Nostalgia’s a powerful thing. Remember the HDT Director?

Of course you do. No other Commodore has proved as polarising (geddit?) or magnetic (c’mon people) as the crystal-enhanced VL Calais-based HDT Director of 1987 – the one that famously severed the relationship between Holden and Peter Brock’s HDT tuning outfit.

But there’s another Director in Holden history – the VK Calais Director that was the VL’s immediate predecessor. Originally intended as a stealthier alternative to racier HDT metal like the VK SS Group A, the VK Calais Director had an understated bodykit cloaking a Group 3-derived 308- or 304-cubic-inch V8 powerplant.

Precise mechanical specification varied somewhat: thanks to an extensive menu of options, the scope for individualisation meant transmissions, driveline, wheels, suspension and interior equipment differed wildly according to buyer preference. Even a precise total build number is hard to pin down.

HDT-Magnum -side -front

And then there’s the Magnum. Depending on who you ask, that name either applies to high-powered ammunition, an (objectively terrible) cop show, a big ol’ bottle of champagne, an ice cream or a prophylactic. Fun stuff, but in 1983 the Magnum moniker was applied to another appealing device: a cushy Statesman-based cruiser with a Group 3-spec 5.0-litre V8, three-speed auto and a sports-tuned suspension.

HDT-VL-Director -driving

With a 5.0-litre V8, performance headers, a lowered suspension and bodykit, it’s the VS Magnum load-lugger that today’s Magnum, based on a VF Redline SS-V, harkens back to.

So, in naming terms at least, the odd one out in Holden’s special-edition trio is the Motorsport Edition.

Holden -Commodore -VN-Group -A-Bathurst -edition

The intent was real enough that Holden even applied for a trademark on the Bathurst badge back in mid-2015, but in the end company execs felt the Bathurst label ignored the Commodore’s broad-ranging motorsport success at circuits around the country.

For Mount Panorama die-hards, that may smack of a highly rational, slightly passionless decision. But Holden is banking that the Motorsport Edition will have the broadest appeal of its limited-edition triplets – there will be 1200 built, compared to 360 Directors and just 240 Magnums.