Holden's announcement this week that the VZ Commodore range would soon gain a variation of the new L76 version of the Gen IV V8 engine raised hopes in some quarters that the VZ Monaro might be given the new engine and a reprieve.

In response Holden has re-emphasized that the CV8-Z remains the last Holden-badged Monaro. However at the same time it has confirmed it will build an additional 400 examples for a total run of 1600 -- not 1200 as first announced.

The demand for the CV8-Z has been so high that Holden could have produced even more. The maker has nontheless chosen to restrict additional production run to limit the impact on those who have already purchased one of the initial 1200 examples.

The same CV8-Z specification continues in the extra build of 400. This includes the choice of the special Fusion colour, standard HBD sunroof and special CV8-Z detailing.

Because the VZ Monaro CV8-Z already has a unique 260kW version of the Gen III V8, the new L76 engine with the same power output would not significantly improve Monaro performance.

Holden has also announced that it has something special in mind to distinguish the very last VZ Monaro off the line so there will never be any future disputes over the provenance of the exact car.

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