Australian Car Spotters Guide - 1985

By 1985 the wonderful little Gemini only had another 2 years of life in it, but in truth the TG was really the last of Gemini's and certainly the last of the "T" cars. Now replaced by an "R" series front wheel drive, the number of models and trim levels may have been a give away that the General was intending to phase out the car. Far from the heddy days when the "Gem" was available in Sedan, Coupe, Wagon and Panel Van, now your choice was limited to sedan only SL/X and better equipped SL/E models (unless of course you were a fleet buyer, in which case the SL was available). Sadly, the RB would be the last, but the RB was a mere shadow of the wonderful little car it once was.

The pick of the VK range was always the SS or Calais (V8 equipped) models. Interestingly, the L31 5.0 litre V8 was replaced by the LV2 4.9 litre midway through the life of the VK in June 1985. Designed to help the Commodore in Group A racing, the new motor was considerably lighter (shedding 75kg) although most still refer to it as a 5.0 litre.

V8 engined cars also had the advantage of being equipped with a much better braking system, including 4 wheel discs and increased brake booster capacity. The VK also had success at Mount Panorama, winning in 1984 (Peter Brock/Larry Perkins) and 1986 (Allan Grice/Graeme Bailey), only missing out in 1985 due to rule changes to the Jaguar XJS of Armin Hahne and John Goss. Did anyone notice that the 1.9 litre 4 and 2.85 litre 6's were dropped from the Commodore lineup? Not really.