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Filed under: Aftermarket , Concept Cars , Minivans/MPVs , Sedans/Saloons , SUVs , Trucks/Pickups , Hatchbacks , Mitsubishi , Misc. Auto Shows , Australia Click image for a hi-res gallery of the Mitsubishi "Panther" Concepts In addition to bringing the good stuff (Lancer Evo, Ralliart) to Melbourne, Mitsubishi has some schlock on hand to counterbalance the awesome. We're talking about the automaker's "Panther" concepts, which leverage bling, decals, and that whole "dealer-installed accessory" vibe to create all-show/no-go machines of questionable taste. We find those "panther scratch" stickers to be particularly egregious -- they'd look right at home on a busted-up Paseo with 15-inch spinner hubcaps. Check out the attached gallery to see what you like most or least about the five Panther concepts. We think the Pajero fares the best of the bunch, and while we'd love to have the Triton pickup in general, we could do without the 22-inch...
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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons , Sports/GTs , Trucks/Pickups , Ford , Misc. Auto Shows , Australia , FPV Click image for a hi-res gallery of the turbocharged FPV F6 Despite how it might seem, all the action at the Melbourne motor show is not happening over at the Holden and HSV stands. Dearborn's Australian outpost put on its brass knuckles too and is teasing Melbourne showgoers with Ford Performance Vehcie's latest, greatest muscle. The arrival of the new FG Falcon means that a full lineup of FPV variants follows, and the new F6, GT and Super Pursuit ute are all on display. Like HSV, which hasn't announced power numbers for its W427 , FPV is keeping the stats for its new machinery under wraps for now. We're confident that the numbers will match the cars' gloriously extroverted looks. Colors out of a gumball machine, matte black accents, and stripe packages give the cars a vintage musclecar vibe. Big wheels, big brakes and all the requisite badges and bulges complete the...
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Filed under: Sports/GTs , Wagons/Estates , GM , Misc. Auto Shows , Holden , Australia Click image for a high-res gallery of the VE Sportwagon SS-V Wagons are cool. They're practical, too -- a fact most of the world outside North America seems to fully understand. Alas, we're here in the land of the crossover. Sure, there are some nice ones, but they aren't nearly as fun as what Holden has brewing. Following up the "concept" that made its debut in Sydney last October, Holden has formally unveiled the VE Sportwagon, which comes in the same range of trim levels as the VE Commodore sedan, up to and including the musclebound, tire-immolating SS-V, which is shown above. Depending on trim level, non-SS models generally come with one of two 3.6L Alloytec V6 engines (this is the same 3.6 you'll find in any number of US GM vehicles -- the Alloytec-branded motors are manufactured in Australia, however). The standard one is good for 241 hp / 243 lb-ft via a 4-speed automatic...
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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons , Sports/GTs , Supercars , GM , Misc. Auto Shows , Holden , Australia , HSV Click image for a hi-res gallery of the HSV W427 The modern American auto show circuit has turned into a series of venues at which automakers try to out-green or out-crossover each other, with the occasional fire-breather thrown in. Down in Australia, it's like the late 60s or early 70s, with a power-mad pissing contest between GM and Ford going full-tilt. We already saw Holden's killer flex-fuel muscle concept, the Coupe 60 . Now it's time for the skunkworks to unveil its newest street missile. We previewed it this morning, but here it is in all its glory: the HSV W427. The "W" is a nod to Tom Walkinshaw, whose TWR crew joined up with Holden in 1988 to create the Group A VL SS Commodore , a homologation special that marked the birth of GM's Australian factory performance division, HSV. The 427 represents the engine's size in cubic inches, as in GM LS7 V8...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Coupes , Sports/GTs , Misc. Auto Shows , Holden , Australia Click above to view over 40 high-res photos of the Holden Coupe 60 We're elated when an embargo doesn't break or official images don't somehow manage to find their way to the wrong people ahead of time, because then we're totally surprised by things like this: the Holden Coupe 60. Unveiled today at the Melbourne Auto Show, the Coupe 60 honors Holden's 60th diamond anniversary in the car building business. Removing the two rear doors has allowed designers to make the sports coupe concept a full 60 mm shorter than the VE Commodore sedan that shares the same rear-wheel-drive Zeta platform, but the coupe's long wheelbase remains identical to the sedan. The Coupe 60 looks absolutely brutal sitting on its 21-inch wheels that can barely be contained by the car's swollen fender flares. While the VE face up front is familiar, the design as a whole is decidedly clean thanks to a lack...
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Filed under: Sports/GTs , Trucks/Pickups , Toyota , Misc. Auto Shows , Australia Click image for a hi-res gallery of the production TRD HiLux Toyota Australia is finally ready to unleash TRD HiLux. The concept version bowed a year ago , and while the production truck was shown at the Brisbane show earlier this month (supposedly its "official" debut), the officially official debut is taking place tomorrow in Melbourne, where this all began way back when. To back that up, additional photos of the supercharged TRD HiLix have been released along with a new press release, but Toyota is still being coy with the hard numbers. All the Aussie division says is that the blown 4.0L will make around 25% more power and 20% more torque than the standard-issue HiLux SR5 Double Cab's mill, while consuming a bit less fuel, to boot. Toyota will presumably confirm the final power and torque figures tomorrow, which we expect to be around 300 hp / 330 lb-ft. That's enough to let the TRD HiLux...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Coupes , Sports/GTs , Supercars , Toyota , Misc. Auto Shows , Australia Click above to view more high-res pics of the Toyota FT-HS Concept Usually we would have no reason to report on a concept that we've already seen debut. Hence, the Australian debut of Toyota's hybrid FT-HS sports car concept at the Melbourne Auto Show isn't really news. It becomes news, however, when a suit from Toyota Australia makes a veiled comment about the next Supra and its possible ties to the FT-HS. Peter Evans, corporate manger of product planning for Toyota Australia, said "To really appreciate the FT-HS, think of it as a 'Prius on steroids'. Alternatively, it could be a vision for a Toyota Supra of the future." Whaa? Had this quote been given on the show floor amidst a throng of journalists, one might be able to pass it off as a slip of the tongue. The quote, however, appears in Toyota Australia's press release for the FT-HS debut down under, which...
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Filed under: Convertibles , Etc. , Misc. Auto Shows , Australia Click above for a high-res gallery of the E-Vade. We've already seen some shots of Australia's own Ariel Atom/KTM X-Bow contender, but the mom and pop operation from Down Under has officially unveiled its E-Vade track car ahead of the Melbourne Motor Show. The glorified go-kart looks like it came out of someone's garage, which it did, but it's already undergone testing at the VACC karting track in Port Melbourne. The E-Vade tips the scales at a rather portly 2,094 pounds, but the 402-hp, twin-turbo'd Nissan V6 mounted out back should be able to entertain both the driver and his wind-blown passenger. A track-only version is also planned producing (gulp) 670 hp, with both models sending power to a five-speed gearbox produced by Albins Off Road Gear. A six-speed cog swapper is also reportedly in the works. While we're a bit skeptical about how such a wee-beastie can handle all that grunt with such a short...
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Filed under: Supercars , Misc. Auto Shows , Australia click to view larger image Ever dream of making your own supercar? Yeah, so have I, and so has everyone else, and their cousins. Although most undoubtedly get scrapped along the way, a fair few end up making it to the road. Add to those growing ranks the Bolwell Nagari, the latest home-grown sportscar from... Australia? Granted that the Aussies aren't as well known as, say, Italy or England (or even Holland, for that matter) for making supercars, but that should ensure the awkwardly-named Bolwell Nagari gets the lion's kangaroo's share of attention when it's unveiled at the Melbourne Motor Show on February 29. It's built by Campbell Bolwell - one of three brothers who co-founded their own kit car company in Victoria, Australia - who has released one full-frontal image of the Nagari (named after the MkVIII Bolwell kit car from the '70s, not the Mazda show car), which he describes as drawing design elements from...
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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons , Sports/GTs , Ford , Misc. Auto Shows , Australia , FPV Click image for hi-res FPV will tease everyone with its new lineup of FG Falcon-based sedans and Utes at the Melbourne show, but the tech specs will remain under wraps until sometime closer to June, when the tire-shredders are scheduled to launch. We do know some things, though. As before, power will come from turbo inline-sixes or brawny V8s stuffed under the decaled, domed hood (at least in the case of the wicked FPV GT, above, which has a Boss V8 lurking under there). Gone are all the Ford badges, too. In their place are oval FPV insignias, which make it crystal clear that these are not mere Falcons. The front fascia on the GT is menacing, with "eye black" under the G-Series-style headlamps (hence the Alice Cooper reference), and a pronounced honeycomb lower bumper insert. The offset GT grille badge carries over from past models. Additional matte black decals can be found on the sides of the...
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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons , Trucks/Pickups , Ford , Misc. Auto Shows , Australia click above for high-res gallery of the new Ford FG Falcon It's a couple of years late to the party, but the all-new Ford FG Falcon is set to arrive in Australia later this year, when it'll match up with GM's Holden Commodore sedan and Ute offerings on the sales charts and at Aussie stop lights for years to come. Like the Holdens, the Falcons are rear-wheel-drive. The FG is all-new, with a more rigid architecture, new and/or upgraded powertrains, increased variety in terms of visual and interior options, and improvements in fuel economy as well. The factory performance wing, FPV, will also introduce a full range of FG-based sedans and Utes as well. We'll bring you more on the FPV cars when additional info and the all-important photos are released. As for the standard FG Falcon offerings, the sedan will come in XT, G-Series, and XR trim levels, with the Ute joining it in base, R6, and XR Trims...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Ford , Misc. Auto Shows , Holden , Australia click above for a high-res gallery of the Holden Efijy concept Despite several automakers opting out of year's Melbourne Auto Show, there's going to be a brawl on the floor for the hearts and minds of the masses. Ford is planning to unveil its full portfolio of new Falcons, something that's been almost ten years in the making. But Holden will attempt to eclipse the Falcon's reveal with a concept that might up the ante over the Efijy concept that debuted back in 2005. According to Bob Lutz, who spoke with Drive.com.au at the NAIAS, the Holden concept will "knock everybody's socks off." Along with the concept, Holden's in-house tuner HSV may show off an amped up version of the SportWagon and a 7.0-liter V8-powered flagship sedan. None of this is good news for Ford, whcih has seen market share drop in Australia over the last few years as the top-selling Falcon has rotted on the vine over...
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Filed under: Trucks/Pickups , Toyota , Misc. Auto Shows , Australia Click image for a gallery of the TRD HiLux Last year in Melbourne, Toyota showed off a TRD Hilux concept truck . At the time, we commented that the supercharged show truck looked pretty production ready, and thet Aussies would likely see the "concept" part of the name dropped in the future. Well, the future is now -- or February, at least. That's when Toyota Australia pulls the wraps off the production TRD Hilux, which gets the bodywork, wheels, and graphics you see here. Power numbers haven't been released yet for its blown 4.0L V6, but you can expect something in the general neighborhood of 300 horsepower and 300 lb-ft underhood, along with upgraded brakes and suspension. The Outback beckons... [Source: Toyota] Gallery: TRD HiLux Concept Continue reading Toyota Australia to unveil TRD HiLux in Brisbane Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons , Misc. Auto Shows , Holden , Australia click above image to view gallery of 20th Anniversary HSV Clubsport R8 Holden Special Vehicles, the performance arm of Holden in Australia, turned 20 years old this year. It was at the same Sydney Motor Show back in 1987 that HSV debuted its first vehicle, the VL Group A SS Commodore or "Walkinshaw" as it's commonly known. So it's fitting that HSV used the 2007 Sydney Motor Show to debut a special 20th Anniversary edition model of its Clubsport R8. The Clubsport R8 is a hot number on its own, so the anniversary edition adds exclusive cosmetic touches like special Sandstorm paint, 20th Anniversary sill plates, black accents on the body, leather seats with a 20th Anniversary logo and special chrome shadow wheels and brake calipers painted black and gold. That's certainly not a lot but should be enough to make the special edition Clubsport R8 a collectible. For those wishing to add one to their collection, the cost is $65...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Podcasts , Euro , Japan , Tokyo Motor Show , Chrysler , Ford , Pontiac , Subaru , Volkswagen , Misc. Auto Shows , UAW/Unions , Australia , FPV We lead off Autoblog Podcast #79 with the most important news of the week. Seriously, this rocked the car world. Vin Diesel and Paul Walker are returning to the Fast and Furious franchise for F+F IV . w00t! Moving on to more important news (like anything at all), we touch on the then impending and since finished Chrysler strike . See who was right, since the 'cast was recorded Tuesday, and the strike didn't launch until Wednesday. There's been lots of auto show action, and Tokyo caught our attention this week. The Impreza STi debuted, along with a bunch of other weird concepts from Subaru, Toyota, and Honda. One that caught our eye was the Honda CR-Z . Is it an Insight replacement, a new CRX, or both? Sydney's also having an auto show, and the VW Touareg R50 showed up there, packing a house-pulling 600+ foot pounds of...
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