Retro design is one of those styling trends that can make people a little uncomfortable. Slapping an old face on a new car in the hope of eliciting a spending frenzy from nostalgic buyers often comes across as a little lazy...
As Formula 1 marked its 1000th race at the Chinese Grand Prix last weekend, it has long ago cemented its place at the very top of the motorsport food chain. There is not one serious racing driver that doesn’t dream of securing one of just 20 competitive seats inside an F1 car...
Part 2: The return of the octagon badge Few brands inspire such a loyal following as MG, the British marque synonymous with light, affordable and fun to drive sports cars. What started life as a small coachbuilder under the name ‘Morris Garages’ became a very popular carmaker with success in motorsport and land speed records...
The Victorian High Country is a magical place, one of the best off-roading destinations on the planet. It's full of awesome tracks, picturesque camping, and the type of wilderness usually only available when places are hard to get to. If you've got a 4x4, you're well on your way to visiting the High Country in your own time, and on your own terms...
Part 1: From coachbuilder to British icon Few brands inspire such a loyal following as MG, the British marque synonymous with light, affordable and fun to drive sports cars. What started life as a small coachbuilder under the name 'Morris Garages' became a very popular carmaker with success in motorsport and land speed records...
My Mum drives a bright yellow Mazda 6 Sport with a manual gearbox that has custom plates. Safe to say, I was never embarrassed when she picked me up from school. She washes it every week and nearly killed Dad recently when he scratched it. If you have a Mum who loves cars as much as mine, you are probably thinking of a car related gift for Mother’s Day (it’s May 12, by the way...
There’s something really special about Phillip Island. It’s one of the quickest race tracks you’ll ever come across and if the pace doesn’t make your heart flutter, the scenery certainly will. Throw some stupidly quick Audi RS models into the mix and you’ve got a smile inducing recipe for fun...
Not even the Head of Jeep Brand North America quite realised the annual Moab Easter Jeep Safari event had been running as long as it had – 53 years and counting. Each year the Jeep and Mopar brands are tasked with creating a handful of custom-built concept vehicles they take to the Easter Jeep Safari, where thousands of off-road enthusiasts gather to get down and dirty on some of the most technical off-roading on some of the most demanding terrain in the United States – Moab, Utah, from April 13–21...
The Eyre Peninsula in South Australia is one of the most iconic 4WD destinations on this vast continent of ours. This Australian gem should be on the list of any avid adventurer. Sure, it’s difficult to get to, but once you do, oh boy. It is something else. It boggles the mind that anyone ever leaves. It is that stunning...
I was going to preface this title with the line 'if you’re an off-road enthusiast', but that’d be just plain wrong, because these mad machines and the gladiators that race them are simply intoxicating entertainment and they don’t do it for the money – it’s glory that counts here. Off-road racing is big in America, real big...
The Kia Stinger constantly gets the comments section blazing on CarAdvice, with many questioning whether it stacks up as a proper replacement for the Aussie-built family sedans of yesteryear. I recently decided to put the rear-driven liftback's grand touring abilities to the test, joining Automotive Club Melbourne on a drive day down the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria...
Tyre pressures are your greatest ally for improving off-road capability and comfort. You'll go further off-road, and do it a lot easier. And that means you'll be more relaxed behind the wheel, and there is less strain on your vehicle and on the environment. My early years of off-roading was spent in underpowered vehicles, old Land Rovers mostly...
Lotus founder Colin Chapman built his first racing car in his garage in 1948, but it wasn't too long before the first Lotus factory was built, strangely, in old stables in North London. In those early days, Chapman ran Lotus in his free time, but by 1959, the Lotus Group of Companies was formed...
There's something really special about Phillip Island. It's one of the quickest race tracks you'll ever come across and if the pace doesn't make your heart flutter, the scenery certainly will. Throw some stupidly quick Audi RS models into the mix and you've got a smile inducing recipe for fun...
Chances are you’ve driven in one of his creations, and possibly even owned one. And you’ve definitely seen them on roads the world over. It’s estimated some 60 million of his cars have been built; a roll call as vast as it is iconic. His career spanned six decades across numerous brands – from supercars to hatchbacks and compact MPVs (a segment he is credited with inventing), this man’s pen has created some of the best known cars in history...
Like something of a blank canvas, over the last 30 years the Mazda MX-5 has become the launching point for all manner of modified motoring fantasies. You’ll find them crammed full of GM V8s, Ford V6s, Mazda’s own rotary engines, or a massive variety of turbocharged and supercharged upgrades. Some have been lowered, some have been lifted (yup, off-road and rally roadsters are a thing)...
It’s one of the automotive world’s most distinctive features, an enduring design that immediately identifies a BMW as being a BMW. It’s the ‘kidney grille’, a mainstay of all BMWs for over 85 years. The latest BMW to sport the distinctive design is the just-launched X7, a hulking, menacing mass of large SUV with an imposing façade fronted by an in-your-face rendition of the famous ‘kidney grille’...
For as long as I can remember and that’s going back a few decades, I’ve only ever modified one car out of the twenty-or-so I’ve owned and that was my very first – a $500 Ford Cortina Mark II MY70 – flat white with a dirty great black stripe running from boot to bonnet...
As perhaps my personal favourite release of 2018 under a quarter-mil’, the Renault Megane RS – the ‘softer’ Sport EDC, specifically – was my list-topper for Christmas break getaway cars...
It was a simple design, a front-engined, rear-wheel drive, metal-bodied sedan built on a ladder frame chassis. It unashamedly borrowed its design cues from the American-made DeSoto Airflow, right down to the rear suicide doors. Under the bonnet, lurked a 3...
