Holden's first home-grown ute could barely haul 360 kg — about one strong adult and an esky of beer — a fraction of what a modern ute carries, yet it put Holden in the work-truck business for good.
Lead trim: 50-2106 2.1 Grey Motor six (60 hp)
Holden Utility1951–1953
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Holden Utility yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactHolden's first home-grown ute could barely haul 360 kg — about one strong adult and an esky of beer — a fraction of what a modern ute carries, yet it put Holden in the work-truck business for good.
The Holden 50-2106, based on the 48-215, was the first Holden Coupe Utility, produced from 1951 to 1953. It was powered by a 2.1-litre Holden Grey Motor straight six producing 45 kW (60 hp) and 135 N·m (100 lb·ft) of torque with a three-speed manual gearbox, and had 9-inch drum brakes, Hotchkiss drive with semi-elliptical springs, worm and sector steering and a payload capacity of 356 kg (7 long hundredweight).
Collectors Spotted in the Holden Utility Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Holden Utility yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
One published trim in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50-2106 2.1 Grey Motor six (60 hp) | 1951–1953 | 2.1 L Inline-6 | 60 hp | 100 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
The VS ute ran five years without a full redesign, the longest single utility generation Holden built after 1980.
The VR Ute came in two flavours with one quiet tell: the plain Ute carried no model badging at all, while the sportier 'S' Ute was the only one wearing "Commodore" badges.
Nearly every VP Commodore sedan had a badge-engineered Toyota twin sold as the Lexcen — except the ute. Holden built the VP Utility, and no Toyota equivalent of it was ever made.
Holden killed its ute in 1984, then resurrected it in 1990 on a Commodore floorpan after a six-year gap.
This EH ute belongs to one of the fastest-selling runs in Australian car history — 256,959 EH Holdens, sedans to utes, sold across barely 18 months before the HD replaced it.
Holden's 1960 FB was a modest facelift with one first: it was the first Holden ever built in left-hand drive, built specifically to chase export markets.
This FE generation was the first Holden ever assembled outside Australia — New Zealand built its first example in January 1957.
Holden actually built a wagon version of the FJ alongside the ute and sedan — it just never reached production, staying a one-off prototype.
Holden's first home-grown ute could barely haul 360 kg — about one strong adult and an esky of beer — a fraction of what a modern ute carries, yet it put Holden in the work-truck business for good.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
Holden killed its ute in 1984, then resurrected it in 1990 on a Commodore floorpan after a six-year gap.
Holden's 1960 FB was a modest facelift with one first: it was the first Holden ever built in left-hand drive, built specifically to chase export markets.
This FE generation was the first Holden ever assembled outside Australia — New Zealand built its first example in January 1957.
Holden actually built a wagon version of the FJ alongside the ute and sedan — it just never reached production, staying a one-off prototype.
Nearly every VP Commodore sedan had a badge-engineered Toyota twin sold as the Lexcen — except the ute. Holden built the VP Utility, and no Toyota equivalent of it was ever made.
This EH ute belongs to one of the fastest-selling runs in Australian car history — 256,959 EH Holdens, sedans to utes, sold across barely 18 months before the HD replaced it.
The VR Ute came in two flavours with one quiet tell: the plain Ute carried no model badging at all, while the sportier 'S' Ute was the only one wearing "Commodore" badges.
The VS ute ran five years without a full redesign, the longest single utility generation Holden built after 1980.