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ABARTH 124 SPIDER MONZA SPECIAL EDITION

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Abarth Australia has introduced a limited edition 124 Spider Abarth Monza Special Edition. “The legacy of Carlo Abarth has driven the production of some of the world’s most exciting motor vehicles and this Monza Special Edition continues the realisation of his passion,” said Fulvio Antonelli, the director of Abarth in Australia. The 124 Spider Monza Edition is limited to just 30 units, each with its own numbered plaque. In a very stylish Italian way the plaque is crafted of brushed aluminium with a laser etched finish, and features the Monza… Read more

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NEW RS4 AVANT CONTINUES AUDI’S PERFORMANCE WAGON TRADITION

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Audi has released the latest version of its RS4 Avant, a high-performance sporty Euro wagon with a heritage that goes back almost 25 years to the Audi RS2 Avant of 1994. The biggest change in this fourth generation RS4 Avant lies under the bonnet where the previous 4.2-litre naturally-aspirated V8 engine has been replaced by a biturbo 2.9-litre V6. The turbocharged engine matches the V8’s 331 kW of power but picks up an extra 170 Nm of torque to reach a neck-snapping 600 Nm from just 1900 rpm, compared with… Read more

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ARGYLL

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1910 Argyll

Argyll was a Scottish marque and its first cars were Renault based and built in Glasgow in 1899. Tasting some success in the early life of their business its management set about to become a major automotive manufacturer and proceeded to build a large new factory in Scotland near Loch Lomond. The first Argylls to come out of this factory had what were considered to be conventional engines at that time, but from 1909 they went on to develop and manufacture sleeve-valve engines, which, whilst being quieter and technically more… Read more

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JEEP TRACKHAWK IS REDHOT

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There’s something gloriously ridiculous about the new Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. This triumph by high-performance SRT engineers has given the world a 2.5-tonne off-road vehicle with a 700 horsepower supercharged V8 that can leap from a standstill to 100 km/h in just 3.7 seconds. Then call on its huge Brembo brakes and specifically designed Pirelli tyres to bring it to a standstill in just 37 metres. A few weeks back we finished our news story about the announcement that the Jeep Trackhawk was coming Downunder by saying we planned to… Read more

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MAJOR UPGRADES FOR MAZDA6

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Mazda is running hot on the sales front in Australia at the moment and is showing no signs of slacking pace. Mazda6, the medium large sedan and wagon from Japan are the latest to receive the treatment. What at first glance looks to be an interesting facelift is in fact only part of the story because a new sporty engine has been added and there’s also been significant work on the body. Let’s look at the engine first: it’s a 2.5-litre four-cylinder unit like the others in the petrol range,… Read more

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BMW’S SPORTY ELECTRIC CITY CAR

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The good folks at BMW just couldn’t help themselves. Their i3 electric city car is clearly their vision of the future … but BMW has a long history of sporting motoring. So the i3 engineers and stylists couldn’t resist designing a sports version, tagged, without a great deal of imagination, the i3s. We reckon there’s a strong chance that the engineers from the BMW i8 supercar section of the i Division had a finger in the pie as well. And we wonder if the revheads from M Division called in… Read more

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HONDA ACCORD EURO 2003 – 2015

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2008 Honda Accord Euro

Two substantially different Honda Accords were sold in Australia from 2003; one mid-sized, the other large and almost in the same size class as the Commodore and Falcon. The chassis dynamics of the two Accords mean they attract buyers with significantly different tastes. The smaller Accord, badged as the ‘Euro’ is aimed at buyers who rate handling and overall feel high in their motoring choices. So we will concentrate from the seventh generation Honda Accord, launched in June 2003 in this used car feature. And come back to the American… Read more

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FRENCH FIZZ ADDED TO ‘7-UP’ MIX

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Peugeot traditionally was known for its top-performing hatchbacks and stylish saloons. Although a few years ago it did dip its toes into the deep end of the car pool with what it called a ‘people carrier’. A new interpretation of the family wagon, the 5008, which looked, and behaved suspiciously like a people mover, says the French maker, was an economical seven-seater offering a responsive drive and good road holding with quality interior that was versatile and spacious. Now, Peugeot maintains, in response to the global appetite for sport utility… Read more

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ALFA ROMEO STELVIO OFFERED WITH HIGH-PERFORMANCE ENGINE

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Alfa Romeo has added a high-performance model to its Stelvio SUV range. Stelvio Ti (Turismo Internazionale) features a highly tuned version of the 2.0-litre direct-injection petrol engine used in the other models in there range. It is turbocharged and intercooled to provide 206 kW of power and 400 Nm of torque from just 1750 to 4800 revs, an impressive spread. The sports eight-speed automatic shifts ratios in less than 100 milliseconds, drives all four wheels and gets the zero to 100 km/h sprint covered in just 5.7 seconds The Stelvio… Read more

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THE QUEEN AND I

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Watching the royal wedding and the arrival of the Queen in her special Bentley reminded me of an Opinion piece I wrote several years ago. It is repeated here for your enjoyment: One reason for writing a column voicing my opinions is find out what other people are thinking. Many agree with what I write, some disagree and say so, at times in quite a vehement manner. All of which is good fun. But I must admit to being surprised when I did an opinion piece some time back saying… Read more