24/09/2026
Holden built a family sedan for Bathurst β then sold it to the public. π¦πΊπ₯
This is the 1963 Holden EH S4, created specifically for the Armstrong 500 at Mount Panorama.
Under the bonnet was a 179-cubic-inch Red six-cylinder producing around 120 horsepower, but the real story was the hardware underneath. Holden fitted the S4 with a stronger manual gearbox, upgraded clutch and brakes, a larger fuel tank, heavy-duty suspension, and a larger tailshaft. π
Only 126 examples were built, making the EH S4 a genuine homologation special.
At Bathurst in 1963, Brian Muir and Spencer Martin put their EH S4 on the fastest qualifying time, ahead of the factory-backed Cortina GTs. Their car later retired with a broken tailshaft, but another privateer EH S4 finished second.
The EH S4 wasn't Holden's most powerful car. It didn't need to be.
It helped establish a formula that would define Australian Motorsport for decades: take a family sedan, add serious performance hardware, and turn it into a racing weapon. π¦πΊ
Would you take an EH S4 over a Cortina GT from the same era? π
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