Jess Johnstone’s fate was sealed early on. Born into a diehard Holden family, she plastered her bedroom walls with VL Commodore posters and was ferried to school in her brother’s V8-powered VL. So, it’s no surprise that adult Jess’s prized possession is this ’87 VL Berlina, which she’s owned for over two decades. Her passion for Holden’s longest-running nameplate recently saw her join the team of Commodore gurus at Lowe Fabrications.

First published in the March 2025 issue of Street Machine

When did the Berlina enter your life?

In 2003. My $2000 budget bought me a stock Berlina with a naturally aspirated RB30, manual, grey interior and faded blue paint, but with a straight body. My mates were in the sex-spec scene, which crossed over with my RB30 and grew my love of turbos and bodykits. Within the first year, my brother added the HDT Aero-style kit and painted the VL in Mazda blue. Then, through the Street Commodores forum, I met local car enthusiasts and co-created The Commodore Club of Tasmania. We’d do lots of driving – I’m talking 600km cruises along Targa roads. That’s why I’ve set my suspension up for that style of driving.

Sounds like the car has evolved a fair bit over the years.

I build the VL as I go due to money constraints. The naturally aspirated six served me for a long time while I upgraded everything else – an R33 gearbox, bigger brakes and better suspension. I became an expert at diagnosing my VL – I could tick almost every common fault off my bingo card. The nosecone swap came about after a minor accident that wasn’t my doing. It was cheaper and easier to find a Calais front!

And the forced induction and new trim are more recent additions?

Adding the turbo RB30ET and smoothing the bay resulted in the VL being off the road for eight years due to life getting in the way and people letting me down. Eventually, a bunch of friends helped out, and we got her going again in 2021. During that time, the build evolved as the aftermarket industry exploded with VL and RB30 parts. The new interior went in during 2023, with fresh Berlina-trimmed Scheel seats and Momo wheel.

Tell us more about the engine combo.

It’s a built RB30ET with a Plazmaman plenum and throttlebody, 6boost exhaust manifold, and a Garrett GT3071R turbo, along with a Haltech Nexus R3. It makes 350kW [469hp] at the rears, although I’m aiming for 400kW [536hp]. I want the VL to be streetable on Tassie’s wet roads and without too much lag. I had a Summernats 37 deadline, so I had it tuned and then set off on a 400km test run before heading to Canberra, via Sydney. I went by myself, and the drive was perfect – although it was hot without a/c!

Summernats was super fun, and by using two jerry cans, I managed the entire 2900km round trip on E85. I had a lot of help to get the car ready; I couldn’t have done it without my family, PT Motorsport, D’Annello Performance and the Lowe Fab team.

What’s next?

I love to continually change and improve the car, while being hands-on as much as possible. Now I’m planning driveline and fuel system upgrades, and long-term, another engine-out overhaul, so follow along on Insta @kitten_vl.

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