Forgotten Holden homologation hero listed for sale
The Country Dealer Team Gemini is one of the lesser-known hot Holdens of the early 1980s, and now one has popped up in the classifieds.
Holden’s hottest performance models from the 1980s can be traced back to the Peter Brock-led Holden Dealer Team, but not many remember a small outfit which tried to turn smaller models into pint-sized racers.
The Country Dealer Team was established by James Faneco as a way to promote – you guessed it – Holden’s non-metro dealership operations, who chipped money into the firm which chose the Gemini as its racing base.
Given this was the Group C touring car era, the race cars had to be based on a road-going model, and it helped to have a hotted-up one in showrooms to base it off, leading to the creation of the CDT Gemini.
Two variants of the CDT Gemini were made: the S1 and S2, both sporting a unique bodykit on the base four-door Gemini SL/X body, as well as wider wheels, firmer suspension, a sportier exhaust, and racing-style steering wheel.
While the CDT Gemini S1 featured minor engine refinements (such as a Weber carburetor on the standard intake manifold), the S2 had a twin-carb manifold, a new camshaft and improved valves, bringing power up to 90kW.
At the time, this was enough to cut its 0-100km/h time to 10 seconds, quick at the time for a 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine. Later S3 examples gained a Garrett turbo.
Image via Gumtree
There’s no final number on how many CDT Geminis were made, though example number 020 has been listed for sale on Gumtree, finished in Palais white and with its livery still intact.
Listed at $45,000, it’s a pricey Gemini, however it pales in comparison to the price of HDT Commodores from the same era, some of which have fetched more than $1 million.
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