Released in August 2004, the VZ series was a minor facelift of the previous VY series that featured a new V6 engine in different tune guises. The powerplants included , 3.6-litre Alloytec V6 engines in place of the older 3.8-litre Ecotec V6. Other changes to the V6 was the loss of the supercharger that was included in the S models from the VT to VY, this was also dropped with the 3.8-litre and would not be used with the new 3.6. These new Alloytec DOHC engines have carried on through to the Holden Commodore (VE) which was released in July 2006. A new 5L40-E 5-speed automatic transmission was introduced on the sports and luxury V6 variants.
