clean separation of the airflow off the back of the car as would have a sharper change of angle. As such, the VY series rectified this problem. In 1999, the VT wagon platform served as the basis for the second generation Statesman and Caprice luxury cars. This third generation Commodore also formed the basis for the resurrection of the iconic Monaro coupé from the 1960s and 1970s. Presented as the "Holden Coupé" concept car at the 1998 Australian International Motor Show held in Sydney, overwhelming public interest resulted in the coupé finally reaching production in 2001 as the Monaro albeit by then based on the VX series. As part of this project came a spend of to upgrade the Elizabeth plant, which saw a 43 percent increase in robots (to a total of 130), more efficient pressing process (with 59 presses instead of 104) and welding (that sees the main body spot-welded in 101 seconds), reducing the VT's final assembly time by 2.5 hours. Input from the United States Holden's parent company was interested in incorporating a left-hand drive Commodore into the Buick lineup in the United States and became involved in the VT development cycle early on. Holden was provided funds for the necessary engineering changes and a prototype was unveiled to the American public in 1995 as the Buick XP2000 concept car whose styling formed the basis for the VT series. The project, known internally as "Project 127", was abandoned in early 1994, well before the VT's release but Holden made the most of the situation by exporting left-hand drive VTs to parts of Indochina and the Middle East badged as the Chevrolet Lumina, and to Brazil badged as the Chevrolet Omega. Engineering The base engine was the 3.8-litre Ecotec V6 that Holden originally launched with the Commodore VS Series II, which remained unchanged except for new exhaust manifolds and the latest Bosch EV6 fuel injectors. Apart from the 5.0-litre Holden V8 (for which Holden spent to extract an extra and over the previous series) and uprated HSV variants, the other engine offered as an option on the Commodore S and SS, and the Calais, was the supercharged version of the Ecotec that was also launched with the VS II. In its latest guise, it generated a higher output of thanks to a new engine management system with individual cylinder knock-sensor control. The available transmissions, depending on engine