LION HEARTED

STOJAN STEKOVIC WENT THROUGH THE FIRE TO BUILD HIS ULTIMATE HOLDEN-POWERED STREET CAR

- LIAM QUIRK

STOJAN Stekovic's VL Calais truly is cranked up to 11. Stojan's taken everything good about one of the most contentious Commodore shapes of all time and wicked it up, making it the kind of street machine VL nerds fawn over and car fanatics - regardless of their creed - can't help but love as well.

"Growing up, I was surrounded by friends with old Commodores, most with tough Holden motors," Stojan says. "To be honest, I had my heart set on a VK, but I saw this car for sale in Melbourne, and it ticked all the boxes."

The car's stance and the fabrication work it had already undergone helped draw Stojan in. "It was already tubbed, and it had Convo Pros and a pretty tough 383 in it," he explains. That was enough to keep mile-wide smiles on the faces of Stoj and his brother Branko as they relentlessly cruised Canberra for two years.

Stojan is quick to admit that his 'spirited' driving style contributed to the cam bearings taking a sudden and unplanned vacation just after Summernats 32 in 2019, but that just gave him a good excuse to considerably up the ante.

"I'd always wanted a set of Group A twin throttles, as one of my favourite cars growing up was Dusan Zec's VH (SM, Apr '04)," explains Stojan, who ended up finding a set of Walkinshaw twin throttles in a neighbouring suburb. "As soon as I sourced the manifold, I doubled down on giving the car a full overhaul."