Start with what the Holden 48-215 is: a 4-door sedan (48-215) / 2-door coupe utility (50-2106) with 2171 cc GMH '132' I6, built from 1948 to 1953, in a decade split by war, when civilian production stopped and restarted. What it meant takes a little longer. The shape is credited to Frank Mathwin. 120,402 were built.
Where it came from
The Holden 48-215 is a mid-size sedan which was produced by the Australian automaker Holden between November 1948 and October 1953. The 50-2106, a coupé utility derivative of the model marketed as the Holden Coupe Utility, was produced from January 1951.
Under the skin
The engine is 2171 cc GMH '132' I6. On the scales it comes to 2230 lb. Drive goes through a 3-speed manual. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 103 in. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
In context
In the Holden line-up the Holden 48-215 has a clear place: it handed the line to the Holden FJ; the factory was Sydney, New South Wales. The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Citroën 2CV, the Porsche 356, the Chevrolet Bel Air. Nearby in the Holden catalogue sit the Holden Adventra and the Holden Apollo.
Owning one today
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Holden 48-215 has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.