Holden · 1968–1985

Holden Kingswood

The Holden Kingswood is a full-size car that was developed and manufactured in Australia by Holden, from the beginning of the HK series in 1968 through to the conclusion of the WB series in 1985. Prior to 1968, the full-size Holden range of family cars comprised the Holden Standard, the Holden Special, and Holden Premier models. Initially, the HK range of models included the basic Holden Belmont (replacing the Standard), the Kingswood (replacing the Special), and the luxury-oriented Holden Premier, all of which were manufactured in a choice of sedan and station wagon bodies. Commercial variants were offered in three types: coupé utility, panel van, and later from 1971, the Holden One Tonner cab chassis. The Utility version was originally marketed in both Belmont and Kingswood configurations. However, after the Belmont name was deleted from commercials at the end of HQ in late 1974, the base model commercials were sold only with the "Holden" badge (the Belmont name continued on sedan and wagon variants until the end of the HX series). A two-door Holden Monaro coupé and extended-length luxury Holden Brougham were also introduced in mid 1968. For HK, HT, HG and HQ the Holden Monaro carried the ID plate luxury level coding for a Kingswood but never wore Kingswood badges as a production car. HQ-HJ Monaro LS and HQ Monaro LS V8 shared luxury level coding with their respective Premier but also never wore Premier badges. HK-HJ Monaro GTS coupe, HJ Monaro GTS sedan, HT-HQ Monaro GTS V8 coupe and Monaro GTS327/350 coupe (HK-HQ) carried unique luxury level coding. HQ Monaro GTS sedan and HQ Monaro GTS350 sedan shared Kingswood luxury level coding with later examples actually displaying the GTS coupe's Q code on the VIN plate but still retaining the HQ V8 Kingswood's 80469 model coding on the body plate. The Brougham was replaced in 1971 by the Statesman brand, based upon the station wagon chassis of the then new HQ series. A new Kingswood model was introduced at the start of the HX Holden series in mid 1976, the Kingswood panel van. Outside of Australia, the Holden range (including Kingswoods in various body styles) and its derivatives have been sold in New Zealand, parts of Asia and Africa, and parts of the South Pacific, branded as Holden or Chevrolet. Following the late-1960s import cessation of the Canadian-sourced Chevrolet Impala and Chevelle in South Africa, the Holden Kingswood / Premier and Holden Brougham models were badge engineered as Chevrolet Kommando and Chevrolet Constantia, respectively. Holden-based style-side utilities in South Africa were known as the Chevrolet El Camino. Between 1974 and 1978, the one-tonne cab-chassis utility was sold as the Chevrolet El Toro. The Kingswood passenger car and Kingswood panel van ceased production with the demise of the HZ series in 1980, the passenger range succeeded by the smaller Commodore released two years earlier. However, the Kingswood name survived via the utility that comprised part of the WB series range manufactured between 1980 and 1985, sold alongside the WB Statesman and the WB Holden utility, panel van and One Tonner.

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Predecessor: Holden Special · Successor: Holden Commodore

All Holden Kingswood data: UK builds, safety, recalls, model years →

First generation (1968–1971)

=== HK === The Kingswood sedan and wagon were released as part of the new HK series of Holdens in January 1968 (commercials: March 1968). This was an all-new body design, larger and heavier than the previous HR series. The HK series carried over the same local six-cylinder engines, but introduced the first V8 into the Holden range, the fully imported 307-cubic-inch (5.0 L) Chevrolet small-block engine. The Monaro and the Brougham were introduced mid-year of 1968, thereby broadening GM's range of locally built full-size cars in Australia. HT. The HT series launched in May 1969 and with it the introduction of a new locally manufactured Holden 253-cubic-inch (4.1 L) and 308-cubic-inch (5.0 L) Holden V8 engines. The 253 was available on all HT models except Brougham, and the 308 was available only in Brougham. The 307-cubic-inch (5.0 L) Chevrolet V8 engine remained an option for all HT series models except Brougham until stocks were depleted and it was replaced with the 308. The advertising campaign for this model was 'Never Late, in a Three-Oh-Eight'. The range of three six-cylinder engines carried over to the HT series, however the transmission options for the V8 engines were many and varied. Initially, the 253 V8 only came with either three-speed column- or four-speed floor-mounted manual transmissions. The 307 V8 was only available with two-speed Powerglide automatic. This arrangement continued until the 307 stocks were exhausted, following which the 253 and 308 locally built V8 engines could then be ordered with any manual or automatic transmission across the range, excepting the Holden Brougham which was always specified as a 308 automatic. A new locally manufactured three-speed automatic transmission, the Tri-Matic, was introduced late in the life of the HT range, e

Second generation (1971–1985)

=== HQ === The HQ series of 1971 was a completely new design, introducing larger capacity 173-cubic-inch (2.85 L) and 202-cubic-inch (3.3 L) six-cylinder engines, with the continued availability of 253-cubic-inch (4.2 L), 308-cubic-inch (5.0 L) Holden and 350-cubic-inch (5.7 L) Chevrolet V8 engines. HQ was the most radically engineered Holden since the introduction of the original 48-215 model of 23 years prior. It featured a perimeter frame and semi-monocoque (unibody) construction, and was the first full-size Holden to have coil spring rear suspension. As a cost-saving measure, HQ was only engineered for right-hand drive, hence it was not feasible to sell the car in left-hand drive markets. Thus Holden exports declined from 41,181 in 1973 to just 7,440 in 1975. Over the following years this led to a large decline in export vehicle revenue needed to fund the HQ-HZ series replacement. Despite this, HQ became Holden's most popular car, selling 485,650 units, a total yet to be surpassed in a Holden. It was however, sold over a longer timeframe than previous models. At the time, Holden's then Chief Engineer, an American named George Roberts, insisted that the HQ Holdens should "ride like a Cadillac" and that the front suspension be engineered to make the car prone to understeer for "safety reasons". Advertising of the car promoted its "jet-smooth ride" over rough roads. Notwithstanding persistent criticism from many motoring journalists, this policy persisted with the subsequent HJ and HX facelift models. It was arguable whether Australian buyers favoured this engineering philosophy and it was not until the 1977 HZ facelift that radical changes were made to the suspension to improve handling. In Mid 1972, Holden released a limited edition version of the HQ Belmont sedan

Third generation (proposed)

=== WA === After the development of the HQ series and the delays to the facelifted HJ which saw the revised HQ released in 1973, Holden intended to replace the second generations cars with a heavily revised WA series. Several design sketches in various forms have surfaced since the early-1990s, including a liftback body style. The 1973 fuel crisis along with a worsening financial situation, partly caused by the decision to build the HQ in right-hand drive only, thus limiting the previously highly profitable left-hand drive exports, meant that the project was eventually abandoned. GM instead utilised the then forthcoming 1977 Opel Rekord, which was significantly re-engineered and released as the Commodore in 1978 with Holden's own powertrains.

Exports

Early Holdens were manufactured in New Zealand at the General Motors New Zealand plant in Petone until 1967, and Kingswoods plus other Holden luxury levels were later assembled from complete knock down (CKD) kits at the new car plant at Trentham Upper Hutt further up the Hutt Valley from Wellington. Other Holden models like Monaro were imported completely built up (CBU) from Australia. From the 1960s Australian-made models were exported to Southeast Asia, and also to the Caribbean—the Kingswood was assembled in Trinidad and Tobago. Some of these HQ-series models—assembled in Australia—were sold in New Zealand as the "Chevrolet 350" from 1971 to 1974. They differed little from the locally assembled 308-cubic-inch (5.0 L) V8 Statesman apart from the larger US made engine, a new grille with the Chevrolet logo, badges and hub caps, and effectively replaced the Canadian-sourced Chevrolet Impalas last sold in 1969. South Africa. Until the late 1960s, the Special, Kingswood (from HK), Premier, and Monaro were sold in South Africa as Holdens, before the demise of Canadian-sourced Chevrolet Impala and Chevelle, which led to the introduction of the Chevrolet Kommando and Chevrolet Constantia, which were based on the HT, HG, and later HQ Kingswood and Premier respectively, using either Holden's 202 cu in (3.3 L) straight-six, 308 cu in (5.0 L) V8, or later the 230 and 250 cu in (3.8 and 4.1 L) Chevrolet sixes. There was a short period when HT and HG variants were sold with both Holden and Chevrolet badging, the Holden versions shared nose styling with Australian cars. Some surviving examples of both brands, especially Monaro coupes (HT badged Holden Monaro; HG Chevrolet SS) have been 'reimported' to Australia by classic car enthusiasts. Some were exported to a few Southeast Asian

In popular culture

A first generation 1971 Holden Kingswood sedan is featured in the New Zealand television series, The Brokenwood Mysteries, as the vehicle driven by the series star, Neill Rea, in his role as Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Shepherd. Apparently, the car is intended to represent the least glamorous transportation that D.S.S. Shepherd could possibly obtain. Passengers in Shepherd's car are subjected to his favourite country songs (both well-known and obscure), always played on the car's cassette player. The same array of country songs make up the soundtrack for the series. The Australian sitcom Kingswood Country derived its name from the car the lead character, Ted Bullpit, drove (though it was replaced with a Holden Commodore later in its run).

Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.

Specifications

name: Holden Kingswood
Manufacturer: Holden (General Motors)
aka: Holden Belmont, Holden Premier, Holden One Tonner, Holden Sandman
Related: Statesman (1st Generation)
Production: 1968–1985
Class: Full-size
Body style: 2-door coupe utility, 3-door panel van, 4-door sedan, 5-door station wagon
Predecessor: Holden Special
Successor: Holden Commodore

Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Check the linked sources for citations.

More photos

Sources

Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1450851CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holden_KingswoodCC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1375299290 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Holden_Kingswood_Utility_Darkred.jpgCC BY 2.0 · Photo: Mick Stanic from Melbourne, Australia. · retrieved 2026-10-01
Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.