• marques
• motorsport
• news

As part of a program to support local Group N competitors, Subaru Australia via Possum Bourne Motorsport can now supply FIA-homologated competition cars in three different tiers and any combination of six option packs to suit a range of different series requirements.

Official presser.

• motorsport
• video

During the lead up to the 2012 V8 Supercars Bathurst 1000, Porsche ran a number of demonstration laps around the iconic 6.2 km Mount Panorama circuit with Dutch sportscar ace Jeroen Bleekemolen at the tiller of their dominant RS Spyder LMP2 car.

Although not officially timed, the lap record didn’t stand a chance.

Official press release.

• news
• vale

According to CarsGuide, it’s the end of the line for the classic V8 sedan in Australia:

Aussie V8 fans will have to get used to four-cylinder and V6 power for their future performance sedans, the Asia-Pacific boss of General Motors Stefan Jacoby has confirmed what has long been feared.

The Holden V8 will die once manufacturing comes to an end at Holden’s factory in Elizabeth in South Australia at the end of 2017.

In an interview with Australian media at the Frankfurt motor show overnight, Mr Jacoby said: “The world obviously is changing and the V8 period is coming to an end.”

• video

On a break from its promo tour of Australian Porsche dealerships, five-times Carrera Cup Australia winner Craig Baird unleashes a Porsche 918 Spyder on the Northern Territory’s unrestricted Stuart Highway.

• interview

Street Machine catches up with journalist Mel Nichols and photographer Uwe Kuessner, instigators of the infamous ‘Wheels’ magazine review of the Ford Falcon GT-HO Phase III back in 1971.

Peering at the instruments, I can still see the tacho cranking past 6000rpm and the speedo nudging beyond 140mph. When I look at my hands on that big, thin wheel, I can feel the car thrusting forward, rock-steady. We were doing better than 140mph but it felt as right as rain. No worries about keeping it all straight on that narrow bit of road, long before the Hume had any multi-lane sections – or 110km/h speed limit.

Hell, running flat out in the GTHO was a fine moment. I understand blokes all over Australia have posters of Uwe’s memorable picture up on their walls, which, more than anything else, captures the magic of the mighty HO!

Their review of the ‘HO shocked a nation with boasts of covering ‘200 miles in two hours’ and a photo of the car running down the public highway at an indicated 104 mph. Little did the readership know, the true top speed run was a rather higher. High enough for the editors to lose their nerve, opting to run with a doctored photo of top speed run showing the car’s speedometer needle at ‘only’ 104 mph rather than the actual and even more incredible 145 mph.

• news

Mike Costello for CarAdvice:

The Audi Sport moniker has been set up to more clearly delineate Audi’s hardcore sports car (RS models and the R8) and racing activities from the rest of the brand — in essence, it’s the new forward-facing name for its quattro GmbH subsidiary (Audi’s version of AMG or BMW M).

Makes perfect sense for Audi to leverage more from their extensive motorsport activities by their factory WEC, GT, and DTM squads, as well as numerous customer teams and Audi Sport TT Cup program. As much as I liked the use of quattro GmbH as their ‘RS’ skunkworks, ‘quattro’ as a brand does have legacy motorsport and production car issues to overcome, had it been used as Audi’s equivalent ‘BMW M’ or ‘AMG’ division.

• epic thread

One man’s quest to refresh a tired 1991 Honda NSX (NA1) turns into an OCD rebuild spectacular.

• destination

A short story of four friends driving 5,500 km into the heart of the Australian outback in two unlikely Citroën 2CVs.

• builders
• profile

My Life at Speed tours Paul Chaleyer’s ‘Historic and Vintage Restorations’, as they restore an eclectic mix of motors ranging from an Aston Martin DB4, various MGs, a number of tweaked Alfa Romeos, and an incredible Maserati 450S recreation.

via @Build_Threads

• motorsport
• video

Nissan Motorsport TV:

Rick Kelly gets behind the wheel of the Jack Daniel’s Racing Nissan Altima for some hot laps of Australia’s only NASCAR track, the Calder Park Thunderdome.

With so few purpose-built tracks available in Australia, sad to see Calder in such a state.

(More)

• motorsport
• news

Nissan Motorsport Australia:

“Mount Panorama is one of the world’s iconic racing circuits and the Nissan GT-R has incredible history there. We are pleased to be at Bathurst with Nissan Motorsport in V8 Supercars this October, and then again with the Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 next February for the Bathurst 12 Hour.”

Crack “Nismo Athlete Global Team” GT3 squad fielding drivers from their newly announced “Nismo Global Driver Exchange” program which includes winners of Nissan’s GT Academy virtual-to-real world racing competition.

The B12hr just gets better and better.

• motorsport
• news

Matt Braid, Volvo Car Australia Managing Director:

“Volvo has a rich motorsport heritage in this country, including winning Australia’s most famous race, Bathurst, 15 years ago this coming October.

As the first luxury car brand to enter a factory team in the V8 Supercars Championship, we’re determined to add to this heritage, while strengthening the presence of the S60 model line and the Volvo brand here in Australia.”

A two-car team fielded by Garry Rogers Motorsport from 2014 onwards with support from Volvo’s global motorsports partner, Polestar, and the backing of Volvo Car Australia. Early reports indicate the team will use a Polestar-led development of the Yamaha B8444S V8 usually found in XC90 or S80 models.