AN ‘alternate history’ of the Holden Racing Team has been compiled by designer Peter Hughes, revealing a series of proposed liveries that went unused by the squad.
Hughes worked in Holden’s design department from 1990 until 2020, penning countless liveries for HRT and other Commodore teams alongside his primary role on the road car side.
Since the company’s closure he’s channelled his passion for Holden race cars into his own art business, releasing a stream of classic motorsport prints.
His ‘The Lost Cars’ print features 27 unraced HRT designs, many of which have never been seen before, displayed alongside the final colour schemes used each season.
Hughes has shared six of the best unraced designs with V8 Sleuth ahead of the upcoming release of the print, which is now open to order here.
1990
Pete says: “The initial design concept by Mike Simcoe used a vibrant blue on the early hand drawn sketches, instead of the now famous black.”
1992
Pete says: “There was an early proposal to give Telecom Mobilenet expanded coverage by dropping the lion and helmet.”
1995
Pete says: “The VR HRT mule was dressed in a full Victoria Bitter livery in an attempt to lure the brewer into Supercars. VB later appeared (as a minor sponsor) on HRT cars from 2000 to 2003.”
1996
Pete says: “The 1996 livery was designed in-house under the guidance of team manager Jeff Grech. This alternate ‘reverse’ version was looked at for Peter Brock’s #05 car.”
2002
Pete says: “Designed by Warrack Leach, initial updates of the 2001 ‘chequer’ theme added far more black than the final design. There was a push for dark charcoal wheels as well.”
2008
Pete says: “Before Toll came onboard as the naming rights sponsor, many colour variations were tried with various possible partners. The basic design layout remained much the same, with the racing helmet removed. This wasn’t a popular move in-house at Holden Design or with HRT fans!”
