Anonymous Report This Comment
Date: October 08, 2006 04:50AM

Holden Efijy Concept

A wild 21st Century hot rod reincarnating Australia ’s most famous car, the FJ Holden, was unveiled at the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney. Efijy is a radical pillarless custom coupe boasting V8 Supercar power under the bonnet, Chevrolet Corvette underbody and state-of-the-art automotive technology throughout. The ‘Soprano Purple’ paintwork highlights its curvaceous 5.2-metre body, reinterpreting the classic design cues of the iconic 1953 FJ Holden. It delivers retro, mumbo and gizmos in one glorious package. Obviously not intended for production, Efijy has been a passionate side project for some Holden Design team members otherwise dedicated to creating the all-new 2006 Commodore. Automotive excess pounds through a 480-kilowatt, supercharged six-litre V8 engine and air-adjustable shock absorbers through to a touch control LCD screen and fan-cooled LED headlamps.

The design team has cleverly incorporated FJ design cues into Efijy’s radicalcustom coupe body, acknowledging the most important aspects of the iconic 1953 release. The famously familiar FJ grille looms larger than life, fronting a low, wide and handsome body extravagantly elongated and brimming with retro chic style. The Corvette rolling chassis was lengthened to accommodate the Efijy body, which is more than 700 millimetres longer than the FJ by which it was inspired. The Soprano Purple paint has multiple layers of translucent pigmented topcoats which creates the rich, deep effect. All brightwork on the vehicle is hand-made billet aluminium to maximise its authentic look, nowhere more evident than the stunning grill salute to FJ’s distinctive front.

A proximity sensor opens the door automatically as the driver approaches, revealing deep cream leather twin tombstone-shaped seats equipped with integral belts. The drop-down, touch control LCD screen and an instrument cluster glowing with the number ‘53’– another FJ gesture – are set in the body-coloured metal dash and pulsate with a radiogram retro orange glow. There are pearlescent, Bakelite-look push button controls for the electronic automatic transmission and the hard curved floor is finished in figured maple timber veneer with aluminium inserts. Efijy’s prowling appearance can be accentuated by the air-adjustable suspension. At the touch an LCD screen, At a touch of the LCD screen, Efijy can hunker down to just 27 millimetres from the ground or rise to a more practical drive height. The use of LED headlights and tail lights is accompanied by liberal LED applications inside the vehicle, including courtesy lamps and sill plate illumination lamps. Several are dual filament, allowing them to throw different colors depending on the application. Like any great showcar, Efijy is stocked with a cutting edge entertainment system featuring hard drive audio and video storage driven through a major amplifier and speaker setup.

The 6.0-litre LS2 V8 engine has been supercharged and modified by Ron Harrop, well known throughout the Australian automotive and motorsport industry and an ex-FJ Holden racer. Driven by a Roots-type supercharger, the engine delivers peak power of 645 horsepower at 6400rpm and peak torque of 775Nm 560 foot-pound at 4200rpm. Such performance figures are equal to the stated output from 2005 Series V8 Supercars, and almost 11 times greater than the 60 horsepower offered in the 1953 FJ Holden. Efijy’s engine is mated to a rear-mounted four-speed automatic transmission featuring push button electronic control. Limited slip differential has been fitted for obvious reasons. The custom designed exhaust is a stainless steel 2.5-inch dual system with customised compact headers and billet aluminium exhaust tips. The power output is transferred to massive 22-inch by 10-inch billet aluminium wheels with fluting which echoes the FJ’s more modest original 15-inch by 4-inch wheels. Reflecting its street sled heritage, the front wheels are 20-inch by 9-inch. The brakes feature 381mm (15-inch) grooved and ventilated rotors front and rear, combined with six-piston aluminium calipers at the front and four-piston aluminium calipers at the rear.

Holden Design plans to show the car at a series of street machine and hot rod shows around Australia after its Australian International Motor Show debut.

[www.ultimatecarpage.com]

Rogerramjet_2003

Nigel_Knowitall Report This Comment
Date: October 08, 2006 08:49AM

I wish they could find their way to build cars like these.
Cars nowadays are so similar. When I was young, we used to have competitions at night guessing the cars just by looking at the way the head-lights shone at you...and also trying to tell the name of the car by listening to the sound it made as it was running.

fossil_digger Report This Comment
Date: September 28, 2007 06:50AM

careful man your showin' your age, these kids might call ya grandpa.

we did the same.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 28/09/2007 06:50AM by fossil_digger.

90130_ Report This Comment
Date: September 28, 2007 08:27AM

I could always tell by the headlights following me if it's a Crown Vic or Caprice 9C1 Police interceptor.

Only then I'm on my best behaviour.