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 ....

Some 25-year-old versions of popular Japanese sports cars are selling for more than their brand-new equivalents, as Gen X-ers begin to enter the classic car market looking to relive their “fast and furious” youths.

Classified website carsales.com.au has a 1998 Toyota Supra RZ manual with 90,000km on the clock for $150,000, while Lloyds Auctions expects a similar price for a replica of the orange Supra driven by Paul Walker in the original 2001 “Fast and the Furious” movie.

The prices dwarf the circa-$94,000 drive-away price for a brand new 2023 Supra, which is powered by a six-cylinder turbo engine developed by BMW.

It’s not just 1990s Supras selling for silly money, either.

Carsales has a 1999 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec manual 4WD for $550,000 plus government charges.

The GT-R was discontinued in 2021, but at the time you could have picked up a brand new one for less than $200,000.

The Subaru WRX STI is another that is sought after by “fast-four” collectors.

The car, which was a staple of the Colin McRae Rally and Gran Turismo video games of the 90s, has held its value for decades.

A 1999 WRX STI with more than 27,000 on the clock is listed on Carsales for $155,000, while there are at least 10 advertised for more than $80,000.

Subaru no longer sells an STI version of the WRX, but the Final Edition model sold for $62,400 plus on-road costs in 2021.

Frank Cheney, head of classic cars for Lloyds auctioneers, says a new breed of collectors has emerged in recent years.

“There’s a generation that has grown up watching the Fast and the Furious and the cars were always out of reach when they were young. But now they can afford them,” he says.

The modern versions of those classics don’t resonate with buyers.

“The new cars don’t connect with them because they don’t have the lineage to the movies. They’re not the same cars,” he says.

He says replicas of Paul Walker’s orange Supra, complete with lairy decals and stickers, are in high demand.

“It’s those people in their mid 30s to 40s. That’s what is driving the prices up,” he says.

He says interest rate increases and cost of living concerns have done little to dampen enthusiasm for classic cars, as Gen X-ers reach their peak earning potential.

“Interest rates are just not an issue for these type of collectors,” he says.

Read more ..

Collingwood Edition Holden Commodore released - 15 April 2014

They’ve long been the butt of offensive and often unfair jokes, but Collingwood fans are now being spoilt rotten - first discounted dental, and now with the chance to make a mark with a limited edition Holden Commodore.

The Holden VF Commodore can now be enhanced with an option package, to commemorate the car maker's sponsorship of the Collingwood Football Club.

Holden’s Australian product communications manager Kate Lonsdale said the launch of the Collingwood Edition Commodore targets the club’s loyal fan base and is available on any Heron White SV6, SS or SS V sedan.

Forget bumper stickers and flags sticking up out of windows, hardcore fans can now take their allegiance and dedication to the club, to an unprecedented level.

For $3500 a Commodore can be transformed into what's being called a ‘Collingwoodore’, dressed to impress in the Pies monochromatic footy colours.

Collingwood’s chief executive Gary Pert said, “The limited edition factory enhanced VF Commodore, adorned with black and white stripes, Collingwood carpet floor mats and limited edition badging came to fruition following feedback from our members and supporters.”

The Collingwood Edition Commodore also features black 20” alloy wheels, a black spoiler and black mirrors, vents and grilles, and can be ordered from any Holden dealer.

Is there an owner out there that can share some pics of their pride & joy! We'd love to see one - THM

This red-blooded hot rod harks back to a golden age of motoring, delivering V8-powered thrills for an eye-watering price.

Powerful V8 engines have never been a budget option.

Folks watching their wallets rarely pay a premium for eight-cylinder engines, knowing they will also have to double down with bigger bills at the petrol station.

They’re certainly not a cheap choice in Mercedes showrooms.

Read more...

It's an unlikely – but true – yarn... Australia very nearly missed out on the Ford Falcon

As Dr John Wright and Dave Morley wrote in Unique Cars back in October 2016, the first locally manufactured (as opposed to assembled) Ford was to have been a revised version of the Mark 2 Zephyr, given extra chrome in the Zodiac mode and dubbed Mark 2a.

When Ford Oz boss Charlie Smith and his small team of visiting executives were given a peek at the XK in late 1958 in the US, Smith famously cabled back to Australia: ‘Cancel Zephyr’.

Because the Falcon was lighter, it would be cheaper to build and its project name XK Thunderbird in itself implied more excitement and a sleeker streamline than the Mark 2 Zephyr, which would have been four years old when the first Falcon made its local debut in September 1960.

Fast forward to early 1965 and following the XK, XL and XM models came the Falcon XP, which went on to become one of the most significant Falcons of all time, as I’ll explain soon.

XP models included the entry-model Falcon sedan and wagon, DeLuxe sedan and wagon, Futura sedan and hardtop (coupe), ute, DeLuxe ute and Falcon sedan delivery (van). A new addition was the Fairmont to take on the Holden Premier.

Read more...

Back when Chrysler Australia was seeking approval from head office to develop the new VH range, it ended up with a problem.

That was, it had a miniscule budget, said to be just $22 million, to develop a sedan, wagon, ute variants and, by the way, some sort of luxury range. That in itself was to include a sedan, plus a hardtop.

Chrysler could hardly miss that Fairlane and Statesman were rumbling out of showrooms at a decent clip and clearly wanted part of the action. The pimped VIP sedan from the previous series went some way to answering the call, but didn’t really do the job.

Read more ....

What a great event !

https://cartorque.co/car-shows/volksfest-australia-2023-nsw-11860