|
More than 100 FE and FC Holdens built between 1956 and 1960 are expected to head
for Phillip Island over Easter to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the FE
model.
Sponsored by Shannons, the 11th FE-FC Holden Nationals from April 14-17 is
being staged by the FE-FC Holden Car Club of Victoria. The half century
milestone is expected to draw a record number of entrants, eclipsing the 81 cars
that entered the 2005 FE-FC Nationals at Jindabyne in New South Wales.
Following the immortal FJ in July 1956, the FE was the first Holden
manufactured at GMH’s Dandenong assembly plant and the first Holden to be fully
tested at the company’s then-new Lang Lang Proving Ground.
Featuring a much more modern, angular design than the original ‘humpy’
Holdens, the FE model also ushered in the first ‘Station Sedan’ or wagon-style
body for Holden for the Australian market. The FC that followed the FE in May
1958 shared the same basic architecture as the FE and continued in production
until 1960.
The FE also had a major role during the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games, where
many cars were used as support vehicles during the Torch Relay and as courtesy
cars for officials and Olympians in a similar fashion to Toyota’s sponsorship of
the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
The FE-FC Nationals will run over four days starting on Good Friday and
finishing on Easter Monday. Trophy judging will be held on Easter Saturday at
the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit, with cars displayed for public viewing.
On Easter Sunday, all cars will also be displayed in front of the Continental
Hotel in Cowes from 8.30am-10.30am before participants head off on a boat
cruise.
On Easter Monday, entrants will leave Phillip Island for a tour of Holden’s
Lang Lang Proving Ground, revisiting the facilities where the first FE
prototypes and pre-production models were tested in late 1955 and early 1956.
Cars participating in the 2006 Nationals will include all types of vehicles
from daily drivers, to original low mileage cars, classic restorations, hot
custom and modified.
Full details of the event are available via the FE-FC Car Clubs of Australia
website at www.fefcholden.org.au
|
