Scott Newman

    Writer

    Scott Newman is handsome, charming, wise, immensely talented and certainly didn't write this. He has been an automotive journalist since 2010, starting on Unique Cars before a long-term stint as Associate Editor of MOTOR and more recently being the Road Test Editor of Carsales.com.au 

    Scott’s been lucky enough to drive some of the world’s greatest supercars but reckons every car – especially those of past eras – offers its own unique experience, and you can have just as much fun in something that cost $5000 as $500,000. 

    A past rallyist, Scott will happily compete at every opportunity and owned a Nissan R31 Silhouette for more than 15 years. The current steed is a pleasant but plain family SUV. Something to work on.

    Latest articles

    Jaguar v12

    Top 5 Unlikely Bathurst 1000 Heroes

    The recipe for success at Bathurst is well established. Of the 61 races held, 51 have been won by a car with a V8 engine powering the rear wheels. Obviously, since 1993 the regulations have dictated no other option, but even when it was open slather, from 1967, when the first Ford XR Falcon GT appeared, to 1992, only five winners had a different mechanical configuration.

    Nissan Bluebird

    How the Nissan Bluebird Turbo signaled a changing of the guard at the 1984 Bathurst 1000 

    Forty years ago, there was a changing of the guard at Bathurst. Since 1967 and the arrival of the Ford XR Falcon GT, every car that sat on pole position for The Great Race had had eight cylinders under the bonnet.

    Ford XR8 TVC

    Classic TV: Ford Falcon XR8

    Must be stuck in third! A blue streak rockets across the barren landscape, its two fully ignited jet engines spewing flame as it accelerates to warp speed. Onboard, the pilot struggles to read the gauges as his body is buffeted by extreme g-forces.

    Electric Porsche 911 Kit

    Opinion: Should You Convert Your Classic Cars to EV?

    The answer is obvious, isn’t it? OF COURSE BLOODY NOT! The sounds and smells of internal combustion are an integral part of the classic car ownership experience and replacing that with a box of volts should be actionable by law.

    Ford Bara Turbo

    Extraordinary Engines: Ford Barra Turbo

    How Ford’s adoption of turbocharging for its inline six-cylinder engine created one of the fastest four-doors on the planet. It may have ended up with an aquatic moniker, but Ford’s turbocharged 4.0-litre inline-six – colloquially known as the ‘Barra’ – initially carried a more avian title.

    2002 HRT 427

    Unicorn: 2002 HRT 427

    In the early-2000s the Australian car industry was riding the crest of a wave. Ford was bidding farewell to the AU error, sorry, era, with the launch of the BA Falcon and the revival of a dedicated performance division, Ford Performance Vehicles.