Page 1 of 1 Holden has solved one of the Australian automotive industry's long-standing mysteries by confirming the existence of a convertible Monaro coupe. But the one-off vehicle, built by contractors TWR Engineering and Edscha in Europe in 2002, will never reach production. Holden showed the convertible, codenamed Marilyn, at a unique event in Melbourne highlighting a dozen hallmark concept cars from Holden and its partners dating back as far as the 1970 GTR-X. The May, 2004 event at Flemington Racecourse was the first time such an array of concept vehicles, conservatively valued at $25 million, had been shown by any Australian carmaker.
Marilyn was a surprise attendee at the event which brought together some of the defining vehicles of Australian motor shows. Marilyn was built by the now defunct TWR Engineering in 2002 at the request of the Holden Board of Directors to investigate whether a convertible program was possible. Financial analysis confirmed that the costs associated with producing a current platform coupe convertible could not be justified.
Amongst the changes needed to successfully complete the task were changes to A-pillar assemblies, rear quarter body panels, trunk lid outer and the doors were modified to take a frameless glass system. There were reinforcements made on the underbody and mountings for a bolt-on cruciform structure to help optimise structural requirements. The fully lined and insulated black canopy was designed as a six-bow system to retain styling shape and roof operation is fully automatic with a competitive cycle time. Page 1 of 1
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Marilyn Concept
Holden has solved one of the Australian automotive industry's long-standing mysteries by confirming the existence of a convertible Monaro coupe. But the one-off vehicle, built by contractors TWR Engineering and Edscha in Europe in 2002, will never reach production. Holden showed the convertible, codenamed Marilyn, at a unique event in Melbourne highlighting a dozen hallmark concept cars from Holden and its partners dating back as far as the 1970 GTR-X. The May, 2004 event at Flemington Racecourse was the first time such an array of concept vehicles, conservatively valued at $25 million, had been shown by any Australian carmaker.