Innholdsfortegnelse for #274 19-04 i Just Cars

Australian motorsport lost one of its great champions from the post-war era when Bob Jane passed away on 28 September, aged 88. A four-time Australian Touring Car Champion, four-time Armstrong 500 winner, dual Sports Sedan champion, member of the Supercars Hall of Fame and Australian Motor Sport Hall of Fame, Jane died following a long battle with prostate cancer that started in 1997, with his health comprised further by a recent stroke. A statement issued by Jane’s youngest children, Courtney, Charlotte, and Robert, on 29 September, read: “It is with great sadness that we would like to share the passing of our dad, Bob Jane (Robert Frederick Jane). “After a long and brave fight with prostate cancer, he passed away last evening at 88 years of age, Friday September 28,…

Volkswagen’s Kombi-inspired I.D. Buzz may be joined by a commercial companion in the I.D. Buzz ‘Cargo’. Unveiled in concept form at Germany’s IAA Commercial Vehicle Show in Hannover this past September, the I.D. Buzz Cargo is a load-lugging version of the I.D. Buzz people mover. Both take styling inspiration from VW’s Type 2 that debuted in 1949 and was offered in van, trayback and various forms of people mover, best known here as the Kombi, but also labelled as the Transporter and Microbus. Like the I.D. Buzz that was unveiled at last year’s Detroit Motor Show, the I.D. Buzz Cargo is based on VW’s MEB modular platform and is electric powered. While the I.D. Buzz will reach showrooms in 2022, VW says the Cargo version “could” come to market a…

A rare Porsche 959 built to compete in the famous Dakar Rally will be auctioned this October as part of a special sale for the marque’s 70th Anniversary year. To be conducted by RM Sotheby’s on 27 October at the Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta, Georgia, the auction will be an all-Porsche affair, with 120 lots consigned, covering memorabilia, engines and collectables, while the cars include 356s, 928s and 944s, a multitude of 911s, a 956 racer and 918 Spyder, as well as the rare rallying 959. Based on the machine originally developed for Group B rallying competition in the early 1980s, the 959 was reconfigured from a WRC rally car to an off-road endurance machine following the premature end of the Group B era. Porsche combined this with experience…

When it was announced last year, the Targa Great Barrier Reef (Targa GBR) generated immediate interest. As the first event of its kind to be held in Queensland, specifically tropical Cairns, Targa GBR already had appeal. And when organisers said the three-day tarmac rally would comprise more than 200km of competitive stages on some of the most exciting roads in Australia, that was enough of a hook to see more than 200 entrants sign up. Held from 31 August to 2 September, the inaugural Targa GBR also served as Round 3 of the 2018 CAMS Australian Targa Championship, so it attracted big names in modern Australian tarmac rallying, like Jason White, Paul Stokell, Steve Glenney and Craig Dean of JUST CARS advertiser Mustang Motorsport in the front-running GT2 class. Familiar…

Porsche 911 aficionados, it seems, fall into one of two camps. Purists are devoted to the ‘air cooled’ era from 1964 to 1998, while those after modern features and more powerful drivetrains reside in the ‘water cooled’ camp that started in ’98 and runs to the present day. The last of the air-cooled 911s was built in 1998, but in another of the one-offs being rolled out by Porsche for their 70th Anniversary this year, the Stuttgart sports car maker decided to build another one… just because they could! The unique 993-era 911 was revealed this August and will be go to auction in the US this October. OLD AND NEW Dubbed ‘Project Gold’, the one-off 993 911 is the work of Porsche Classic, the carmaker’s in-house heritage division devoted…

After the original version ceased production in 2003, the ‘New Beetle’ is set to join it in the pages of automotive history, with Volkswagen announcing production of the current version will end next year. Built in VW’s Puebla factory in Mexico, the “A5” New Beetle’s demise has been on the cards since March, but was made official in September when Volkswagen of America announced that manufacture will end in July, 2019. The Beetle will bow out with two special models: the ‘Final Edition SE’ and ‘Final Edition SEL’. To be offered in both coupe and convertible body styles, the Final Editions include exclusive equipment and what VW call “unique upscale décor elements designed to send the Beetle off in style”. While running gear will be the standard Beetle’s 2.0-litre TSI…

Ahead of its launch later this year, HSV has confirmed Australian pricing for the local-specification Chevrolet Camaro. Available in one grade – a ‘2SS’ coupe with a 6.2lt V8 and 8-spd auto transmission – the Camaros converted and prepared by HSV will be priced from $85,990. On list pricing, that makes the Camaro more than $23,000 dearer than a comparable MY18 Mustang GT V8 fastback, over $12,000 more than the upcoming GT V8-based Bullitt fastback coupe and even $11,200 above the most expensive Mustang; the $74,709 GT V8 convertible. “This project has been over three years in the making and involved millions of dollars of investment in product development, testing and validation,” said HSV Managing Director, Tim Jackson. “We set out with the goal of retaining the integrity of the…

Now in its 33rd year, the annual NSW All Holden Day (AHD) is a permanent entry in most East Coast Holden fans’ event calendars. The show is about as regular a part of Holden lovers’ lives as car shows with larger marquees, like the Summernats and MotorEx. AHD may be humble, but it’s huge! CLUBS, SWAPS AND FANS APLENTY No less than 64 Holden-centric car clubs displayed vehicles at the show this year – held on the first weekend in August. In fact, most of the display space available at Hawkesbury Showground in Clarendon was taken up with car clubs. What’s left is open to individual owners and groups of car owners who might be parking up together but not in registered clubs. As has happened over the last few…

1 FORD MOTORSPORT LEGENDS COINS The Royal Australian Mint www.eshop.ramint.gov.au or 1300 652 020 The Royal Australian Mint has released a series of six uncirculated 50-cent coins celebrating famous Fords from Australian touring car racing. Each coin features identification and colour imagery of the car on the obverse (tail), with the standard QE II profile and script on the reverse (head). The range covers a 1969 Mustang Boss 302, 1971 XY Falcon GT-HO Phase III, 1977 XC Falcon hardtop, 1981 XD Falcon, 1989 Sierra RS500 Cosworth and 2006 BA Falcon, limited to 30,000 copies of each design. Available from the Mint e-shop, Ford Motorsport Legends coins are $15.00 each. A special boxed set with a bonus seventh coin has sold out. 2 RETROSOUND COMPLETE SYSTEMS FOR CARS Ph: (02) 4872…

Amongst the consignments for their 17 October sale at the Imperial War Museum’s (IWM) Duxford facility in Cambridgeshire, UK auction house H&H Classics have a 1903 ‘curved dash’ Oldsmobile runabout. What makes this example special is that it was delivered new to Australia and spent more than sixty years of its 115-year life here. Bearing chassis number 8691, what sort of use the Oldsmobile was subjected to in Australia is unknown, but it was more than likely employed on some rough roads in its earliest years. The 4.5hp single-cylinder runabout has been restored at some stage in the past, but whether that was done here or in the UK is unrecorded. What is known is that since it arrived in the UK in the late 1960s, it’s been a regular…

Following the lead of other carmakers, like Jaguar, Volkswagen, Fiat and most recently Peugeot, in dipping into their past to create new models, Ferrari has produced the ‘Monza’. Unveiled at the Maranello factory on 18 September, the Monza is the first in a series of limited-edition ‘special series’ cars – what Ferrari call ‘Icona’ - inspired by the famous marque’s past. Icona models will be aimed at dedicated Ferrari clients and collectors, and while production will be limited, Ferrari hasn’t clarified exactly how many units of each special series car will be built. CHOICE OF ONE… OR TWO The Monza will be offered in a choice of ‘SP1’ or ‘SP2’ configurations, both of which are open-top barchettas, the main difference between the two being that one is a single-seater, while…

As part of the Adelaide Motorsport Festival this December, Scammell Auctions will host a sale of rare and desirable cars, as well as memorabilia and garagenalia. Top seller at the Scammells Motorsport Auction is expected to be a 1970 Holden LC Torana GTR with just over 45,000 miles on the clock. A 2-owner car from new, the Torana was with the same South Australian family from 1972 to 2002, before it was sold at an estate auction. The second owners, avid Holden collectors, rust-proofed the car, replaced the front and rear windscreen rubbers and attended to some minor rust issues, but the rest was untouched, including the original Lakeside Green paint. In their ownership, it’s covered less than 1000 miles. “This Torana has to be the best original example I…

In Porsche’s 70th Anniversary year, the passion for the marque has been apparent around the globe, from the Goodwood Festival of Speed to the Rennsport Reunion in the US that was wrapping up just as this issue went to press. The passion that’s been expressed en masse at these events is made up of the collective enthusiasm of individual Porsche owners. People like Ron Goodman. Ron’s love for Porsche, and particularly the 356, goes back to his childhood and while he admits he’s many miles from that phase of his life now, the passion for Porsche hasn’t dimmed. BODY PANELS AND MOVIE FRAMES Based in Sydney, Ron’s the owner/operator of Exclusive Body Werks, an authorised Porsche repair centre, based in Clyde (near Parramatta) that’s been in business for the past…

The city of Adelaide comes alive once more this December as the Adelaide Motorsport Festival brings back the screaming sounds of Formula One, along with the biggest lineup yet of cars, bikes, and even an aeroplane. First out of the gate are the participants in the Adelaide Rally, a four-day event taking in 32 closed road stages through the nearby Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale, Fleurieu Peninsula and Murray Mallee regions. The classic and modern competition categories are joined by tour groups making up a field expected to be close to 300 entries. The Festival makes its presence felt in the city on November 30 with the Peak Hour of Power, a parade with pep through the CBD’s Friday night rush hour traffic. Making their way from Festival’s Victoria Park venue…