Holden Sunbird

The Holden Sunbird was a mid-sized automobile manufactured by General Motors–Holden's Ltd. in Australia from 1976 to 1980. It was marketed as a four-door Sedan and as a three-door Hatchback. [Holden Sunbird sales brochure T232 of March 1978]

When the LX series Holden Torana was introduced in 1976 it featured a choice of four, six and eight cylinder engines. Later in the year the four cylinder Torana was revised and relaunched as the Holden Sunbird. [The Holden Heritage - Eight Edition] . From that point, Sunbirds were four-cylinder cars, Toranas six- and eight-cylinder ones. The original LX series Sunbird was a single-trim range, with four-speed manual and three-speed automatic transmissions. There were minor trim differences compared to the Torana, notably the grille (with vertical bars) and distinctive chrome wheel covers.

In 1978, the UC series saw the Sunbird expand into three trim levels: base (manual only), SL and SL/E. The UCs had square headlamps and a smoother front end. LX and early UC Sunbirds were fitted with a 1.9 litre Opel engine. Later UC models had a 1,892 cm³ 'Starfire' engine that was also installed into the Australian-produced versions of the Toyota Corona. The Hatchbacks were deleted in 1979, leaving only the sedans for the 1980 model year. The last Sunbird was built in September 1980. [Aussie Cars, © 1987]

The Sunbird was replaced initially by the Holden Commodore Four, before the arrival of its natural successor, the Holden Camira, from 1982.

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