Australian Intentional Motor Show: Hits and Misses Unveiled.
The morning started early down at Darling Harbour with a gaggle of eager writers scrambling to get the best spots as each manufacturer revealed new models in turn. Like a wave it spread across the building. Interesting was the number of auto makers absent this year. BMW, Volvo and other were no shows which made me fell rather sad. However we made the best of the plucky folk who managed to make it.
Highlight included:-
Lamborghini:-
Lambo Sesto Elemento (sixth element) at over $2.5 million is the most expensive car I’ve ever sat in. Sadly That’s all I could manage. The car comes with a huge 417KW5.2L V10 that will rocket you to 100kph in a tiny 2.5 seconds. As the picture shows, your 2.5 mill gets no carpet, no radio, in fact you get nothing but a couple of racing seats moulded from carbon fibre attached to the carbon fibre body. When I shut the door after getting out I thought I was shutting a door made small sheets of Japanese origami paper. It couldn’t have weighed more than a few kilos. In fact the whole car weighs a mere 999kg’s. with the real 4WD system on board it’s little wonder it does the bolt in 2.5 secs. It is making a brief appearance before heading the Hong Kong after the weekend. This may be your one and only chance to see one as there are only 20 in existence, we got to sit in it!
Above is a view just as I was about to step into the cabin. Note the spartan look inside 2.5 million bucks worth of car.
Alongside the Sesto Elemento is the Aventador from Batman’s latest outing on one side and the Gallardo LP570-4 Spyder Performante on the other. Wouldn’t you like any or all of those parked at your joint?
Jaguar:-
The covers were pulled back with much wrist flapping and campery to reveal a drop-dead gorgeous F Type open top sports car. It’s Jag’s latest offering and once again they have had their fingers on the pulse and is utterly jaw dropping. We can expect very long lines around at the JLR showrooms in the foreseeable future. The rumours and teaser pics didn’t do her justice. For now we’ll let the pics do the talking.
Infinite:-
The entire Infinite range debuted accompanied by members of the Cirque du Soleil. The sexy Infinite G coupe was spotted with acrobats perched in precarious positions on top and inside the car.
Ford:-
The future of Ford designed encapsulated in a single example of imagination allowed to be free. The Evos Concept, like most concept cars, is bereft of an engine. It’s been lovingly sculptured and animated with working lights and doors. A real insight.
Outside the Ford stand continues with drives in the Focus Titanium and a ride up a 45o angle in a Ranger and across the top of shipping containers stack 2 high. A real treat if just a bit scary but if you want something right now, the self-parking Focus Titanium of the superhot Focus ST can be had will little wait, at least for the Titanium.
For a bit of effect a Ranger was taken through its paces by driving up a 45o angle, along the top of shipping containers 2 stories high and 45o down the other side. Cameras click away like type writers inside as we tilted at crazy angles. We shot a couple of snaps to show how extreme it was from way up there.
To top it all off we had a spot of lunch with a BBQ washed down with fresh hot coffee. What a perfect day.
Holden:-
Malibu, Colorado 7 SUV and Cruze wagon all revealed but the Colorado is particularly nice. It’s the SUV version of the light commercial ute we had a few weeks ago. My review yet to come but suffice to say I liked it very much.
Mazda:-
The new 6 was out and proud. It’s more evolution than revolution and continues the trend of a car which has been successful for a very long time. We look forward to a good long spin.
Lexus:-
En exciting Hybrid version of the LF hypercar.
Mercedes Benz:-
The love fest continued for the maker from Munich. There was a veritable feast with the SLS drop-top, the odd looking Shooting Brake CLS and the evergreen SL. The new A Class looked mighty fine too. You might remember the previous A Class which looked like someone shrank a big people mover by overzealous washing. It was largely unloved and missed the target audience utterly. The new offering looks pretty damned nice and I can’t wait for a thrash.
Mitsubishi:-
The gorgeous James Magnusson fellow Olympians delivered the new Mirage and a shiny new Outlander. Mitsubishi seem very proud and justly so. The outlander has been an standout in the tight SUV segment.
Opel:-
Tadaaaaa, Opel is brand new to OZ shores, though a rebadged Astra was sold here as a Holden for many years. Such is the case with many large car makers, they share models between brands for marketing purposes. It’s clever and saves money. Now Opel Astra is here under its own brand and brings the teensy Corsa and uber dishy Insignia along for the ride. The Astra POC was pretty in Blue and I for one can’t wait for a spin. Its 207KW engine does the 0-100 sprint in 6 seconds, well within our HotHatch GayCarBoys guidelines.
Peugeot:-
The covers thrown back, the new RCZ shows a shiny new face. Gone is the hangover from the 308 DNA. It’s fresh and light and the inside got a wave of the pixie wand too. Those dreadful stalks I’ve always hated so much have been banished to the dustbin and a cleaner, easier to use set of controls is now standard across the range.
Speaking of range, how about that gorgeous 208? The inside is as good as the pictures led us to believe. The infotainment system is a quantum leap forward and the look is young and hip. A GTi will follow soon-ish. It’s something we look forward to very much. If the rest of the reveals are anything to go by, the GTi promises much to take on the like of the Polo GTi.
Subaru:-
The delicious BRZ jointly developed with Toyota’s 86 (AKA GT86 in some markets) is a stunner. It’s the first RWD scooby and the first coupe in many moons. The 4 pot horizontally opposed boxer engine has been much lauded so out drive should confirm or deny. STI once again did its thing to bring us a range of tasty add-ons and mods. Number 39 in the picture shows how spiffy the BRZ looks with an extra spit and polish, not that the base model isn’t gorgeous. Subaru may have turned the corner from a rather homely design ethos which has trouble the Japanese car maker in recent years.
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