Innholdsfortegnelse for #246 17-01 i Just Cars

“There is clear inspiration from past Bristol models in the Bullet’s design, most notably the 404.” Bristol is back in the carmaking business, with the British firm’s all-new “Bullet” making its official debut on 26 July, following a ‘camouflaged’ preview of the V8-engined speedster a month earlier at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The launch of the new model comes on the eve of the 70th Anniversary of the founding of Bristol Cars Limited, an offshoot of the Bristol Aeroplane Company, in 1947. The modern Bullet has its roots in ‘Project Pinnacle’, the code name for the project to build an all-new Bristol that got underway in 2014 after UK-based Indian businessman Kamal Siddiqi bought Bristol, saving it from insolvency, in 2011. CLASSIC STYLE While an un-named Italian carrozzeria penned…

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to purchase a significant collection of Holden cars, memorabilia, dealership signage and other collectable items is just around the corner. The collection of Charlie McCarron will go under the hammer through Burns & Co Auctioneers and Valuers on Saturday 1 October and Sunday 2 October at McCarron’s former Holden dealership in Canowindra, NSW (approximately 60km west of Bathurst), as well as the nearby Canowindra showgrounds. CHARLIE’S COLLECTION McCarron, whose early-production black-with-red-trim Holden 48/215 previously featured in JUST CARS, started as the Holden dealer in Canowindra in 1959, and commenced his Holden-themed car collection in 1970. Over the decades that followed, the collection has grown, with plans to turn the dealership into a Holden museum when the total went beyond 50. For the October auction, more than 60…

Marking 100 years since the last brass-radiator Model T Fords were produced in 1916, the Sea Mountains & Valleys Tour T 2016 – this year’s national Model T Ford Rally - will feature a number of Model Ts from that milestone year. Two of the 1916 models entered come from Frank Van Ekeran and Warwick Landy. While both feature the same engine and running gear (as well as that signature brass radiator), these two Model Ts took very different journeys! AUSSIE COLOUR Prior to the establishment of the Australian division of the Ford Motor Company in 1925, Model T chassis were shipped to Australia from Canada in knocked down (CKD) form and distributed to Ford agents in different states for assembly and fitting of locally-made bodies. As such, Aussie built…

It’s a heart-warming story when a championship is won by a driver and team with modest means. Last year’s Club Champion in the Historic Touring Car Association of Victoria was a 28-year-old driving a car originally purchased for just $2,000; one he did all the mechanical work on at home. A FAMILY AFFAIR Born into a motor racing family, Stephen Pillekers was always odds-on to drive competitively. Father Jon had raced touring cars and sports sedans for decades before Stephen turned up, while mother Jennifer was (and still is) one of those invaluable people without whom there would be no motor racing – a marshal waving flags, organizing in the pits, starting grids and everything else in between. Like many racers, Stephen started in karts, learning racecraft and car control.…

Standard, and more specifically the Standard Vanguard, is an unknown name for many car enthusiasts today. But, for a brief period in the early 1950s, the Vanguard’s flame shone bright, especially here in Australia, where its combination of ruggedness and reliability was appreciated. But, by the mid-1960s, the Vanguard was gone and ‘Standard’ as a badge had all but disappeared. Today, Standards are few and far between in Australia, failing to attract the same number of enthusiasts that other British marques like MG, Mini, Triumph or even Rover do, but there are a number of clubs and individual owners keeping the brand alive here. One of those is Brian Jones, and his restored 1950-model Standard Vanguard takes him back to a time when these cars were still very much an…

On 1 August, Honda Australia announced pricing and other details for the new NSX supercar, the first example of which is in the country, touring the five nominated Australian dealerships where it will be available from. The new NSX will carry an RRP of $420,000, with Australian-delivered examples coming standard with almost all the options boxes ticked. Available in a range of eight exterior colours and four interior trims, three optional metallic paint finishes carry a $1,500 premium, with two premium colours, including the hero Valencia Red Pearl, available for an additional $10,000. These top-dollar optional colours feature what Honda calls ‘Andaro aerospace technology’; a special-effect pigment from PPG that’s designed to add high reflectivity and vibrant colour to aircraft components (Virgin use it on their planes). Honda Australia Director,…

Every year since 2008, Ford has produced a customised Mustang for the EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) AirVenture Oshkosh airshow in Wisconsin, with the one-off car auctioned to benefit EAA youth education programs. After past Mustangs have taken inspiration from WWII fighter aircraft, post-War jet planes, modern military aircraft and, most recently, NASA’s Apollo space program, this year’s custom Mustang honoured ‘Ole Yeller’, a piston-engined P51D Mustang aircraft with WWII history, but in this instance served as the pace and safety plane for the annual Reno National Championship Air Races in Nevada and was made famous by air show performer (and former fighter pilot) Bob Hoover. Based on a new Shelby GT350, the Ole Yeller tribute featured a bold yellow paint scheme with green detailing on the spoiler and mirror caps,…

Morgan Cars Australia P/L has released new pricing for the locally-available range, with reductions across the range. Pricing on the Morgan classic models starts at $89,990 for the 4/4, and runs through the $103,500 Plus 4, $139,775 Roadster and $225,000 Plus 8; the premium Morgan model and the only one available with a V8 engine (all prices exclude ORCs). The Morgan 3-Wheeler carries a $92,300 price tag (excluding ORCs) and comes with a 198cc S&S v-twin outputting 60kW and 140Nm through a 5-speed Mazda gearbox to the single rear wheel in the ultra-lightweight – only 550kg – retro-styled roadster. A number of 3-Wheeler options are available, including polished engine and trim detailing, blackout options, quilted leather seat trim, in-car intercom system and a range of colours and graphic treatments. To…

Longtime readers of JUST CARS will remember the feature articles we ran in 2008, marking the centenary of the Model T and its input into Australian motoring history. Those articles were followed by a multi-page report on the National Model T Ford Rally in Echuca; an issue that undeniably became a ‘keeper’ amongst Model T Ford fans around Australia. MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS After successfully hosting the 2008 event, it’s time for the Model T Ford Club of Victoria to host the National Model T Ford Rally again this year. The ‘Sea Mountains & Valleys Tour T 2016’ will be held in Gippsland in eastern Victoria, and as the name suggests, this year’s rally will include daily tours for Model T owners and enthusiasts around the Gippsland region, visiting ocean, mountain…

This year’s Queen’s Birthday weekend marked the nineteenth trip by the Victorian Standard and Triumph Club to Hay, a town that enthusiastically welcomes back the club each year. It’s great to see Vanguards up and about, and for the 2016 rally, ten cars, along with 28 club members and friends, made the trip, alongside their Triumph club colleagues. The prize for those who travelled the longest distance went to Roydon McChesney and Narelle, who travelled up from Portland, Victoria. They only narrowly beat Bob Hanna, who came all the way from the Barossa Valley in SA. The Vanguards and Triumphs share Hay with Minis and Mokes, who hold their nationals in the same city over the Queen’s Birthday weekend, with the B&S crowd also bringing money into the town. PERFECT…

The first publicly-available Ford Falcon XR8 Sprint raised $92,500 at auction this past July, with proceeds from the sale going to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Ford Australia donated the XR8 Sprint to raise money for the foundation, specifically their Artificial Pancreas Project, while also committing a further $60,000 to the JDRF’s other research programs aimed at curing Type 1 diabetes. While aiding the JDRF, the winning bidder David Pearce purchased the XR8 Sprint – one of only 750 produced - to bring some joy to the life of his brother, who’s battling serious health issues. Like the XR6 Sprint, the XR8 Sprint is a bona fide collector’s item already, with the $92K Pearce paid sure to seem like a bargain in the not-too-distant future. “Ford has been a…

While an early combination black and white Victorian numberplate dominated the overall sales at Shannons Melbourne Winter Auction on 11 July, there were some impressive car prices as well. The Heritage plate ‘21’ achieved $530,000 after an engaging duel between several floor and phone bidders. The best-selling vehicle was a restored, UK-delivered 1965 Mercedes-Benz 230SL ‘Pagoda roof’ convertible that sold for $125,000, followed by an ultra-desirable left hand drive Ford Escort RS1600 homologation special, restored to concours condition, that went for $118,000, with the third-best seller being a beautifully-presented 1958 Chevrolet Corvette convertible that sold for $114,000. However, the favourite amongst the large floor crowd at the Melbourne auction room was a ‘barn find’ 1970 Ford XY Falcon V8 sedan. The Track Red XY was pursued by a number of…

After Australians Gerry Crown and Matt Bryson tasted victory in the 2013 Peking to Paris Motor Challenge, Aussies were victorious again in the 2016 running of the endurance rally, with Mark Pickering and Dave Boddy winning the Classics category, while the New Zealand father and son team of Bruce and Harry Washington triumphed in the Vintageant class. MASSIVE MOTORING A triennial event, the Peking to Paris (P2P) Motor Challenge was established in 2007 and inspired by the original Peking to Paris race of 1907. This year’s P2P attracted 108 teams across four categories: Vintage (1920-1931); Vintageant (1932-1941); Under 2-litre Classic; and Over 2-litre Classic (both 1942-1975). Thirty-three Australians lined up for the start at the Great Wall of China, in everything from a 1923 Vauxhall to a ’77 Mercedes 450…

ILINGA BOOKS BOOK REVIEW – Dead Ends and Duffers A new release from Gavin Farmer, the author behind Hey Charger!, Great Ideas in Motion and other motoring specific titles, Dead Ends and Duffers is a lighthearted look at 50 cars that rank amongst the worst to be offered to Australian motorists. Farmer breaks his “flawed 50” into two distinct categories: the ‘Dead Ends’ are those that were technically outdated or going in the opposite direction of world styling, engineering and specification trends when they were released; while the ‘Duffers’ are those that sold in tiny numbers due to being overpriced, underengineered, poorly marketed, weirdly styled (step up, the Lightburn Zeta!) or simply not good enough. But, in identifying and listing these automotive failures, Farmer does use the word “failure” advisedly,…