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Filed under: Concept Cars , Tuners , Sedans/Saloons , Lexus , Misc. Auto Shows , Australia Click above for high-res gallery of the Lexus IS 250 Sports Concept At the ongoing Australian International Motor Show in Sydney, the same show where Australian sportscar-maker Elfin took the wraps off its new Type 5 Clubman , Lexus unveiled a new version of its IS 250 sports sedan called the Sports Concept. So what, you ask is the Lexus IS 250 Sports Concept? Think of it as IS F-light, but not quite as light on substance as appearance packages from its German rivals (think Audi S-line or Mercedes AMG sport packages). The show car has been outfitted with 19" wheels hiding cross-drilled two-piece rotors clamped by six-pot calipers up front and four-pots in the rear, painted trademark Lexus F blue. It also sports Billstein shocks and springs; sway bars and chassis braces; an enlarged air intake and cat-back exhaust; a new clutch and short-shift kit; a carbon fiber engine cover and an assortment...
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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons , Sports/GTs , Ford , Misc. Auto Shows , Australia , FPV , Special/Limited Editions Click above for high-res gallery of the FPV 5th Anniversary model Ford Performance Vehicles, otherwise known as FPV, is celebrating its fifth birthday as being the sharp end of Ford Australia's performance stick. FPV presented itself with a gift at this week's Australian International Motor Show in the form of a special edition FPV 5th Anniversary model. Only 200 units will be produced of the rear-wheel-drive Falcon-based birthday present, ensuring instant collector car status for the discerning Aussie buyer. The car features Alpine Silver 19-inch multi-spoke wheels, 6-piston Brembo brakes, sports seats upholstered in Nudo leather and special "5th Anniversary" decals on the trunk, ahead of the rear wheels, embossed on the front headrests and on the floormats. The FPV 5th Anniversary model will be available in Lightning Strike or Silhouette, both with striping...
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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons , Sports/GTs , Misc. Auto Shows , Holden , Australia , HSV , Special/Limited Editions Click above for hi-res gallery of the HSV SV08 It's anniversary time in Oz for HSV, Holden's high-performance division. That means stripes, stickers, commemorative badges and a pair of new unveilings at the Sydney Motor Show. In HSV's case, at least, the extra pieces of flair go on fire-breathing, tire-shredding LS3-powered monsters, so the usual lameness attached to these sorts of things goes right out the window. The 40th anniversary of the GTS nameplate's first appearance ( on the '68 Monaro ) means we get a special HSV GTS 40th Anniversary model. And since 20 years have passed since the original SV88 appeared, a special edition HSV Senator Signature dubbed SV08 has also been unveiled. HSV will build 100 of the Anniversary GTS models and just 50 SV08s. And yes, we'd happily take one of each, thank you. Gallery: HSV SV08 Gallery: HSV GTS 40th Anniversary...
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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons , Ford , Australia The Ford Falcon is all Australian. It has always been driven by the rear wheels, and it has always been designed, engineered, and built Down Under. The automotive world is rapidly changing, though, and Ford is one of many OEMs that are driving towards global vehicle architectures and a less diversified corporate parts bin. What does that mean for the Falcon? Nothing for quite a while, as the once hot-selling Aussie special just received major rework in April, and another redesign is many years away. When it does go under the engineering knife it will likely have more in common with the Ford Taurus than anything native to the Outback. Ford product chief Derrick Kuzak is working towards what the Blue Oval calls "One Ford." That means, for example, that there will be only one C-segment platform for like-sized crossovers, wagons, hatchbacks, coupes, and sedans, and that platform would be used in all regions around the globe. Ford will...
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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons , Sports/GTs , Ford , GM , Holden , Australia , FPV , HSV FPV vs. HSV is basically Australian for "Ford vs. Chevy," but on steroids. The two performance divisions have elevated the production of the muscle sedan to an art form, with audacious looks and big power ruling the day. It's as if the original American muscle car era never ended, but got a passport and moved Down Under. Granted, we in the States don't have much to complain about lately, with Aussie muscle now available in a Pontiac wrapper, as well as the 21st century editions of Camaro, Challenger and Mustang waiting to wreak havoc at stoplights. Still, the sweetest fruit is that which is forbidden, so you might be interested in the Motoring Channel's super acronym showdown: FPV GT-P vs. HSV GTS. The FPV is based on the new Ford FG Falcon, which arrived earlier this year, while the HSV's Holden Zeta platform underpinnings are now a couple years old. Both have V8s, both look...
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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons , Ford , Australia , FPV "You guys are obsessed with rear wheel drive," Alan Mulally mused to the Australian press after a browbeating about which pair of wheels might propel the Falcon into the future. Try as they might, the Ford Chief would not be pinned down about the chassis architecture of future Falcons, saying only that the choice would be customer driven, and plugging front and all-wheel drive vehicles as "pretty spectacular." Mulally is right that Ford's global push to put exceptional small cars in showrooms is what the automaker's focus is and should be. The Falcon has long fallen off its sales peak from the halcyon days of two decades ago, and while Mulally agrees that it's "an absolutely dynamite vehicle," small cars in the future will prop up the more niche-y vehicles like the FG Falcon. Mulally went on to say that Australia will serve as an engineering and product development outpost for Ford, and the big...
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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: 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: 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: Sedans/Saloons , Mitsubishi , Australia There's an old saying, you only want what you can't have. It holds particularly true in the context of Australia's Mitsubishi 380. The vehicle's Adelaide manufacturing facility was recently shuttered, partially due to lack of interest in the six-cylinder sedan. However, the vehicle's cancellation announcement ended up increasing demand for the final batch of 380s to roll off the assembly line. For that reason, Mitsubishi decided to auction off the final car to its suddenly sentimental Aussie dealers. The last domestically produced 380 ended up fetching $100,000 Australian dollars ($93,364) after all was said and done, which is more than three times its MSRP. John Hughes Mitsubishi, a Perth, Australia dealership, coughed up the cash for the winning bid. Mitsubishi also gave it the honor of choosing a charity to benefit from the proceeds of the sale. Knowing that the 380 in Australia is basically a Down Under-ified version...
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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons , Sports/GTs , Ford , Australia Click above for high-res gallery of the new FPV Falcon F6 Ford is getting ready for a battle in Australia for the hearts and minds of performance enthusiasts. Its new FPV Falcons will go head to head with what HSV offers from Holden, and today the Blue Oval from Down Under released officials specs for its souped up, gnarly-looking rear-wheel-drive sedans. First we have the F6, which is powered by the familiar turbocharged 4.0L straight-six engine now producing 416 horsepower and 417 pound-feet of torque at just 1,950 rpm. That's a 54-horsepower increase over the prior straight six, and matches up surprisingly well with Ford's other engine offering, the 5.4L Boss V8 producing 422 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque at a loftier 4,750 rpm. The Boss motor can be had in the GT E, GT-P and GT sedans, as well as the Super Pursuit and Pursuit Ute. The exceptional straight-six meanwhile, is only offered in the F6 sedan and...
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Convertibles , Coupes , Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , Sports/GTs , Green , Crossovers/CUVs , Lexus , Australia Click above for a high-res gallery of the Lexus LF-A Roadster concept. Lexus Australia's chief executive, John Roca, gave up a number of product details to The Australian in an interview this past weekend, including the addition of an "F" variant of the GS sedan and possibly a full-size LS limo. Both models are aimed to attack luxury stalwarts Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz by offering a number of high-performance variants and also developing a new model that would slot in below the IS sedan to take on the BMW 1-series and the Audi A3. That model is still a few years away, but it will be an integral part of Lexus' commitment to reach one million global sales in the next two to three years. The other element includes offering hybrid versions of every vehicle it sells, plus the introduction of a hybrid-only model that will...
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Filed under: Coupes , Sedans/Saloons , Ford , Australia Ford has apparently finally heard the call and green-lighted development of a new global rear wheel drive platform and a family of vehicles to be built on it. However, unlike General Motors, Ford will not rely on its Australian division to do the heavy lifting. Since the collapse of the U.S. dollar has made the United States a low cost country, the development of the new platform has been moved back to Dearborn. The most recent attempt at a rear-drive architecture that debuted on the latest Australian Ford Falcon was something of a debacle for the company. Unlike Holden, which designed its RWD Zeta platform to be built in right- and left-hand-drive versions, the new Falcon platform is right-hand drive only. This new Ford architecture to be developed near Detroit, however, will spawn models for both the Ford and Lincoln brands, including an all-new Mustang. With Ford making a major push to reduce weight in future models, hopefully these...
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