Wheels

FOR GENERAL SCHLEPPING about, I love an electric car. Compared to a petrol vehicle, electric vehicles (EVs) are quieter, smoother and nicer to drive. Often they have better packaging with more interior and luggage space; they have lovely torque, good

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GENERAL MOTORS Special Vehicles, the Walkinshaw-owned brand risen from the ashes of HSV, has locked in Corvette and is eyeing the return of a cheaper Camaro as it looks to protect and grow the American muscle-car pipeline to Australia. Corvette is se

REMEMBER BACK in 2019 when Prime Minister Scott Morrison declared the Labor opposition’s aspirational 50 percent EV sales goal by 2030 was going to “end the weekend”? That might have played well on the coal-loving backbenches and in the boardrooms of

IN THE FIVE years between 1987 and 1992, the Ferrari F40, Porsche 959, Lamborghini Diablo, Bugatti EB110, Jaguar XJ220 and McLaren F1 utterly transformed our perceptions of power and performance, pushing and probing and teasing the very edges of the

DUE JAN A fresh look and a new set of mod-cons including upgraded connectivity and interior treatments are some of the 2021 MX-5’s new tricks, but the top of the range will be a new model, the GT RS. In a similar vein to the MX-5 GT Limited Edition o

Keep it tight (no more than 200 words) and do include your suburb if via email: wheels@wheelsmag.com.au You can also have your say on Facebook (search for Wheels Australia), Instagram or Twitter LETTER OF THE MONTH I’VE BEEN PONDERING SUVs of late. W

FROM KINGSWOODS and Commodores, to 911s and Corvettes, keeping a classic car running could soon be easier as the aftermarket slowly turns its focus to electric motors. While EV conversions have been more prevalent in recent years – many using battery

FOR ALL OF Formula 1’s cutting edge tech and engineering wizardry, I like to imagine that there’s a room in the sport’s innermost sanctum that’s totally devoid of technology. There’s no furniture either, except for a single whiteboard that sits in th

Former Wheels staff journalist Dan DeGasperi has owned his low-kay, Voodoo-blue 2010 VE SS manual sedan for three years and reckons: “It still holds up. In today’s world it’s actually quite supple and it still has balance. It settles onto its back ax

BMW WAS ONE of the last traditional rear-wheel-drive manufacturers to finally succumb to the front-drive (ahem) push. However, in joining Mercedes-Benz to have a range of models where the front wheels do all the work, it may have jumped a few years t

ON THE FACE of it, the Lexus IS is kind of lucky to still be here. After all, it’s a passenger car – and it’s a passenger car that doesn’t sell all that well. Those two factors alone have ensured the downfall of cars that, by rights, had more claim t

IF YOU LIKE YOUR small cars with a boot, then you’ll love the new, spec-rich Hyundai i30 Sedan, which replaces the old Elantra. It’s obviously closely related to the i30 hatchback, but – like its rivals from Mazda and Toyota – the two aren’t identica

FROM THE MOMENT Holden’s ‘Billion Dollar Baby’ broke cover in August 2006, you knew you were in the presence of Australian royalty. The VE’s outstanding shape, immaculate stance and sophisticated specification signalled to the world that, finally, he

MAKE NO MISTAKE, the BMW 4 Series Coupe is more than just a 3 Series with two fewer doors. This is evident as soon as you set eyes on its, err, polarising vertical kidney grille… but, as with a friend’s odd-looking baby, you soon come around to it. T

TOYOTA IS A BIG believer in hydrogen fuel cell cars, and we’ve driven the car to prove it – the second-generation Mirai. This zero-emissions electric car produces its electricity onboard by mixing hydrogen and oxygen in a fuel cell stack, with only w

IT’S ONLY WHEN you search for an ESC button in the new Mercedes-Benz E300 Coupe that you fully realise what sort of car you’re in. Instead of locating it on the centre console or steering wheel spoke like in AMG models, the E300 buries the ESC config

IT’S POSSIBLE THE Yaris GR fever machine hit peak hyperbole recently when a prominent UK-based motoring media organisation called it a “once in a generation car” and awarded it a perfect 10 out of 10. We’ll get to the ‘Perfect 10’ issue in due course

Ask the question “How much is a GR Yaris?” and the answer is… actually, how long have you got? Toyota Australia initially quoted $49,500 plus on-roads, but then announced that the first 1000 cars would be offered to Aussie customers at $39,950 drivea

MECHANICALLY, THE FLAT-PLANE crank V8 is essentially a pair of inline four-cylinders fused at the crankshaft, but its advantages are greater than the sum of its parts. Firstly, the cylinders of a traditional cross-plane crank V8 fire once every 90 de

A 1:1 model, this is the car we would have expected to be the one to become a reality; the follow-up to an already hybrid-powered hypercar, the 918 Spyder, which was designed by Mauer himself. Like the 919 Street but tweaked much more heavily for the

WITH AN ALMIGHTY thunk that cannons through the entire skeleton of the ship, the Spirit of Tasmania drops its jaw onto the dock at Strachan, on the Apple Isle’s west coast. A few hundred cars and a dozen bikes sit idling in the bowels, waiting for th

Stand by, hard-chargers, there’s an even more focused GR Yaris on the way. Set to touch down in showrooms in March is the Rallye. This model runs stiffer track-tuned suspension and a pair of Torsen limited-slip differentials for the front and rear ax

Piastri’s F1 test is expected to be the first of many, as the Renault Sport Academy prepares the Aussie young gun for a potential race seat within the next two years. “The tests in Bahrain are part of a planned program that the Academy has delivered

MICHAEL MAUER is not a psychic. He doesn’t have tarot cards, nor would he likely be heard discussing palmistry in the Northern Rivers. The latter perhaps being because he lives and works in Germany as Porsche’s chief designer. But because of his role

‘Scales’-themed tail-lights remain a DS hallmark, but they will be joined by mandible-like vertical red blades below Five metres front to back is good for aero and prestige, but expect production cars to be a touch shorter. The 23-inch wheels will li

“I HAD A DREAM and it came true, and that is not something that happens often to men,” said Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to climb Mount Everest. Oscar Piastri has not yet reached the pinnacle of motor racing, but his dream – his Everest – is a f

One of Mauer’s favourite concepts is the 2019 Vision Spyder, or 551 ‘Little Rebel’, which he says was inspired by the 550 Spyder named ‘Little Bastard’ owned by James Dean. A 1:1 ‘hard’ model, Mauer says the design of this car is in his own ‘puristic

GOOGLING YOURSELF is maybe one of the worst things you can do, according to actress Winona Ryder. “I did it once and someone had to talk me off a ledge,” she said at the time. If DS Automobiles should collectively feel the need to type its own name i

In terms of engine architecture and core mechanicals, the R8’s V10 is identical to the unit that powers Lamborghini’s Huracan. The main components are manufactured at Audi’s engine plant in Gyor, Hungary, and both engines displace 5204cc within an al

THE TIDDLERS OF Australian roads are a dying breed, many sneaking past the $20K mark that has long been an unofficial barrier for buyers. But there are still terrific options around, including some that cost more to buy but save you money once you’re

IT WASN’T LONG ago that Australians gravitated to sedans and wagons for their family duties. Those days have long gone for many, an SUV replacing tradition in the driveway, but there’s still an impressive array of medium and large sedans and wagons o

WANT TO KNOW why traditional small cars aren’t as popular as they used to be? Look no further than the small SUV segment, now bursting with dozens of contenders. For a class that barely existed a decade ago it’s positively booming, even gaining pace

WHAT STARTED AS something of a soft-roader experiment in the 1990s has turned into the default family-car class of recent years. Mid-sized SUVs are now filling the role once held by sedans and wagons, providing the space, functionality and affordabil

SOMETIMES FIVE JUST isn’t enough, which is why seven-seat SUVs are now increasingly common among families who don’t necessarily fill all seven seats regularly – but want the flexibility. Two- and three-kid families often gravitate to SUVs with a thir

SO YOU WANT to splash out on something with a touch more class but you don’t want to break the bank? That’s where our luxury on a budget category comes in. As the name suggests, this is a way to get behind the wheel of a premium brand but without bre

IF DIVERSITY IS your thing then look no further than the medium and large prestige cars that start at around $55,000. This used to be the prestige heartland, the price level that got you into a luxury brand, at least before the luxury brands began do

WHEN BMW AND Mercedes-Benz unleashed their first SUVs in the late 1990s it was big motoring news – luxury brands encroaching on the space traditionally occupied by cars originally designed to get down and dirty. These days it’s difficult to imagine m

DRIVING ENTHUSIASTS NEED not shell out big bucks to have some four-wheeled fun. Hot hatchbacks have long attested to that, and in recent years we’ve witnessed a resurgence in fun-to-drive vehicles that don’t have to mean mortgaging the house. It’s an

AUSTRALIANS LOVE GOING fast. Or at least they love the idea of going fast, which is why as a nation we have one of the highest per-capita take-ups of performance cars. So, far be it from us to shy away from the machines people love to drive. The crit

THE SHIFT TO soft-roaders has left a clear divide between the can-dos and those that look like they can. But there is still a core group of off-road SUVs, the types of wagons that don’t shy away from rocks and rubble. They’re the cars we’re rewarding

TO OUR LEFT sits Jody Scheckter’s history-making Wolf WR1 and an Alan Jones Williams FW07. Further down the line there’s a trio of McLarens, once driven by a clutch of Formula 1’s biggest beasts: Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen, Lewis Hamilton. Crikey. T

One of the surprises found in Zak Brown’s eclectic collection is the Holden Racing Team 2011 Bathurst-winning VE Commodore driven by Garth Tander and rookie Nick Percat. Supercars fan Brown (a partner in the Walkinshaw team) said part of the attracti

THE MODERN mountain bike is a pretty amazing device – but, just like televisions and cars, they have subtly grown in stature over the years to the point where they almost need their own transportation systems. My after-hours life for the past 20 year

QUESTIONS I’m rarely asked include, “How do you maintain such a deep golden tan all year round?” More frequently, though, I’m quizzed about model grades and options packs. Prospective buyers often seem in a mild state of anxiety over which model in t

THIS IS IT. The final ceremonial wash for every long-termer before returning to its home. A time to reflect on the pros (and cons) of the ownership experience. As I wash the dripping soap suds off the Supra’s flowing, organic curves, I lose myself in

“YOU’LL NEVER SEE Japanese cars in an RSL car park,” declared Ford Australia managing director Bill Bourke, not long off the plane from Detroit in 1965. Easy to laugh now, but memories were still fresh of WW2 and its delivery to our doorstep by Zero

AMBITION CAN DELIVER a brutal reality check if it’s channelled in the wrong direction, yet there’s something magical about aiming for the stars. In Honda’s case, that interstellar fantasy resulted in a reborn NSX supercar, more than a decade after th

THERE ARE THOUSANDS of individual vehicle models on sale in Australia, and determining which one is best value is not easy. But with the help of multiple data fields, a packed spreadsheet and the expert opinions of the Wheels/WhichCar team, we’ve cru