Holden’s stunning Efijy show car has celebrated its first birthday being named Hot Rod of the Year by the influential enthusiast magazine, HOT ROD, in the United States.

The star of the 2005 Australian International Motor Show in Sydney was an overwhelming winner for the magazine’s annual award and the only vehicle nominated by every HOT ROD judge.

Designed and built as a labour of love by a team led by Holden Chief Designer Richard Ferlazzo, Efijy was designed as a wild 21st Century tribute a famous Australian car, the Holden FJ series.

Ferlazzo’s team developed a radical pillarless coupe boasting a supercharged 6.0-litre V8 engine, Chevrolet Corvette underbody and state-of-the-art automotive technology throughout.

The project was a collaboration with key suppliers who ensured the highest possible quality result for the showcar, a fact not lost on the HOT ROD judges.

Ferlazzo commented: “It’s really gratifying to have our work acknowledged by the number one hot rod magazine in the world."

“What got me was that HOT ROD was truly open to the idea of a great hot rod coming from outside North America. What’s even more significant is that Efijy isn’t based on a familiar American vehicle, which the vast majority of custom cars they see would be."

“The car has created quite a bit of interest in the States which is great recognition for our team. It’s not immediately obvious, but this sort of interest also helps to promote the capabilities of the GM Holden organisation in a wider field.”

HOT ROD editor, Rob Kinnan, said Efijy had generated a fantastic reaction in the office when images were released and the car was sure to be remembered for a long time.

The magazine has previously described Efijy as ‘probably the most beautiful concept car ever’ to come from an automotive manufacturer.

“When we first saw photos of the car, the entire staff gathered around the computer screen and stared with open mouths, astounded at what we were looking at,” Kinnan said.

“Digging into the details, we learned that not only was it perhaps one of the nicest, slickest customs ever created, it was also a fully functional car. The fact that Holden built it was even more impressive.”

“Normally, when a car company builds a concept or image car, there is some implied message that ‘maybe, just maybe, we’ll build something like this’.

“It was obvious here, however, that this was a pure hot rod built by true gearheads who just happened to work for a new car company.” Kinnan said HOT ROD was the USA’s largest enthusiast automotive magazine, with sales in excess of 750,000 and 7.3 million readers every month.

Announcing the award win, Kinnan wrote: “In the early ‘90s, I got to spend some serious road time in CadZZilla, perhaps the most significant, recognisable, and finest custom in history, but I’ll bet if you parked it and Efijy next to each other at a car show, the Aussie would get the bulk of attention. And that says everything about this car.”

Efijy is Holden’s most internationally recognised show car, having generated coverage in newspapers, magazines and web sites around the world.