly influenced by the BMW X5.
The plan was for it to be built at Elizabeth alongside the VE, with a launch around 2008. Apparently, it would have offered seven seats and potentially an L77 V8, making it a genuinely exciting alternative to the Territory, Kluger and LandCruiser.
The project was cancelled after GM took control of the program and chose not to proceed. The GFC, GM’s 2009 bankruptcy and tougher fuel-economy requirements also destroyed the broader global Zeta strategy.
Holden had identified the market shift early and had a locally engineered SUV ready in concept, but GM killed it. Former Holden insiders later argued that the additional local and export volume could potentially have helped sustain Australian manufacturing, although there is no way to prove it would have saved Holden.
Instead of this, we ended up with the Captiva and we all know how that went...
