Rare coupe offers golden chance

The collectable Limited Edition 1976 Holden HX LE coupe. Photo / NZ Herald

A Holden that never carried the hallowed Monaro badge but nevertheless remains a true-blue member of the coupe clan is expected to fetch around $40,000 at auction across the Tasman.

The collectable Limited Edition 1976 Holden HX LE coupe, the final iteration of the original Monaro series, is up for grabs in Sydney on February 15.

It is one of just 580 HX LE coupes produced at Holden's Pagewood plant in Sydney in 1976. It features metallic crimson paintwork, gold pinstriping and LE lettering on its bootlid.

Four quartz halogen headlights, colour-keyed front and rear spoilers and unique gold-finished 14x7-inch polycast wheels completed the unique package.

The HX LE came only with Holden's 308 V8, the turbo-hydramatic transmission and Salisbury limited-slip differential - all high-performance Monaro hardware.

The passenger compartment combined GTS features with a walnut finish dash fascia and centre console, with crushed velour and cloth trim.

Its equipment includes power windows, power steering, power aerial, integrated air-conditioning, heated rear window, quadrophonic eight-track cartridge player and tinted windows. It also has its original eight-track cartridge stereo system included in the sale, along with a number of music cartridges.