With its trademark suicide doors and elegant slab-side body work, the 1961 Lincoln Continental was the pinnacle of the US automotive industry when released. Boasting a feast of luxury innovations, a mighty 7.0-litre V8 and an equally mighty 2300kg kerb weight, it set a benchmark for design elegance and innovation.
The humble Morris Minor built an unlikely Aussie fan base, with the Traveller wagon finding a particular audience in rural Australia.
If you’ve ever looked at a classic car advertised on the other side of the country but baulked at the idea of how to get it to you, then Retro Rides’ market analyst Cliff Chambers has some helpful advice.
The Commodore SL/E was the top-spec Commodore prior to the HDT models and came with everything from a 3.3-litre straight-six to a 5.0-litre V8.
The perpetrators of an infamous University of Adelaide Prosh Day prank which saw an FJ Holden suspended from a footbridge have finally been revealed.
How Australia and the Bathurst 1000 helped shaped the era of tarmac racing homologation specials.
The local motor industry was more than a little shocked in 1976 when Holden’s LX update of its mid-sized Torana included a stylish new hatchback body style. Versatility was the reason Holden had gone with the hatchback, expanding the Torana’s appeal and giving the car maker a player in a segment populated by Japanese models like Datsun’s 260Z 2+2 and Toyota’s Celica.
To fully understand how the Nissan GT-R earned its monster ‘Godzilla’ moniker, you need to travel back in time to 1992 to the holy grail of Australian motorsport, Mount Panorama.
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.
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.
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.
How Holden Special Vehicles stretched the 5.0-litre V8 to 5.7-litres and created an Aussie performance icon. The first factory V8 fitted to a Holden was the imported 307 cubic inch Chevrolet small block that made its debut in the HK range in January 1968. Six months after the HK’s launch Holden debuted its first two-door coupe, the HK Monaro, with an imported 327 cubic inch V8 option on the top-s…
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.