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‘HOBBY HORSE’ POWERS INTO LEXUS LEXICON

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The birth of the Lexus GS F was something of a cloak-and-dagger affair with team leader, engineering boss Yukihiko Yaguchi, bypassing official channels to begin work on what was to become the Lexus IS F V8 sedan. Those after-hours sessions led to Yaguchi-san being involved in the RC F coupe and LFA supercar. Now comes the GS F four-door sedan. Yaguchi is still there, this time as emeritus chief engineer on the project. Heart of the GS F is a 351 kW 5.0-litre V8 mated with an eight-speed transmission driving… Read more

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HOLDEN’S BIGGEST SUV GETS AN UPGRADE AND A NEW NAME

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Holden has given its largest SUV an upgrade and changed its name from Colorado 7 to Trailblazer. We never quite understood Holden’s logic when it launched the big SUV in 2013 with the same name as its Colorado utility, albeit it with a ‘7’ on the end to indicate its seating capacity, especially when the Trailblazer name was being used in other markets, including the United States. Sales of the Colorado 7 have been poor and it sits in the bottom third of the Large SUV market segment, well behind… Read more

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2016 MERCEDES-BENZ C 200 COUPE REVIEW

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Yet another model has been added to the huge Mercedes-Benz range, this time a coupe version of the latest C-Class. It joins the existing four-door sedan, the vehicle that took out the award for World Car of the Year in 2015. Crammed full of safety and infotainment technology the new C-Class coupe is larger yet lighter, stronger and quieter than the model it replaces. Advanced lightweight construction with a higher proportion of aluminium is the secret. Light-alloy components include the front guards, bonnet and bootlid. The stiffer body not only… Read more

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MAZDA BT-50: LATE SCRATCHING AN UNAVOIDABLE HANDICAP

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A day at the races – Melbourne Cup, Magic Millions or Cox Plate – usually involves putting on appropriate clobber and catching a short ride, probably in a limo, to the track. That is unless it’s the Birdsville Races. The idea was to pick up Mazda BT-50 utilities at Leigh Creek and drive them ??? kilometres up the Birdsville Track to the famous races recently. However, Mother Nature intervened by dumping an ocean of rain in the area, leaving the south-west Queensland town an island of disappointment to members of… Read more

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PORSCHE MACAN PERFORMANCE PACKAGE

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Porsche has introduced a Performance Package to its compact SUV, the stylish Macan Turbo. It has a newly developed brake system, lowered body, controlled sports chassis, Sport Chrono Package and sports exhaust system. The Package includes 21-inch wheels in the 911 Turbo design with lateral spokes painted in high-gloss black, LED headlights with PDLS Plus and stealth black elements. Black continues into the leather interior with Alcantara elements. Porsche’s twin-turbo 3.6-litre V6 engine has been upgraded to deliver 440 hp (324 kW) of power, a handy 10 per cent up… Read more

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PORSCHE CAYENNE 2003 – 2016

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When sportscar maker Porsche entered the SUV market with the big Cayenne SUV in June 2003 many thought it would ruin the company’s image. How wrong they were, the SUVs (there’s also the smaller Porsche Macan) saved the German marque’s bacon financially, outselling the pure sports models and permitting added R&D money to be poured into the sports models. Not to forget the Le Mans race cars. In the design of the Cayenne, Porsche collaborated with Volkswagen and Audi, (think Touareg and Q7) to trim costs Unlike the others, that… Read more

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2016 BMW M3 COMPETITION REVIEW

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For those drivers who feel that lots of performance isn’t quite enough BMW Australia is now importing the BMW M3 Competition sedan, and M4 Competition coupe and convertible. Our test week in the hottest BMW M3 sedan was an extremely enjoyable one. M3 Competition has even stronger engine performance, recalibrated steering, suspension and stability settings than the standard M3. Its springs are 15 per cent stiffer and the Adaptive M suspension has firmer damper settings across Comfort, Sport and Sport+ modes. Anti-roll bars and bushings are also changed to suit…. Read more

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HYUNDAI’S 30TH ANNIVERSARY

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In 1983, Alan Bond’s yacht Australia II won the America’s Cup and made the Western Australian businessman a national hero. Three years later Bond began importing Hyundai cars to Australia. Only in a small way, and initially only in Western Australia where he partnered with his brother-in-law, local automotive legend John Hughes. Sadly, the America’s Cup has long since departed our shores and there’s no sign of it returning anytime soon. But Hyundai is now very much part of the Australian automotive scene, routinely selling over 100,000 vehicles each year,… Read more

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RENAULT’S ALL-NEW KOLEOS

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Midsize SUVs are all the rage globally at the moment as fuel prices drop and buyers want to get into larger, more spacious vehicles. Nowhere is this more obvious than in Australia and ours is the first market in the world to get the new Renault Koleos. Obviously Renault’s head office is pleased with the way our local office is operating. The previous Koleos enjoyed more than 9000 sales downunder since its 2008 launch. The new model seems likely to improve the sales rate as it’s up about half a… Read more

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RENAULT 40CV

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Also referred to as the model NN1, the Renault 40CV of 1924 was designed by Louis Renault and replaced the Renault types KJ and MT. It was powered by a large 9.1-litre straight-six engine mounted in the front of its extremely long chassis and it drove the rear wheels through a three-speed manual transmission. This engine developed 104 kW and drove the car to a top speed of 145 km/h. The NN1 was produced from 1924 through to 1928 as the successor to the Renault KJ and MT and it… Read more