Known during its development as Formula Australia, it was initially for chassis constructed from aluminium only, running a
3.8-litre Buick V6 engine as it was then utilised in the new versions of the
Holden Commodore (VN). Many of the engines used in the category were built by
Perkins Engineering, who normally built
Group A Holden Commodores and
V8 race engines for privateer
touring car teams, as well as company owner, multiple
Bathurst 1000 winner and ex-
Formula One driver
Larry Perkins. Early in 1990, Perkins was reported as saying that his Formula Holden engines were putting out approximately . To make the V6 engines suitable for racing (in the Commodore road cars the engines developed ), a number of specialised parts were supplied by original series sponsor Automotive Components Limited (ACL) who were a subsidiary of
Repco. Second-hand
Formula 3000 chassis were targeted immediately as a cheap source of cars in addition to local constructors, and under CAMS rules, all cars had to be at least one year old and had to be aluminium in construction. The category also used a
Dunlop control tyre in its early years. From the 1992 season, cars constructed from carbon fibre were allowed. In 2006 an engine upgrade was made available to the
3.6-litre Alloytec V6 engine, although take-up of the Alloytec V6 was far from universal. The engines were usually mounted in ex-Formula 3000 chassis, a large number of which were sourced from the
Formula Nippon championship in
Japan, but also included cars from other sources (Europe and the UK) and a few specifically designed for the class, like the Australian designed
Cheetah,
Elfin, Liston cars, as well as the
Shrike's which were designed and built by technical students at the
Croydon Park Institute of TAFE in
Adelaide.
Irish Formula One and F3000 designer
Gary Anderson also designed the Spa cars specifically for the Formula Holden category. Formula Holden was in essence a budget form of Formula 3000, the main difference being the engines. As detailed, Formula Holden ran the 3.8 Litre Holden V6 engines. Formula 3000, as its name suggests, ran 3.0 Litre
V8 engines including the
Cosworth DFV and later the popular
Mugen-
Honda which were capable of producing over . As a guide to the speed difference between the two categories, television commentator and Formula Holden race driver
Neil Crompton tested a Mugen powered
Dome Japanese F3000 car at the
Phillip Island Circuit in early 1990. The Dome (driven by regular drivers
Ross Cheever and
Thomas Danielsson) lapped the 4.445 km (2.762 mi) circuit in approximately 1:18 while two months later for the opening round of the
1990 Australian Drivers' Championship, the fastest Formula Holden qualifier was the Ralt RT21 of
Simon Kane who qualified in 1:26.97. The upgraded Holden V6 engines reportedly had similar torque figures to the F3000 V8's, though they had around less than the V8's which saw the Australian cars have much less top speed. From its inception in 1989 until 2004 the formula was used to determine the winner of the
Australian Drivers' Championship for the
CAMS Gold Star, replacing
Formula 2 which had been the Gold Star category in 1987 and 1988. From 2005 this title was moved to the
Australian Formula 3 Championship. The first ever Formula Holden race was held at the
Mallala Motor Sport Park in
South Australia. Mark McLaughlin driving an
Elfin FA891, designed and built at the Elfin factory in nearby
Adelaide, won the opening race from former dual
Australian Formula 2 champion Peter Glover in an Australian designed
Cheetah Mk.9 with television commentator turned race driver
Neil Crompton third in his
Ralt RT21. During the race, television broadcaster
Channel 7 claimed that a Formula Holden engine would cost approximately
A$9,700 compared to upwards of $25,000 for an engine (usually the
Ford badged
Cosworth BDA) of the superseded open wheel category,
Formula Mondial. From 1991 to 1995 the category was officially known as
Formula Brabham in honour of Australia's first ever Formula One World Champion
Sir Jack Brabham, the only person in history to win the World Championship in a car of his own design in . Sir Jack acted as the category patron for five seasons. In 1996 the name reverted to Formula Holden However, cars constructed with a full carbon tub are specifically excluded from this Group. ==Champions==