Statesman (automobile) - WB

WB

The final series to be marketed under the Statesman marque was the WB Statesman of 1980. As with previous Statesmans, GMH did not use the Holden name in the badging or the official sales literature. The WB had a six-light body, with a longer, squared-off roofline. The design was by GMH's Chief Stylist, Leo Pruneau. The styling of the WB Statesman was a compromise between achieving a fresh appearance and minimising the cost of redesign, by using panels from the antecedent HZ model.

Mid-term 'Series II' revisions came in 1983 before production ceased in 1984 when GMH announced they were vacating the luxury and commercial vehicle fields to build more variations of the lighter, smaller Holden Commodore. Well kept used models were changing hands in the mid-1980s for more than their final list price.

A full range of Holden WB models including long-wheelbase sedans and station wagons bearing the Kingswood and Premier names were planned, but only the Statesman and the commercial models (ute, panel van and cab-chassis "One Tonner") went into production. The stillborn sedan and wagon models would have shared the front end of the production WB panel van. The sedan used the HZ Statesman long wheelbase body with different tail lights. The station wagon was to have used the same tail light assemblies as the ute and panel van.