Kia Officials Hint at New Premium RWD K9 Sedan Based on the Genesis

South Korea’s largest automaker, Hyundai Motor Co. is leaving no stone unturned in its quest for world domination. Having already pushed its Hyundai brand into new territories with the Genesis and Equus premium sedans as well as the sporty, rear-wheel drive Genesis Coupe, the Koreans now appear to be focusing on the company’s second brand, Kia.

We first heard rumors about a range topping Kia sedan referred to by most as the K9 in late 2009, but now, the word is coming from two company officials.

"We have an interest in all new models under development. A rear-wheel-drive premium sedan could be seen as a logical step from the Optima to the next level of Kia development," Kia Motors Australia COO Tony Barlow told Drive, an Australian car site. "It is far too early at this stage to be any more precise about the car but we will definitely maintain a watching brief,” he added.

Read more »

Sport Truck Redux: New Rumors About the Holden Ute Heading to the U.S.A.

It’s a poorly kept secret that many Americans are quite fond of the Australian-made and Commodore-derived, Holden Ute, which we recently drove in Queensland. It’s big, brutish and comfortable with a bevy of engine and equipment options to suit virtually any budget or taste - so long as those tastes only extend to, “Big, brutish V6 or V8 engined utes”.

Before the Global Financial Crisis of 2009, the subsequent bankruptcy GM and the disillusion of the Pontiac brand, as many as half of the Holden Commodores built in Australia were destined for the U.S. and the world in the form of the Pontiac G8. A thinly disguised Holden Ute even made a showing at the 2008 New York Auto Show as the Pontiac G8 Sport Truck.

Read more »

Celebrating 50 Years of Queensland’s Lakeside Park [with Gallery]

Nestled somewhat innocuously behind a golf course in Pine Rivers Shire, South East Queensland, Australia, is historic Lakeside Park Raceway. It holds the distinction as the Queensland’s first permanent, purpose-built racetrack and has sat - for fifty years - on the banks of Lake Kurwongbah. It is a monument to both motorsport and Australia’s can-do attitude, having been built on a foundation of favors, borrowed equipment and volunteer labor - not to mention a former dairy farm.

It is 2.4 km (1.5 miles) of bitumen and yet, it is so much more. Several Aussie motorsport legends – including Dick Johnson, Tony Longhurst and Mick Doohan – cut their teeth at Lakeside. It may not share the prestige or recognition afforded to other tracks like Mount Panorama or Philip Island, but to those who know it Lakeside is just as beloved.

Read more »

First Drive: 2011 Holden VE Series II SS V8 Ute

2011 is a very special year for two Australian motoring icons. For one, it’s the 50th anniversary of Queensland’s first permanent, purpose-built raceway: Lakeside Park. It’s also marks the 60th anniversary of Holden’s FX Utility, a vehicle widely considered by enthusiasts to be the forefather of the home grown Aussie “ute”. In recognition of these historic occasions, we took a Holden VE Series II SS Ute for a test drive and headed north to attend the first of Lakeside’s three 50th anniversary events. Part one of this feature will cover my impressions of the Ute, whilst part two will take in the event itself. So let’s get cracking.

Overview

The VE Ute is already an attractive vehicle and in SS guise this is complemented with 18-inch alloys, front fog lights and a lowered sports suspension. With its 6.0 L V8 the SS is certainly powerful, but it’s also safe with a maximum 5-star ANCAP rating thanks to its six airbags and electronic stability control.

Read more »

Insane, Tire-Shredding Suzuki Might Boy Mini Ute with LS1-V8 [Video]

Come on, admit it, tire-smoking burnouts are a blast to watch. Even more so when the vehicle in question is a Japanese kei car stuffed with a GM-sourced LS1 V8. Enter the world of the Curupt, a wildly modified Suzuki Might Boy that comes to us from the land of Down Under.

Largely unknown to most of the world, the Suzuki Mighty Boy is a toy-sized pickup truck-style model from the glorious 1980s that was sold in Japan as well as Australia and Cyprus between 1985 and 1988. Despite its promising name, the fact that it was based on the Giugiaro-designed Suzuki Curve kei car meant the Mighty Boy was anything but ‘mighty’ as power came from a puny 0.5-liter three-cylinder engine delivering around 28 ponies.

Read more »

Holden Revives Thunder Nameplate for VE Series Ute Line-up

In celebration of the 60th anniversary of the original 1951 Holden Ute, General Motors’ Australian subsidiary is planning several special edition models this year starting with the revival of the Thunder nameplate for the VE Series II Ute line-up. The Thunder package is offered on the SV6 and SS models and offers customers some additional equipment and bespoke styling cues, worth around $3,000 if ordered separately.

Read more »

Holden Ute Series II SS V8 Arrives in Carscoop’s Garage

Our man Tristan has snagged the keys to a Holden Ute Series II SS V8 model for a first drive in Queensland, Australia this week, and just to make it a bit more interesting, he’ll be driving the Down Under-flavored El Camino to a classic car gathering in Brisbane.

Blurring the line between cars and trucks, the Holden Commodore-based sport pickup comes from a long line of Utes dating back to the middle of the previous century. The Ute almost made it to North America when Pontiac revealed the G8 Sport Truck at the 2008 New York Auto Show, but GM’s growing financial troubles at the time put a stop to that plan, and eventually the brand itself which was discontinued in 2009, and finally shut down in 2010.

Read more »

New Malibu to be Offered in Australia as a Holden, will Sit Between the Cruze and the Commodore

Last week, GM released the first teaser photo of its upcoming Chevrolet Malibu ahead of its global debut on Monday, April 18. The next generation of the Malibu is the first Chevy mid-sized model designed for the global market and will be sold in up to 100 countries around the world including Australia where it will be launched under the Holden brand.

The Holden Malibu will arrive in Australia for the first time in 2012 with a range of four cylinder engines, effectively replacing the unpopular Epica, a badge-engineered version of the South Korean Daewoo Tosca, which itself had taken the place of the Vectra.

“The Malibu will play an important role within the Holden line-up, providing a spacious and efficient four-cylinder alternative for Australian customers,” said Holden Chairman and Managing Director Mike Devereux.

Read more »

Ford and Top Gear Australia Revive Mad Max Interceptor with a Pair of Concepts

More than 30 years after George Miller's original Mad Max film starring Mel Gibson as Max Rockatansky hit the screens turning both the American-born Australian actor and his jet-black Ford Falcon XB GT351 coupe-based Interceptor into movie icons, Ford’s local division in partnership with Top Gear Australia magazine, has revealed two concept studies for a modern day Interceptor.

The company formed a group of designers led by chief designer of passenger cars for the Asia, Pacific and Africa region, Todd Willing. The team created several of studies that paid tribute to the styling cues from the original XB Coupe Interceptor, but ultimately, only two made the cut. The winning designs were penned by Nima Nourian and Simon Brook.

Read more »

VIDEO: When in New Zealand, Beware of the Most Annoying Mini in the World

Did you ever think about adding on some harmonicas to your car's bodywork? Of course not; you don't want people in your neighborhood to vandalize your car. The folks from Mini New Zealand, however, decided to stick 300 harmonicas on a Mini Clubman, just for the sake of a marketing campaign.

Once the job was finished, they created an interactive app on the local Mini website that allows visitors to combine the different sounds from the Mini Carmonica's adventures and create their own compositions. Creative marketing or the result of boredom? Who knows, but one thing's for sure; many of you will definitely turn off the sound after the first seconds of the video below…

Read more »

Sebastian Vettel Takes Dominant Australian Grand Prix Win

Sebastian Vettel won the inagural race of the 2011 F1 season after a dominating performance in Melbourne. The German driver made full use of his pole-position and lead the race from start to finish, taking his 11th Formula 1 win. Vettel adopted a two-stop pit strategy and finished with a 22.2-second advantage over second ranked Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), who had to race with a detached floor after running wide on lap 33.

Read more »

2011 Formula One Season is On: Vettel to Start Australian GP from Pole Position

Red Bull and McLaren dominated the first qualifying session of the year, with the two teams getting the top four pole positions for Sunday's Melbourne race. 2010 title winner Sebastian Vettel started the new F1 season in style, dominating comfortably all three qualifying stages and sealing pole-position with a 1m23.529s lap, 0.78 seconds quicker than the second fastest driver, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.

Read more »

Watch This Space: High Performance Holden Cruze SS said to be in the Works

In Australia, the SS badge has a special meaning to Holden owners. Its most frequently associated with the Commodore large car and to a lesser extent, the ultra-rare Torana SS of the 1970s. It’s all about big Aussie V8’s and rear-wheel-drive. It’s as Australian as Fosters beer and Four’N Twenty pies.

So now, there’s talk of a performance version of the Cruze small car in the works - and insidious rumors this front-wheel-drive econobox may carry the prestigious double ‘S’ moniker previously reserved only for V8 models. “Sacrilege!” you scream, and I’m more than willing to agree. Nevertheless, let’s push on and see what the Australian rumor mill has in store for us.

It’s possible a high performance version of the Cruze would use the same 132 kW, / 180HP and 230 Nm 1.6-liter turbo four from the European Vauxhall / Opel Astra as there drivetrains are readily interchangeable thanks to both using the GM’s Delta II architecture.

Read more »

Aussies get New Mazda MX-5 Special Edition with Bilstein-tuned Suspension

A new special edition version of the MX-5 with some very minor styling and suspension upgrades has been added to Mazda's vehicle range in Australia. A total of 200 MX-5 Special Editions are being brought into the country with Mazda announcing that the upgrades are being added at no additional cost.

However, this should not comfort Australian buyers as the list price of the limited edition model is a hefty AUS$47,200 (~US$47,800), or roughly the same as a 430HP 2011 Corvette Coupe (US$48,950) in the U.S. We understand that prices between different markets are not comparable for a variety of reasons, but close to $50 grand for an MX-5?

Read more »

Sandy Sanderson’s Can Cars Are Automotive Art Par Excellence

The automobile is such an integral part of so many people’s lives that it’s no wonder than artists and sculptors often use them for inspiration. Take Sandy Sanderson of Hamilton, New Zealand, for example. He takes beer and soft drink cans and crafts them into meticulous, highly detailed replicas of hot rods and other classic cars. And Mr. Sanderson really is a meticulous sculptor.

Read more »

VIDEO: Pedal-Powered Trikes Redefine the Art of Drifting

When we set out to find some nice drifting videos for your entertainment, we weren’t expecting to be dazzled by some apparently crazy New Zealanders and their pedal-powered...drifting trikes. But life is full of surprises and we have to say that, in some respects, pro drifters driving insanely powerful and expensive cars have nothing on these boys. It seems that the new “sport” has originated either from New Zealand or Australia and is slowly catching on in other parts of the world as well, including the good old U.S. of A. For some alternative sideways action, check out the videos after the jump.

Read more »

Not for U.S.: Subaru Launches 259HP Forester S-Edition in Australia

First unveiled in the 2010 Australian International Motor Show in Sydney last October, the Subaru Forester S-Edition has now gone on sale in Australia, alongside the revised lineup of the Japanese compact SUV. Boasting a turbocharged 2.5-liter boxer engine delivering 259HP (193kW) and 347 Nm (256 lb-ft) of torque, the new range-topping model is the most powerful Forester ever to be sold down-under.

Read more »

Australia: Now you see the New Mazda2 Sedan, now you Don't

The Mazda2 four-door small sedan has been dropped from the firm's lineup in Australia, just eight months after launch. The reason is Mazda's decision to switch production of the Australian market version of the small car from its Thailand factory, which manufactures both sedan and hatchback body styles, to the company's Hiroshima plant in Japan, which builds only the hatchback version.

Read more »

Hyundai Confirms New Veloster Coupe for Australian Market

The all-new Hyundai Veloster revealed at the North American International Motor Show in Detroit earlier this week will make its way to Australia, the South Korean automaker announced today. Hyundai said it still working on the timing of the launch but added that it will most likely go on sale in Australia towards the end of the year with details of Australian specification and pricing to be revealed at a later date. Read more »

Detroit Motor Show: GM to Launch Opel in Australia Next Year

Last September, we reported that Nick Reilly, Chairman of Opel, hinted at the launch of the German brand in Australia. GM's European division made it official today at, announcing that Opel is set to enter the Australian market in 2012.

Nick Reilly, said at the Detroit Auto Show: “This launch is an important part of our international expansion strategy. With its growing demand for German design and technology, the Australian car market is an excellent opportunity for Opel. Australian drivers have a strong affinity with Opel vehicles.”

Read more »