Some 20 years passed before a Commodore Coupé show car was shown at the Sydney Motor Show in 1998. Journalists quickly christened it the Monaro, encouraging Holden to build it. The show car was designed for production and by 2001, the V2 series Monaro was launched after General Motors spent a mere A$60 million over a brief 22-month gestation (although 12 to 18 were targeted).

A HSV version (not called Monaro but Coupe) in 'GTO' and 'GTS' versions debuted soon after. Later the 'GTS' version was dropped but a four wheel drive version called 'Coupe4' appeared.

Most recently, the current Monaro has been exported to overseas markets. It is sold, in left hand drive, in the Middle East as the Chevrolet Lumina Coupe, and in the United States as the Pontiac GTO, reviving another classic muscle car icon. It is also sold in the United Kingdom as the Vauxhall Monaro.

Complaints about the Pontiac GTO's sedate styling from American consumers saw the addition of two bonnet scoops in 2004, with the VZ series Monaro, to recall the later muscle-car variants of the late 1960s' models. The bonnet scoops serve no functional purpose. Holden's PR says that the scoops recall the HG Monaro.