Holden EFIJY
Written by Bill Bowman, General Motors Media Archive Product Expert
The Holden 2005 concept EFIJY is a radical pillarless custom coupe boasting V8 super car power under the hood, Chevrolet Corvette underbody and state of the art automotive technology throughout. Holden chief designer and EFIJY project leader Richard Ferlazzo cleverly incorporated FJ design cues into EFIJY’s body, acknowledging the most important aspects of the iconic 1953 FJ Holden.
The Corvette rolling chassis was lengthened to accommodate the EFIJY body and the “Soprano Purple” paint has multiple layers of translucent pigmented topcoats, which creates the rich, deep effect. All bright work on the vehicle is handmade billet aluminum. A proximity sensor opens the door automatically as the driver approaches, revealing deep cream leather twin tombstone shaped seats. The drop down, touch control LCD screen and an instrument cluster glowing with the number 53, another FJ gesture, are set in the body colored metal dash and pulsates with a radiogram retro orange glow. There are pearlescent, Bakelite push button controls for the electronic automatic transmission and the hard curved floor is finished in figured maple timber veneer with aluminum inserts. EFIJY’s appearance can be accentuated by the air-adjustable suspension. At a touch of the LCD screen, EFIJY can lower down to the ground or rise to a more practical drive height.
The 6.0 liter LS2 V8 engine is driven by a Roots type supercharger delivering 645 horsepower and is mated to a rear mounted four speed automatic transmission with a limited slip differential. The custom designed dual exhaust is stainless steel; with headers and billet aluminum exhaust tips. The power output is transferred to massive 22 inch by 10-inch billet aluminum wheels with 20 inch by 9-inch front wheels. The brakes feature 15 inch grooved and ventilated rotors front and rear, combined with six-piston aluminum calipers at the front and four-piston aluminum calipers at the rear.
EFIJY was designed and built entirely in house at GM Holden’s Australian design studio and engineering department with a build from scratch time of 8 months. EFIJY is not just a show car meant to sit on a platform at auto shows but is a fully functional running, driving car that has gone thru extensive testing at Holden’s proving grounds.