The high-performance legacy of Peter Brock is safe with the new ownership of the HDT name he once carried on his Commodore racers.

Kenny Habul, who once lived with the Brock family in Melbourne and has since become a billionaire businessman in the USA, has taken control of HDT and has big plans for the company’s future. It includes restoration and upgrading of existing HDT Holdens and an ambitious plan to create a Singer-style restomod created from scratch inside a Commodore body.

Red and white race car with Marlboro 05 livery speeding along a track, grandstands filled with spectators in the background.
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Habul is also working to create an HDT museum and workshop, as well as a dedicated Holden museum, on a site he has identified on Conrod Straight at Mount Panorama in Bathurst.

“I could not let HDT die. To keep it alive it has to be a business that’s more than just selling stickers,” Habul told Whichcar by Wheels of the reason he bought the company from its previous custodian, Queensland businessman and long-time Brock fan and friend, Peter Champion.

Habul has only owned HDT for a fortnight and is still clarifying the business plan, but announced his ownership in Bathurst today (Monday) in Bathurst. He had flown from his home in the USA, accompanied by his family, to confirm the new move.

“Can you imagine how much fun it can be. We want to get the HDT back on the cover of Wheels magazine,” said Habul (below). While he’s big on dreams and a little light on detail, he does have the financial clout to make big things happen.

Kenny Habul on a podium in a blue AMG race suit, holding a sign about Mercedes-AMG GT3 winning the title and a bottle of champagne.
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His company, Sun Energy, is one of the world’s largest solar power operators worldwide and he races for fun in GT racers around the world. His success with AMG GT race cars includes victory in the Bathurst 12-Hour.

Habul owns around 300 cars, spread from Australia to the USA and Europe, including dozens of Holdens and HDT hotrods. His all-time favourite is the famous HDT Director that was unveiled by Brock and led to the collapse of his relationship with Holden because of the controversial Energy Polarizer.

“It’s my favourite. That’s why it’s here. I air-freighted it here for the announcement. It cost a fortune,” Habul said.

His plans to base HDT in Bathurst have already seen him move the company from its existing headquarters in Sydney to rented premises in Kelso. He has several dozen HDT Commodores on site to get things moving.

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Habul can’t yet confirm the full scale of his HDT ambitions because he is negotiating the details of his building plans with government in Bathurst, but hopes to eventually have a site dedicated to HDT and Holden at Mount Panorama.

“I don’t know how long it takes. But we want to be building by the (time of the) next Bathurst 1000. We want to be in construction,” Habul told Wheels. “The HDT story started here with the race in 1969. Brock was third with Des West.

“We’re talking to the town with a view that this should be the headquarters, in Bathurst. But if it doesn’t work out we would probably pick Sydney.”

Habul is bullish about the prospects for HDT road vehicles after he and a couple of his classic Bathurst race cars were part of a celebration on the circuit on Sunday for the 20th anniversary of Brock’s death.

“It’s early days but we have a team. We’re working on three prototypes at the moment,” said Habul, who also talked enthusiastically about his plans but also his inspiration from Brock.

“I loved him for what he did. He inspired me to want to be something. He inspired lots of kids and I loved him for that,” Habul said. “I loved it was when he was fighting the world with his HDT Commodores. He embodied what it means to be Australian and take on the world.”