Hiding amongst the many Audis housed at Melbourne Performance Centre is a distinctive red, black and gold body, with a distinctive Australian flavour.
It’s a significant car in not only Supercars history, but Holden’s motorsport heritage too.
Although not a race winner, Holden Racing Team WR 015 VE II Commodore is a very unique chassis as it closed a chapter for the legendary team being the last Project Blueprint build undertaken before the advent of Car of The Future in 2013.
After a dominant period for HRT between 1996 and 2002, but beginning in 2003 Project Blueprint changed the momentum towards leading Ford team Stone Brothers Racing.
In turn, HRT failed to win a championship during the Project Blueprint era, though its sister HSV Dealer Team went back-to-back in 2006 and 2007, while three Bathurst 1000 victories provided some success.
Driven by James Courtney starting from the Hamilton round WR 015 scored seventh on its race debut, while it ended its brief V8 Supercar career with two thirds at Homebush.
Competing in 26 races that season, it nearly won at Bathurst as a late race delamination dropped Courtney and co-driver Cameron McConville down to fourth by the flag.
Currently owned by enthusiast Joseph Hancock, WR 015 returned to the Mountain eight years later in his hands to compete in Challenge Bathurst.
The Commodore signifies an important change of era for Holden and once long-time partner Walkinshaw Racing as it entered the CoTF generation.