Holden model honours Murphy's contribution to motorsport

Motorsport ace Greg Murphy has added some special touches to make the Murph Special Edition a very sought-after top performer.

Holden is capitalising on the well-worn "Win on Sunday, sell on Monday" car industry maxim with a go-fast, limited-edition phantom-black Commodore dedicated to New Zealand motorsport hero Greg Murphy.

The commercial venture is akin to Ford New Zealand's special-edition All Black-badged Falcons.

Holden says the Commodore - badged the 2005 Murph Special Edition and priced at $96,900 - is a tribute to Murphy's outstanding contribution to New Zealand motorsport. Production is limited to 22 units and exclusive to New Zealand. The car is powered by a 6-litre Chevrolet V8 engine and is based on the high-performance Holden Special Vehicles ClubSport R8.

Murphy chose many of its special features, including high-performance braking from British specialist AP Racing, more accurate steering rack, and orange accents with silver fern on the sideskirts and boot.

HSV manager Andrew Lamb says: "This vehicle gives us the opportunity to thank Greg for his ambassadorial efforts for New Zealand and also to provide performance-driving enthusiasts with a highly specified vehicle that really stands out from the pack."

Murphy was excited to work with HSV engineers on a package that suited his driving requirements: "I am passionate about New Zealand and the opportunity to have a hand in creating such a unique performance machine was too good to refuse."

The 6-litre engine develops 297kW (400bhp) at 6000rpm and 530Nm of torque at 4400rpm and is mated to heavy-duty transmissions, either a four-speed automatic or six-speed manual. The 19-inch alloys are shod with 235/35 Yokohama tyres.

The interior carries the special-edition name and build number. A silver fern is on the door trims and there's a sports-style centre instrument binnacle.

Each buyer gets an owner certificate signed by Murphy plus a track-day invitation for personal tuition.

Options include a tyre pressure monitoring system ($2000) and sunroof ($3500). The model goes on sale on September 29.