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Filed under: Etc. , Australia Click the image above for a gallery of Axel Peemoeller's 3-D signage Elvis lives. Tupac lives. And we have just discovered that M. C. Escher is also alive, well, living in Australia, and going by the name of Axel Peemoeller . Designer Peemoeller worked out the math to create, optically, directional signage that appears to hang in the air. Found in the carpark of the Eureka Tower in Melbourne, there's no technowizardy here, just a man with a can of paint and a few severely skewed letters. The result: mindbending. And bloody genius. Well done, Mr. Escher Peemoeller. Check out the gallery below for more of Axel's work. Gallery: Axel Peemoeller Carpark Signs [Source: Ride Lust via Digg ] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Spy Photos , Sedans/Saloons , Pontiac , Australia Click above for more spy shots of the G8 GXP from G8 Nation Although we thoroughly enjoyed the fleeting time we spent with the Pontiac G8 GT , what whith its 361 horsepower and 385 pound-feet of torque and all, it's the upcoming GXP model that truly looks to catapult the Australian-bred sedan back into musclecar territory. We, along with just about every other gearhead, are especially looking forward to the six-speed stick and clutch pedal with which the 6.2-liter LS3 V8 making 402 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque will be paired. Of course, the rest of the car needs to be up to snuff too, so we are happy to take a gander at these spy photos of a pre-production prototype in Australia that indicate the nineteen-inch GXP-specific wheels and big Brembo disc brakes are present and accounted for. A slightly revised front fascia with a lower splitter combine with the rear diffuser to further signify that this is the high-zoot version...
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Filed under: Convertibles , Sports/GTs , Holden , Australia Think "Elfin" and you're liable to (quite aptly) conjure up images of point-eared fantasy creatures (thank you Mr. Tolkien and Jackson). But to Lotus and Caterham fans, a group as enthusiastic to its realm as hobbit geeks are to theirs, Elfin is another beast entirely. Sprightly though they are, Elfin sportscars offer some of the best power-to-weight ratios on the market. But as we reported previously, the Australian niche automaker is preparing to bust out of the confines of the Super-7 kit-car scene with an entirely new model of its own. Known internally as the Type 5, the new vehicle is targeted at the likes of the Lotus Elise and Ariel Atom as an open-air track-car. Power will come from the turbocharged four in the Pontiac Solstice GXP and Saturn Sky Redline, packaged in a completely new chassis with styling penned by sister company HSV's design studio. Pricing, released along with the design sketch you see...
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Filed under: Sports/GTs , Supercars , GM , Holden , Australia , HSV Click above for a hi-res gallery of the HSV W427 "She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts." That's what Han Solo says about the Millenium Falcon. You could apply the same saying to the HSV W427 super-duper sedan just launched by Holden's in-house performance division. I mean, that front end has some serious issues, but the Corvette Z06's LS7 V8 lurks behind it, and it's no joke, giving the four-door 500 horses and 471 lb-ft of torque. Production is limited to 427 units total, 90 of which will be produced this year. All of those have already been spoken for at a heady $154,500 Australian dollars , including luxury tax. Buyers also get the opportunity to tour the cars' production facility, and get a letter from Tom Walkinshaw, who started HSV some 20 years ago. The "W" in the car's name is also a tribute to him. HSV says that the W427's angry fascia...
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Filed under: Coupes , Sports/GTs , Chevrolet , GM , Australia Click above for high-res gallery of the Camaro's Melbourne reveal While General Motors debuted the 2010 Chevy Camaro in Detroit and L.A. on Monday, they also gave it a proper debut in Australia where much of the car's development work was performed. The General just published some new pictures from the car's Melbourne debut in which the new Camaro poses for the camera with a second generation model, two third generation models, a fourth gen and a very cherry 1969 Camaro SS owned by reigning V8 Supercar champion Garth Tander. Those pics plus GM's own shots that were taken at the live reveal in Detroit have been added to the first gallery below, beneath which we've included our own updated gallery of live shots from the Detroit reveal that includes images of the car after it was driven outside. Gallery: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro Gallery: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro: Live Reveal Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Sports/GTs , Marketing/Advertising , Videos , Ford , Australia , FPV Click above for photo gallery. Follow the jump for the video. Ford Performance Vehicles' new range of Ford FG Falcon-derived super sedans and utes is mind-bendingly appealing. Big turbocharged or NA power, bright colors, and that menacing Alice Cooper eye makeup in front make for an entire farmer's market of forbidden fruit. Sure, on this side of the world, Ford's SVT performance division gives us the Shelby GT500 and the even more monstrous Shelby GT500KR -- but seriously, as hot as the factory super-Stangs are, the lineup of FPV rides you see above is hot enough to turn that desert sand into glass. Only, they can't -- because everything you see there is virtual. Both the backdrop and the cars are CGI. The photo-realistic vehicle models were created using the real cars' CAD data for a brand new FPV TV spot that premieres in Australia this Sunday. If you don't live in Oz, no worries...
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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons , Sports/GTs , Holden , Australia , Special/Limited Editions Click above for high-res gallery of the Holden W427 They are having a different conversation in Australia than we are having up here, and we want in on it. Holden has just announced that the limited-edition Holden W427 will have 500 hp and 471 ft-lb of twisty motion. Sure, we have the Corvette Z06 -- which donated its engine for the W427 -- but Australia's only got 20 million peeps. And a bunch of them don't live in places where you could give this Holden a proper whipping. The car will be held to just 427 units, and these units and their screaming red interiors will be arriving at dealerships with an MSRP of $AUD 150,000... plus taxes. Dealer allocation will be based on sales figures from last year. The W427's limited run will help it, to be sure, but the price is more than double the price of the Ford FPV F6 , which goes for $AUD 65,990. The Falcon is down about 80 horsepower vs. the Holden...
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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons , Sports/GTs , Subaru , Australia , Special/Limited Editions Click above for a high-res gallery of the Liberty GT tuned by STI Subaru's Australian outpost is set to deliver a localized special edition Liberty GT (Liberty = Legacy) that's been upgraded with a laundry list of components from the STI catalog. The Liberty GT tuned by STI makes 260 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque and will be made available with either a 6-speed stick or a 5-speed sportshift automatic. Brembos, Bilstein shocks, STI springs, a new muffler, lightweight Enkeis, and leather-and-Alcantara sport seats are but a few the features included in the 250-car limited edition, which is now on sale in Australia. Hey Subaru of America, where's the love like this for U.S. customers? Gallery: 2008 Subaru Liberty GT tuned by STI (AU) [Source: Subaru Australia] Continue reading Australia gets market-specific Subaru Liberty GT tuned by STI Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Etc. , Supercars , Ferrari , Australia It wouldn't be correct to say that all Ferrari drivers can't drive. What we can say is that a lot of Ferrari drivers are probably not short of ego, and also probably have little idea of what their cars can do when pressed. Combine a robust confidence with a watching crowd, add a high-powered and sometimes testy car, thrown in a little bit of ignorance... and a pole.. and what you get is the image above. A man in Australia pulled out of a garage in his Ferrari 360 Spyder, took his chance to impress some gathered folks at cafes lining the street, and floored it. The car, as they say in the business, got away from him. The pole in the median did not. We're never happy to see (another) wrecked Ferrari, or to see a man carted away from his toy by the police, so to you kids with Ferraris, please learn from this and stop the madness. Our favorite part of this picture is that, having made his boo-boo and probably realizing what he's...
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Filed under: Economy , Hybrids/Alternative , Green , Ford , Holden , Australia The Australian government has both feet firmly planted on the hybrid bandwagon, and the blokes down under are looking for more of the automotive combo platter in its fleet. The government already has 355 Toyota and Honda hybrids in its fleet, but Aussie lawmakers would like to utilize its own home-grown workforce for future models. NSW Premier Morris Lemma wants the option to purchase hybrids from both both GM-owned Holden and Ford of Australia, and has even guaranteed that his government will be one of the first customers in line if Holden offered a battery-assisted Commodore within two years, as has been reported . Unfortunately, a promise from the government for a few hundred sales is hardly enough incentive on its own for an automaker to begin developing a hybrid, so both Holden and Ford will no doubt be investigating closely whether or not there's enough demand in the Australian market for a gas-electric...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Spy Photos , Trucks/Pickups , Pontiac , Australia Click on image above for more spy shots at G8Nation. Two 2010 Pontiac G8 Sport Trucks were recently spied in Australia loaded on the back of a transporter. Although seemingly dipped in camouflage decals, the profile of this not-going-to-be-named-El-Camino is easily distinguishable, even without a clear shot of the obvious Pontiac grill. Previewed at the 2008 New York Auto Show , the G8-based Sport Truck will be powered by a 6.0-liter V-8 rated at 361 horsepower. It should scoot to 60 mph in just over five seconds. Those of us in North America can expect this cargo-bedded Aussie import to arrive on our shores in late 2009. Gallery: 2010 Pontiac G8 Sport Truck - Live Reveal [Source: G8Nation ] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Trucks/Pickups , Ford , Holden , Australia Click either image to view high-res gallery of the Ultimate Sh-Ute-Out While the U.S. is about to get its first taste of two-door, rear-wheel-drive, car-based pickups in the form of the Pontiac G8 ST (official name still TBD), Australians have been enjoying these things, called utes, for decades. While Holden introduced a new version of its Commodore-based ute last year, Ford has just gotten around to meeting the challenge with its new Falcon-based ute. And you know what that means: Ford vs. GM cage match in Koala Bear country! Pickuptrucks.com has pitted the Holden SS Ute and Ford XR8 Ute, both top-shelf sports models, against each other in this Ultimate Sh-Ute-Out for the ages. For as similar as these utes are in price and power, we were surprised to learn how different they actually are. The Ford ute, for instance, is considered more of a workhorse than the Holden and thus continues to use a leaf-sprung rear suspension instead of...
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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , Green , GM , Holden , Australia Two separate reports out of Australia say that Holden is looking to maximize the Commodore's fuel efficiency in an effort to stoke sales. Both stories quote General Motor's Asia-Pacific vice president, Nick Reilly, but the separate reports, while sharing a common theme, come to decidedly different conclusions about how the General plans to proceed. The first story from the Sydney Morning Herald (thanks Patrick!) cites Reilly as saying that Holden is looking into hybrid technology to power the Commodore. "[It] could be one of the first hybrids that you will see," but Reilly insists that a gasoline-electric Commodore is still a few years out. The second report comes courtesy of Drive.com.au, who also spoke with Reilly and asked if a four-cylinder version of the Commodore was in the cards. "It makes a lot of sense," Reilly said, "and therefore we're probably looking at it...
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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons , Sports/GTs , Trucks/Pickups , Ford , Australia , FPV Click above for high-res gallery of the FPV F6, more galleries after the jump FPV's seemingly endless rollout of its new FG Falcon-based lineup has finally culminated in the actual launch of the cars (how novel), which we've already touched upon . To that end, we'll keep this brief and turn you loose on the multiple new photo galleries now available (check out the rest after the jump). The FPV range encompasses both Falcon sedan and Ute bodystyles, and power comes from either the turbocharged F6 inline-six or the 5.4L Boss 315 V8. The six delivers 415 horsepower and a tire-humbling 416 lb-ft of torque. The eight's no slouch either, pumping out 422 horses (315 kW, hence the engine's name) and 406 lb-ft. A Tremec TR6060 6-speed stick is available across the full range of cars. Speaking of that, here's the rundown: FPV F6 Ute FPV Pursuit (V8 Ute) FPV Super Pursuit ( Top-of-the-line V8...
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Filed under: Sports/GTs , Wagons/Estates , GM , Holden , Australia , HSV Click image to enlarge Like the sedan and ute before it, the Holden Commodore Sportwagon will also soon have a corresponding HSV performance variant. The HSV Tourer is essentially an HSV Clubsport R8 Wagon, as it features the muscle sedan's front clip and 425-horsepower (317kW) LS3 V8 powertrain. Look for it to arrive arrive in Australia this October and in the U.S. as a Pontiac, well, never. (Pontiac has no plans to bring over the Commodore Sportwagon, remember.) HSV admits that the Tourer could take some sales away from the Clubsport R8 upon which it's based, but that the presence of the wagon in the now-complete HSV lineup should still help HSV's sales numbers overall. Drive.com.au notes that the Commodore Sportwagon was supposed to launch back in March, but has been delayed while Holden continues to work out kinks with the wagon bodystyle. We expect to get plenty more info on the HSV Tourer closer to...
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