As an owner of a special car, you want it looking its best all the time. Sonax Profiline CC is not a consumer product.  It is for people with the skill, commitment and patience required to apply a professional detailing product.  CC creates a protective ceramic coating on your car that will last 15 months, repel dirt and road grime and take gloss and colour saturation to the next level.

It is not cheap but you will never go back to those consumer quick fix products.

Not a big weekend but quality.  The two day festival of all things rod and street machine at Kandos should be great. On Saturday morning if you are Southwest, coffee at Berrima.  In the evening spoilt for choice with Tuggerah Cars Under the Stars and EOM in Liverpool.  On Sunday great coffee and great people at Goulburn. Sunday arvo and evening is a fantastic family event in Campbelltown (even fireworks). Out of town we have a big Show and Shine near Dubbo and a fantastic display of hot rods and customs at CRKK 2025 in Queanbeyan. Have a great Australia Day.  Drive safely out there.

Fewer shows this week.  On Saturday afternoon we have Westside at Melton for the family. Prostreet Geelong in the evening is going to be huge. On Sunday you can have a morning coffee in Garfield or Geelong and in the afternoon Take Your Tops Off in Shepparton.  Ballarat looks like a great family event.  In the evening we welcome back JDM at Southbank.  If you live West of the state or don't mind a drive Great Western looks like fun also on Sunday.  Happy Australia Day.  Drive safely out there.

Welcome to the New Year with 10 shows on Sunday!  The pick is Colac Motorfest. Was huge last and looking even better this year. They are using the CarTorque People's Choice voting system with $400 in Sonax car care up for grabs. Includes a lucky voter prize.  The only two shows in Melbourne are the annual Northern in Pascoe Vale and AOMC at Cruden Farm. Both will be great. The rest are scatter around the state.  Gippsland way has breakfast at Warragul or Berwick on the way to a fantastic Swap and Show and Shine at Sale. Bit of a trip but won't disappoint.  If Swap meets are your thing Bendigo will be great.  Twin Cities in Albury is always huge, perhaps breakfast at Broadford on your way.  Ararat has a breakfast that is getting very popular.

Check out these diecast model cars:

• MERCEDES
• PORSCHE
• JAGUAR
• CORVETTE

CarTorque is looking to partner with DieCast Models Wholesale of the US  They do not have models of Australian made cars but have over 10,000 American and international models available.

Please check them out here https://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-101300984-10560876 This link looks strange because it is generated via their affiliate program - you get the standard pricing but we get a small commission for advertising their site.  We will also keep you informed when they have new products or specials.

Let us know what you think.

There are some great car shows near you in and around Melbourne this weekend including  Mansfield OzCarFest , Berwick Swap Meet , Aussie Classic Car Show in Mornington.  Get your car shining with some car care from our shop.  Save $25 on the wash clean and shine value bundle opening special.

Great day on Sunday at Colac.  Well done to the organisers.  Thousands of people and over 400 cars including a separate display of show cars.  CarTorque voting system worked well as usual and prizes to the top 10 cars including Sonax product for top three and lucky voter.

Worked the crowd with the Sonax professional cloth - more like a towel - and got some great feedback.  Everybody loved it. Now available in our shop for $29.99 less 5% if you use the LaunchReward promo code. Buy Here

Caprice Photography Automotive Art  report that the Colac Motorfest will have an awesome line up of elite builds in their hall this weekend as part of their huge Motorfest!

Don’t miss this one!

Sunday 21st at the Colac Showgrounds.

See you there!

CarTorque connects car enthusiasts and celebrates your passion for special cars.  We provide free access to news, car shows, club listings and People's Choice voting at car shows.  All this costs money, so we have launched a shop for car enthusiasts.  The profits from this shop will mean we can continue to connect and support car enthusiasts across the country.  However, we also want to provide value for car enthusiasts.  Our shop will contain products that you tell us work and are good value.  We hope you will in turn support our shop.

Our first category is products for washing, cleaning and shining your special car.  Products to wash clean and protect the paint work, clean the glass, protect the tyres and revitalise the plastic trim, leather seats and carpets.  We want to make it easier to achieve the professional finishes that make your car stand out in a crowd.  Our partner in car care is Sonax - the number one brand and technology leader in Europe. Visit our shop  HERE

This is a snapshot of what's happening in and around Sydney this weekend. Got a suggestion? Join the club and post it here or message us. List an event in a few easy steps if you don't see yours here

https://cartorque.co/car-shows/classic-cars-amp-coffee-rouse-hill-at-the-fiddler-nsw-12876

https://cartorque.co/car-shows/moonlight-matsuri-x-ace-x-overdriven-world-burger-prospect-meet-16176

https://cartorque.co/car-shows/north-rocks-cars-and-coffee-nsw-14187

RARE GMH LION ZZ/Z HOLDEN GEMINI

Australia's biggest seller, a Car of the Year and Bathurst winner, the Gemini spawned many limited edition models like the ZZ/Z

There aren’t many Holden Geminis left these days, due to the ravages of time, rust and racing, but over a 10-year period, Holden made almost a quarter of a million of them.

Born out of the '70s oil crisis and the need for more fuel-efficient vehicles, the first-generation Holden Gemini was built exclusively at Holden’s Acacia Ridge plant in Queensland, from 1975 – the year Australia got colour TV - to 1984.

The Gemini was Australia’s best-selling car in 1975 with a starting price of $4026 and over its journey, picked up Bathurst class wins and a car of the year gong.

Over its decade in production, the Gemini was available as a sedan, coupe, van and wagon, initially with a petrol and later a diesel engine option, across six model designations TX, TC, TD, TE, TF and TG.

The TX was the first Gemini and came as a four-door sedan in two trim levels, S and SL, and a two-door SL coupe.

It had a 63kW 1.6-litre SOHC four-cylinder engine with a crossflow alloy head and breathed through a single twin-throat carburettor. The gearbox choice was a four-speed manual or three-speed auto. It came with 13-inch wheels and had front disc brakes.

Despite its brief production run from 1986 to 1992, the Ford Sierra RS Cosworth achieved an enduring and revered status in the automotive world.

The story of how the Ford Sierra Cosworth came to exist goes back to the year 1983 when Stuart Turner was appointed the head of Ford Motorsport in Europe. He felt that Ford lacked a competitive edge and wanted to build a racecar to take the crown of Group A racing. To get the ball rolling on a new project car, he reached out to Walter Hayes, VP of public relations at Ford, whose earlier projects included the legendary Ford GT40 that helped Ford win Le Mans in 1966, and the Cosworth DFV Formula 1 engine developed for the Team Lotus F1 team.

Ford approached Cosworth to build the engine, who had been long-term collaborators by this time. Coincidentally, Cosworth had developed a 16-valve twin-cam version of the Ford Pinto’s engine, all they had to do was turbocharge it. The Ford Sierra, a rather bland mid-sized family car, was used as a base car for the build.

After implementing a number of cosmetic changes, and performance bits which included a new engine -The Ford Sierra RS “Cossie” Cosworth was born. Introduced in 1986, the Ford Sierra RS Cosworth made waves as a three-door hatchback. It featured a 2.0-liter DOHC turbo engine generating 201 horsepower and a top speed of 150 MPH – performance figures typically associated with high-end sports cars like Porsches, but at a considerably more affordable price point and with practicality to boot.

Great show at Bacchus Marsh put on by the Marsh Rodders. Heaps of cars, thousands of people. Favourite rod above but also ran into Bruno and his Thunderbird. See video.

A concept once thought to be lost in Lotus' racing history, has now finally been realized in the retro-inspired Type 66, limited to just 10 examples

Bringing Colin Chapman’s vision of a Lotus-designed Can-Am Series race car to life is the Type 66. Regarded as a, “lost Lotus track car”, Type 66 reimagines the V-8 racer as what could have been if the project had gained traction as a viable option. At the time Chapman was laser-focused on Formula 1, so resources weren’t spared for the original Type 66, and thus not a single example was produced.

Launched now, on their 75th anniversary, and 53 years after the concept was first designed, Lotus presents the fully finished product at this year’s Monterey Car Week event, “The Quail, A Motorsport Gathering”, in California. Lotus views the cars as not only a gift to themselves on this milestone anniversary but says it’s for the fans of Lotus racing.

Key Project Points:

Ultra Limited Edition launched in conjunction with Clive Chapman, Lotus Founder, Colin Chapman’s son

Rediscovered, and reimagined as a “Lost Lotus track car”

10 examples to be produced at the price of over one million British Pounds.

Performance to match modern GT3 race cars

Read more ....