Holden Hurricane [1969]

Holden’s Hurricane stirred the automotive scene with a 1969 debut that beat the season’s concepts – including the Mercedes C111 – to the floor. Holden, still a relatively young company had established its Research and Development sector a few years prior, and their Hurricane was to showcase the true extent of the sector’s vision. Lead designer Don DaHarsh developed a full-scale model and was accompanied by a team of engineers who helped realise the famously low-slung, aerodynamic form. With a single-piece hydraulic roof canopy, the Hurricane fused kinetic sculpture with vehicular design, able to be opened in with a single manoeuvre – with seats raising electronically, simultaneously. Peter Robinson, one of a handful of press invitees to a preview of the car added ‘Its science-fiction-like technology included on-board navigation, a rear-mounted camera to account for no rear window, automatic air conditioning, digital instrumentation, oil-cooled front disc brakes, tilt steering column, adjustable pedals, and, most dramatically, no doors.’