Innholdsfortegnelse for #263 18-06 i Just Cars

Supercharged 6.2-litre V8 crate engine debuts at annual US auto industry aftermarket show Chrysler’s Mopar division always turns on something special for SEMA and this year was no exception. After unveiling 345ci and 392ci Hemi crate engine kits at last year’s auto industry aftermarket show, this year saw Mopar debut a new supercharged V8 engine. Of 378 cubic inch displacement, this new crate engine was, curiously, referred to in metric 6.2-litre displacement in all Mopar literature at the event. Dubbed the “Hellcrate”, the 6.2 V8 puts out a claimed maximum 707 horsepower and 650 lb/ft of torque (527kW and 881kW). Optimised for use with manual transmissions, this is the first supercharged engine to be offered by Mopar in crate form. “Never before has a supercharged, factory-direct 707-horsepower crate engine kit…

A Ferrari Formula One car driven to victory by Michael Schumacher in Scuderia Ferrari’s dominant 2001 season was a unique attraction – and a record-setter – at a Sotheby’s auction in New York. Surrounded by modern art from the likes of Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Jean-Michel Basquiat, the Ferrari was part of Sotheby’s ‘Contemporary Art Evening Sale’ on 16 November. Offered for auction for the first time, Ferrari F2001 chassis 211 was not only an ex-Schumacher car, but a winning car; driven to victory at the 2001 Monaco and Hungarian Grands Prix. The latter may not seem significant compared to the former, but the win in Hungary secured Schumacher the 2001 F1 Driver’s Championship and helped Scuderia Ferrari achieve that year’s Constructor’s Championship, too; their eleventh overall and third…

At November’s Dubai International Motor Show, McLaren unveiled a one-off 720S created by the company’s in-house personalisation division. Commissioned by a Middle Eastern customer, the unique 720S was produced by McLaren Special Operations (MSO) and served as the centrepiece of McLaren’s display at the Dubai show. MSO said that more than 120 hours of work went into converting the car, a mechanically stock 720S Performance model. Changes included the fitting of optional carbon fibre body and aero parts from the MSO Defined range of extras. Inside, black alcantara and black leather trim was combined with carbon fibre panels (an upgrade pack from MSO Defined), with gold applied to the shift paddles, steering wheel and door trims. A special ‘1 of 1’ plaque identifying the car’s unique status also graced the…

For its upcoming third season, the Toyota 86 Racing Series will expand from five rounds to six, including the one-make series’ first visit to South Australia. The support category for selected rounds of the 2018 Virgin Australia Supercars series kicks off at Phillip Island in April, followed by Townsville in July and SA’s new ‘The Bend Motorsport Park’ in August. Managing Director of The Bend Motorsport Park, Sam Shahin, said he’s excited at the prospect of working with the series. “The circuit configuration for the 86s will be 4.95km with 18 challenging turns - a fast and flowing layout,” he said. “It will be a rewarding, technical circuit with terrific overtaking opportunities - whether at hairpin corners or the end of the 15 metre-wide main straight.” A return to Melbourne’s…

The end of local production for our Aussie legends Holden and Ford (Toyota doesn’t really count, does it?) and the continued homogenisation of models across the globe in the name of cost cutting (read; profiteering) means those of us who appreciated these home-grown hot sedans, utes and the occasional coupe are still mourning the loss of ‘our’ performance cars. Fortunately, there is light at the end of the tunnel with auctioneers, Lloyds Auctions on the Gold Coast, serving up what is probably the last chance we’ll have of buying the best of what HSV had to offer from the last decade in basically ‘brand new’ condition. This ultimate HSV/Holden collection features cars which mostly have delivery kilometres only and present in new or nearly new condition with the variety of…

When it comes to cars, it’s not unreasonable to say a lot of us are “visual” creatures. By that, I mean we’re attracted to colourful and shiny things. A newly-restored classic in a bold colour combination will always draw our eye more than a similar machine in drab colours like white or grey. When we spoke to both the past and current owners of the car featured here, they backed up my theory: both said that the colour and appearance of this ’59 FC Special was a big factor in their decision to buy it. TWO BLUE I’m sure there are other FCs around in Cambridge Blue and Teal Blue like the car featured, but they’d have to be few and far between. A quick google search turned up one…

Chevrolet last produced a ‘Hot Wheels’ edition of the Camaro in 2012, but with 2018 marking the 50th Anniversary of the first Hot Wheels toy cars, the pair have collaborated again, unveiling a ‘Camaro Hot Wheels 50th Anniversary Edition’ at SEMA. The choice of a Camaro to mark the anniversary was fitting, as the very first Hot Wheels car released in 1968 was a Camaro. The new Hot Wheels anniversary model is based on the 2018 Camaro and will be available in the US on the LT and SS model, as well as in coupe or convertible body styles. It’s identified by a unique ‘Crush’ exterior colour that’s said to be inspired by the plastic racetracks of the toy cars. To this, Chevrolet has added Satin Graphite stripes with Silver…

The restoration of the unique Pininfarinabodied 1954 Jaguar XK120 SE that was featured in JUST CARS #262 has been awarded the ‘Restoration of the Year’ for 2017 by UK classic car magazine Octane at the annual Octane Awards. Undertaken by UK specialists Classic Motor Cars (CMC), the restoration of the one-off Jag took 6,725 hours and required not only substantial body repair and replacement of damaged panels, but also a complete mechanical refurbishment and an all-new interior. Additionally, with only old photographs for reference, a number of missing or damaged detail parts unique to the Pininfarina-bodied Jaguar had to be remanufactured using modern 3D printing technology. Nigel Woodward, Managing Director of Classic Motor Cars, said: “CMC are tremendously grateful to the judging panel for their recognition of the skill and…

In conjunction with Renault Australia, Alpine Cars has confirmed they will be coming to the Australian market with the new A110 sports coupe, which is due to be released here in 2018. The production A110 made its debut at this year’s Geneva Motor Show, following the ‘Vision’ concept presented last year after the Alpine brand was revived as a ‘sports premium’ sub-brand under Renault stewardship in 2012. The original Alpines only came here in small quantities, via specialty sports car suppliers or as personal imports. WELCOME ARRIVAL “Alpine defines a modern sports car designed for driving pleasure. It combines the timeless Alpine principles of compact size, light weight and dynamic agility and keeps true to the spirit of its predecessors, in particular the A110 Berlinette,” said Renault Australia’s Managing Director,…

BOLWELL – THE CARS No Australian company has gone where Bolwell has. Between 1962 and 1979, the company produced more than 800 of Australia’s most famous sportscars, recognised around the country and across the globe as vehicles ahead of their time. With exceptional styling, engineering, performance and ‘street cred’, Bolwell sportscars from the 1960s and ’70s now change hands for up to 30 times their original value. In the same period, Bolwell racing sportscars dominated every category they contested – against all international comers. Today, they continue to excel in historic racing categories, as well as modern tarmac rally events. After an hiatus of almost thirty years, a new Bolwell car – the Mk X Nagari – was presented at the 2008 Melbourne and Sydney International Motor Shows, and released…

Some came for the F5000s, others for the Group A & C tourers, open wheelers, MGs, sports sedans and other categories. But no matter what you came to see at this year’s 26th Historic Sandown, the Group N runners provided some of the best on-track action at the 11-12 November event. With the HTCAV regulars bolstered by entrants from NSW, Tasmania, WA and Queensland, there was plenty of interesting and appealing new metal to be seen amongst the familiar machinery. Here’s how it all went down in the Group Nb and Nc classes for the HTCAV’s at Sandown. PONY CAR WARS The ‘bigs’: Groups Nb over 4.5L and Nc over 2L Tasmanian Darren Pearce (Camaro) grabbed pole in qualifying with a quick 1.21.6 lap; two seconds clear of Darryl Hansen…

History can be as much about luck and circumstance as anything else. Dig back into history’s major turning points and the “what if” scenarios can be intriguing. Significant moments on a more personal level may be less grand but are no less intriguing. Take the car featured. If circumstances had been different, if the current custodian had taken another path in one of those ‘sliding door’ moments, what you’re looking at may never have come to be and this car may have become history. This car, as many readers would know, is the Lance Simmers FJ, better known as the ‘Draggin Coupe’. One of a handful built in the 1960s when the Aussie hot rodding and custom car industry was starting to take off, this car dropped off the radar…

US hypercar manufacturer Hennessey used the recent SEMA show to officially unveil their ‘Venom F5’. First revealed in renderings more than three years ago, the Venom F5 has finally been made a reality, with Hennessey saying their new hypercar will be the first road car to break the 300mph (480km/h) barrier. If it does that, it’ll also take the Koenigsegg Agera RS’s crown as the world’s fastest production car. Koenigsegg claimed the record this November with a 284.5mph (457.8km/h) top speed and two-way average of 277.9mph (447.2km/h). Bugatti’s Chiron could be a contender for the “world’s fastest” title, too (the preceding Veyron Super Sport set the previous benchmark of 267.9mph – 431.1km/h - in 2010), but its top speed is electronically limited to 261mph (420km/h). Hennessey’s predecessor to the F5,…

Lamborghini recently presented His Holiness Pope Francis with a special version of their Huracan RWD coupe, which is due to be auctioned for charity next year. Created by Lamborghini’s “Ad Personam” in-house customization department, the Huracan was finished in Bianco Monocerus (White) with Giallo Tiberino (Yellow) details; colours inspired by the flag of Vatican City. Whether the car also carried any mechanical upgrades is unrecorded. While it would have been interesting to see His Holiness cut a few fast laps behind the wheel of the Lambo, Pope Francis limited his interaction to blessing the car and signing the bonnet when it was presented to him at the Vatican on 15 November. Others present at the unveiling included Stefano Domenicali, Chairman and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini, members of Automobili Lamborghini’s management…

November saw McLaren Automotive hold their first official Australian owners’ track day, with 21 Aussie McLaren owners and other VIP clients spending a day on the iconic Phillip Island GP circuit. Mirroring similar owner’s track days hosted by McLaren around the world, a total of 29 McLarens were part of the day’s program, with the success of the debut track day convincing McLaren to make it an annual event. Expert assistance on the day came from Indy 500 winner and IRL champion Kenny Brack, who was appointed as a test and development driver for McLaren Automotive in 2015. “Getting behind the wheel of a McLaren is always an exhilarating experience for me, and nowhere is this more apparent than pushing it on a track,” Brack said. “I have seen some…

1 MOTORING PAST Albany’s Racing Revolution www.motoringpast.com.au From Graeme Cocks, the author of Red Dust Racers, this release looks at the “around-the-houses” motor races that took place in Albany, Western Australia, from 1936 to 1940. The result of years of research, this 150-page, A4-size, landscape format book is a pictorial history of each running of the short-lived annual event. Each year gets its own chapter that covers the event and lists the entrants, their vehicles, starting handicap and finishing position, followed by a series of large format photos with detailed captions. Now available direct from the Motoring Past website, Albany’s Racing Revolution is $49.50 + postage and handling. ISBN: 978-0-9872808-3-1. 2 SHELBY AMERICAN Shelby Skateboards www.shelbystore.com The coolest set of wheels short of an actual Shelby Mustang or Cobra, Shelby…

To say the early Holdens were successful is a huge – and obvious - understatement. Anyone with even a passing knowledge of postwar car history in Australia will know that Holden came to dominate the market soon after its release. In the 1950s, Holden held close to half of the total new car market for much of the decade. Even the arrival of challengers in the form of Ford’s Falcon and Chrysler’s Valiant in the early 1960s saw Holden’s position remain strong. However, with so many Holdens in circulation at that time, it should come as no surprise that there were owners looking for a way to individualise their vehicles - to make their Holden stand out from the flocks of similar vehicles on Aussie roads. GMH serviced a good…