Have you heard of Mitsuoka? If not, you’ve almost certainly seen one of its cars, likely the Orochi or the Silvia-based Le-Seyde.
Neither are cars we think we’d like to own, though the Le-Seyde is at least built on a Nissan S Chassis.
But now Mitsuoka has piqued our interest with the Mitsuoka Rock Star, an MX-5-based, C2 Corvette-inspired roadster.
The Rock Star is a special model which the oddball brand says is to celebrate its 50th anniversary. To that end, Mitsuoka is only building 50 of them.
A promotional video features on the Mitsuoka Japanese website, though it doesn’t reveal much – or make much sense.
Also, it seems like it’s got enough flashing to cause a seizure. Really, that’s a warning.
The Rock Star doesn’t stray too far from Mitsuoka’s tradition of making new cars look old and odd, though this seems less divisive than what’s been done in the past, even if the inspiration from Chevrolet is almost too close.
It also doesn’t stray far from what an MX-5 is. Inside it looks almost the same, plus power remains almost the same – 97kW and 152Nm from the 1.5-litre inline four.
The pricing is where things get tricky. The ‘base’ model Rock Star S costs 4,688,200 yen, or a directly-converted $58,950. Jump to the top-spec automatic car, and it’s a $65,165 (5,183,600 yen) ask. Even with Australia’s sometimes higher car prices, an MX-5 GT with 1.5-litre and auto ‘box costs $41,661.
Then again, an MX-5 doesn’t look like a Corvette.
Usually, sentences that start with ‘Florida’ don’t end well. But we’re making an exception for this Laguna Seca Blue 2003 BMW M3 Touring, built from a donor 3 Series wagon.
Florida has come through for us.
The M3 parts are all from a genuine M3 – the ad says they were fitted to the wagon after the wagon suffered “minor damage”. We’re not sure what that entails, but it’s roadworthy in the US… at least both cars were MY03.
The seller also says it’s had a Turner Motorsport subframe reinforcement carried out – Turner is a BMW-focused race team and BMW tuner.
Unfortunately, as you might have guessed (it’s on Craigslist after all), the custom M3 Touring isn’t perfect. For a start, it’s running an SMG transmission, robbing the next owner of the joy of rowing through the gears, and leaving them with the divisive BMW ‘box.
The second downside is apparently the paint. Though not obvious in the photos posted, the seller says the “paint quality is mediocre at best”. Not exactly a sales expert, then.
The ad was posted less than a week ago, with the price listed as USD$22,500, or about AUD$31,650.
There’s every chance it’d be too difficult to buy it, ship it here, and register it (and we’re not sure you’d want to, it’s covered over 202,000km), but we like the idea of it.
Failing that, there’s always Alpina…
WORLD Time Attack Challenge was held over the weekend, with crowds flocking to Sydney Motorsport Park for the annual event.
We sent our gun photographer Alastair Brook to the event this year to capture the atmosphere, and while he may have had to stand out in the rain on Saturday, we like to think seeing the fastest tin-tops in the world made up for it.
A host of international teams were in attendance for WTAC, including HKS, with the tuning company shipping its frankly unhinged TRB-03 time attack car to our shores.
Barton Mawer took outright victory in the Porsche RP986, while Warren Luff and the MCA Hammerhead Nissan Silvia was a close runner-up.
But it wasn’t all about Pro class, with the entry-level Clubsprint category keeping WTAC close to its grassroots history.
There was also plenty of stopwatch scorching metal in both the Open and Pro-Am categories, the latter of which saw the return of the iconic Tilton Interiors Mitsubishi Evo.
Away from the time attack, the Flying 500 competition was won by the B2R Motorsport Nissan R32 GTR driven by Joshua Khoury, which was clocked at 271km/h.
Once the time attack cars were tucked away in their garages for the night, some of the world’s best drifters came out to play for the International Drifting Cup.
This year’s event included a unique format with World Cup-style heats where different battles earned points for their respective nations, to determine the top eight contenders
Japan’s Naoki Nakamura won the event, beating Australia’s Luke Fink in the final.
Click through the gallery above to read about Citroen’s weird and wonderful treasure trove
AS RECENTLY as 2003, PSA’s Aulnay-sous-Bois factory north-east of Paris churned out over 447,000 cars per year.
Some 5000 employees were employed there at its peak, and production of Citroen CX, AX, Saxo and C3 models each topped over a million units. It was France’s industrial juggernaut, but since its closure in 2013 it’s now just brownfield real estate opportunities, windswept car parks and, tucked away inconspicuously on one corner of the complex, the home of the Conservatoire Citroen.
From the outside, you’d probably never take note of this inauspicious low-rise, but housed cheek-by-jowl within its confines is a priceless collection of the most fantastically eclectic cars created by any manufacturer. It’s at the same time, joyous, disorienting and slightly sobering. Above all else, it’s a reminder that Citroen has long been a pioneer rather than a follower and that alone is cause for celebration.
This isn’t a museum per se. There are no interactive displays or cars on spotlit pedestals. You’ll search in vain for any kind of virtual reality experience or audio guide to the wares within. The best you can hope for is a walkaround with the collection’s curator, the laconic Denis Huille. It took Peter Robinson fifty years to finally wangle an invite to this hidden gem, as featured in Wheels magazine’s August 2015 issue. You get to see the goods right now in this gallery tour of the best of the Conservatoire Citroen.
Click through the gallery above to read about Citroen’s weird and wonderful treasure trove
Skoda’s ambitious Rapid Spaceback will split into two separate models next year, continuing the Rapid nameplate with a more conventional small hatchback while a separate compact SUV based on the same platform will be a new addition to Skoda’s slowly growing showroom.
With a slightly boosted ride height and wagon proportions relative to other small hatches, the Rapid Spaceback has, until now, tried to satisfy a broad spectrum of buyers. However, the impending mitosis will result in a two-car tag-team capable of targeting more specific customer bases – and capitalising on swelling demand for smaller SUVs.
At one end of the spectrum, the Skoda Rapid Spaceback will evolve into a more customary small hatchback about the size of a Volkswagen Golf, while a new model will morph into a more serious crossover, with slightly smaller proportions.
The strategy has been previously hinted at by the Czech brand in recent concepts. The Skoda Vision X which broke cover in Geneva this year was a precursor to the forthcoming SUV model, while the company’s Vision RS is a sneak peek at what its hatchback sibling may bring.
Speaking to WhichCar at the Paris motor show earlier this month, Skoda Rapid Spaceback product manager Thomas Besson-Magdelain confirmed timing for the pair of new models.
“New Spaceback will be approximately middle of next year, and the crossover in September next year,” he said.
To maximise Rapid Spaceback cabin space, Skoda stretched the company’s smallest MQB platform (A0) to its largest application yet, while the crossover sibling will offer a more compact option.
“It will be based on the MQB A0 platform, with more soft touch materials in the interior. More technology, you will have blind spot detection, connected navigation, lane assistant, parking assistant. On the A0 crossover we will have the door edge protection like the Kodiaq.”
Besson-Magdelain revealed that the SUV breakaway model will not continue the Rapid nameplate and will instead align more closely with the Karoq and Kodiaq SUV family members. That linearity is also likely to bring a new ‘K’ Moniker in Skoda ranks as is recently typical for the SUV models.
“It will be a totally different name,” he said. “I think it will be that for the A0 crossover. Normally K name but it’s not official.”
While many concepts fail to deliver interesting showcar features for their respective production versions, Besson-Magdelain confirmed the cool illuminated badges which made their debut in each concept will prevail in showroom versions of each new model when they roll out next year.
“It will be the same,” he said. “On crossover you will have it on the front – back and front for crossover, only back for Spaceback.”
The company’s proliferating fully digital instrument cluster will also be available in some versions, said Besson-Magdelain.
Watch the onboard footage of Barton Mawer’s WTAC-winning lap here
WORLD Time Attack Challenge – the annual festival of ultimate one-lap speed – has been run and won for 2018, with Barton Mawer and the RP968 Porsche claiming outright victory.
Mawer’s fastest lap from the two-day event was a stunning 1:19.825, the quickest in the event’s history, and within a second of the official outright lap record at Sydney Motorsport Park.
Onboard footage from the run, shared on social media, makes for wild viewing. The downforce that the car produces is so extreme that the suspension appears to be bottoming out approaching the fast sweeping Turn One of SMSP.
Mawer was the bravest man at the event, being the only soul willing to attack the turn without lifting, keeping his right foot wedged against the firewall.
The outright lap record at Sydney Motorsport Park is a 1:19.142, set by Nico Hulkenberg in a Lola A1GP Zytek in 2007. Mawer’s lap is almost eight seconds quicker than the next fastest tin-top, an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 which George Miedecke steered to a 1:27.7611 in 2016.
The fastest Supercars lap is a full 10 seconds slower than the time-attack Porsche, with Jamie Whincup setting a 1:29.8424 lap earlier this year.
Daniel Ricciardo set a 1:11.233 lap in a Red Bull RB7 F1 car during the Top Gear Festival in 2014, however, because it was not recorded during an official event, it isn’t counted as a lap record.
Not much is left of the original Porsche 968 that Mawer steered to victory, with loose rules for Pro Class time attack cars allowing for enough aero to make Adrian Newey weak at the knees.
Warren Luff took over driving duties from Tim Slade for last year’s winner, the MCA Hammerhead Nissan Silvia. Luff finished second-quickest at the event, just 1.184 seconds shy of victory.
McLaren has confirmed more details of its upcoming Ultimate Series model, the McLaren Speedtail, as well as revealing the date on which it will be unveiled.
October 26 is the chosen date for the hybrid hypercar’s reveal, at which point the design and further information of the already sold-out model will be made public knowledge.
McLaren has also confirmed now that the Speedtail will produce more than 735kW thanks to a hybrid drivetrain, and will only be produced to a cap of 106 units, mirroring the McLaren F1 of the 1990s.
Also inspired by the F1 is the central driving position of the Speedtail, with two passenger seats flanking the driver. The Speedtail will also be McLaren’s fastest road car upon its release, with a top speed of more than 391km/h.
Owners of the 106 examples of Speedtail will have already seen the car by October 26, as a private London event will allow those who’ve promised the Woking brand more than £1.75million plus taxes (a wallet-crippling AUD$3,229,770 in direct conversion) a look at their new car.
Chances of the car making it Down Under are high, as McLaren representatives have hinted that the brand’s strength here and its willingness to work with individual markets’ design rules mean the Speedtail should have no problem landing locally.
“We’re a global company so we make sure that all of our markets are served correctly. So on that basis… I would expect that we may see the car here,” Asia Pacific boss for McLaren Automotive George Biggs has told MOTOR in the past.
Biggs recently confirmed that despite perception that ADRs are particularly difficult to work with, that hasn’t been the case, even for the flame-spitting 600LT.
“The unique nature of [The Speedtail] means we’re still working through, but I would hope to see that car here,” he said of the Speedtail and its central driving position.
“We’re under a number of different regulatory environments in different markets, and Australia is very similar in that we respect and work through [ADRs].
“[ADRs are] not particularly unique, it’s just a case of going through that process.”
Stay tuned for coverage of the McLaren Speedtail upon its reveal on October 26, which will be at 11pm Australian Daylight Savings Time.
“Hey dude, look. A Blow-punk-ta stereo. What the hell is that? So what happens when the thing craps out? You gotta call Australia or something? Bet you can’t get spares for it down at Pep Boys…”
This review was originally published in MOTOR’s January 2004 issue
Say “yo” to Ricky. He’s finally stopped frothing at the mouth at the sighting of our arrest-me-red GTO burbling down Santa Monica Boulevard. Once, twice he’d crossed double yellows to catch up with us. Alongside, it was all thumbs up and nodding heads.
He’d seen the pictures, read the previews, memorised all the specs. Now here it was in real life, five-seven Vette motor, 261kW, and an exhaust note that sounded like Stallone gargling roofing nails. He was impressed.
“Now that’s one sweet ride. My old man used to have a ’64 GTO. I helped him restore it. They never should have quit building them. But full credit to GM for not slapping a GTO badge on some front-wheel-drive piece of crap. They had to do it right. Rear drive. V8 power. But man, it does need bigger rims. Seventeens will get you laughed off the street.” We explain that, back in Oz, the GTO runs 18s. Interestingly, the 17s are the same as used on the now-discontinued Monaro CV6.
He climbs aboard – well, you try stopping him. He powers the seat. Stirs the shifter through all six speeds. Shakes his head at that Blaupunkt stereo. But says he’s impressed. Way impressed. Is it worthy of the legendary GTO badge?
Ricky ponders the enormity of the question. Then starts nodding his head like one of those dashboard-mounted bobble-head dogs. “Yeah, you could call this is a modern-day interpretation of the original. It’s a big V8 in a cool coupe body. With lots of grunt. Yeah, it’s a GTO.”
That’s what we’d come to Los Angeles – City of Angels, earthquakes, drive-by shootings and out-of-control brush fires – to find out. Could a warmed-over Holden Monaro with a big-nostrilled prosthetic Planet of the Apes nose, 16 extra kilowatts and a burbly exhaust be accepted as a true GTO?
Pontiac made a reported 150 component changes to the Monaro, to ensure the car lived up to the fabled GTO moniker. Most of the effort went into bumping up the power, sharpening the launch feel and putting some sex into the tailpipes.
GM engineers started with the Monaro’s Corvette-based 5.7-litre LS1 bent eight. They threw in a more aggressive, higher-lift cam, widened the airbox opening and redesigned the exhaust to make the motor breathe easier. The result: a power hike from 245kW to 261.
Getting a proper Yankee muscle car rugga-rugga exhaust note was non-negotiable. GTO program engineering manager Dave Himmelberg says his team spent months developing the twin-pipe, bigger-bore system.
“We needed to hear the off-beat rumble at start-up,” he says. “That’s what makes the emotional connection. Without it you ain’t got a GTO.”
To get a more aggressive off-the-line launch for the standard four-speed HydraMatic trannie (seven out of 10 GTO sales Stateside will be autos), Himmelberg’s crew lowered the final drive from 3.08 to 3.46:1 and sharpened the responses of the torque converter. It worked; the auto GTO is reckoned to be only a tenth of a second slower than the six-cog manual in the sprint to 100 kays.
That’s all the good news stuff. Less good was the need to reposition the fuel tank to meet stricter US rear-impact regs. The only place for it was high up in the boot, behind the rear seats. That had the double whammy effect of slashing boot space in half – now it’s only good for a couple of sets of golf clubs – and raising the car’s centre of gravity.
The only positive: there’s less likelihood of the car erupting into a fireball if it gets rear-ended by some coked-up 16-year-old driving mommy’s Caddy Escalade.
Apart from the necessary nose job to morph the Monaro into a Pontiac, the rest is pretty much unchanged. Thankfully, the Pontiac ‘stylists’ resisted the temptation to apply fake power bulges, bonnet scoops or sky-scraping rear wings and left the bodywork largely unadorned. They’ll leave that job to the hoards of body-kitters chomping on the bit to tart up the GTO into a Fast & Furious wannabe.
Los Angeles is a tough test of the GTO’s street cred. Unlike Detroit, where the muscle car is still king, LA is a city of imports. Here the love of the big-horsepower Yankee muscle car has been replaced by the love of big-horsepower Krauts: AMG-tuned Merc CL65s cranking out 450kW, tuned twin-turbo Porsche 911s laying down 500kW and bad-ass Beemers by the boatload.
And those are the fat cats with money. When it comes to kids, nine out of 10 wouldn’t be seen dead in anything American. Here, they worship at the altar of Honda and Mitsubishi, tuning up Civics and Eclipses and dreaming of a new 350Z to street race.
Add to that the perfected LA ’tude. As in attitude. As in, “Hey, I’ve seen it all before.” Nose in the air, eyes right forward, with a “why should I give a shit?” glare. We feared the worst with our little red Aussie-built GTO wannabe.
In search of a caffeine jolt to start the day, we stop outside Amelia’s Espresso Bar, right on Main Street, Santa Monica – ground zero for LA cool. Before the key is out of the ignition, the beaming face of 26-year-old Gianni Diaz is filling the side window.
“I saw you guys pull up and thought, ‘Hey, that’s the new GTO’. You gotta let me take a look.”
Turns out that Gianni owns Amelia’s and is a big GTO fan, on account of his uncle having four GTOs in his 14-strong old-car collection. Gianni himself has a year-old Audi A4 with a chipped motor, lowered suspension and aftermarket alloys.
“I dig it. I dig it a lot. What’s it going to sell for? Forty grand? Whoa, $33,000? That’s a deal. They’re going to clear every one. For someone who wants a four-seat Corvette at a fraction of the price, this has to be the car.”
Gianni digs the shape, too. Doesn’t agree with popular opinion that the styling is as exciting as a lump of tofu. Doesn’t agree that the car needs GTO trademark cues, like an air-sucking bonnet scoop.
“It’s all about the motor. And having that Corvette lump under the hood and a six-on-the-floor gives it credibility. Just listen to that exhaust, man. But the first thing I’d change is the wheels; those 17s just look way too small.”
Gianni asks if we want java, disappears inside and two minutes later emerges with two cappuccinos and his buddy, Phil. Phil Boston, 31, knows all about the Monaro/GTO partnership, on account of him being an Aussie, splitting his time between LA and Sydney. And, no kidding, Phil is a genuine Hollywood movie director.
“I’m stoked to see the Monaro in the US. If it’s received half as well here as it has been back home, it’ll be a real success.
“But what I can’t understand is that in Oz a Monaro costs around $59,000. That converts to $US42,200. Yet the US price is, what, $32,500? How can they ship the car halfway around the world and charge 10 grand less than what it costs back home?”
We nod in agreement, mutter stuff about market conditions and competition, drain our coffee cups and leave. He has a point, but then there’s no way GM could charge 40 large for a GTO when 35 grand buys a full-house 290kW Mustang Cobra, $32,000 gets you a sexy Infiniti G35 Coupe and $27k gets you a new whiz-bang Mazda RX-8.
Time to head to Beverly Hills and the traffic-choked Sunset Boulevard for a little elbow-on-window cruising. But before we hit the Strip we get distracted by a glitzy shop front displaying an Aston Martin Vanquish, big-winged 911 Turbo and racks of chrome wheels the size of Tasmania. The folks at By Design Automotive will surely rate the GTO’s ‘cool’ quota.
“Give it a few weeks after launch and there’ll be supercharged GTOs on the street packing 450kW. All the Corvette tuning stuff should bolt right on,” says Gordon Mandich, the 20-something sales boss at By Design. He’s not interested in the styling. Hoist the hood, he says. Gazing down on the LS1, he’s already checking out where a blower might go.
“Finally, a Pontiac that you can really modify,” says Gordon, who drives a chipped Honda S2000 that’s good for 210kW at the rear treads.
Is the Monaro bitchin’ enough to be called a GTO? “Me, I’m not really into American – even Australian – cars,” says Gordo. “But I think it’ll do well. A lot of people will love the idea of Corvette power in a four-seat coupe. And I do like the understated look. It would have been so easy for Pontiac to screw it up with big wings and loud graphics.”
The slowing-moving traffic on Sunset shows up the one pain-in-the-neck trait of the new GTO: the reviled and hated GM one-to-four skip-shift. As with the Corvette, in a bid to eke out every last bit of fuel economy, a computer directs the gearshift from first to fourth if you’re not accelerating hard. So amble gently away from a traffic light and you suddenly find yourself chugging away in fourth when you really wanted second.
We roll into the forecourt of the glitzy Beverly Hills Hotel for a chat with Chardo Mejia, valet parker to the stars. For a fella more used to parking Lamborghinis and Lotuses, how does the GTO stack up as a style icon?
“It’s a Pontiac, are you kidding? It has no style. It’s the kind of shape that you could lose in the parking garage. The original GTO was cool. This is just, well, ordinary. At least the cops won’t notice you if you’re speeding.”
But then Chardo’s tastes are a little refined. While we’re talking, a Botoxed blonde minx with pneumatic boobs hops out of a black-windowed LS430 Lexus. Chardo turns to us: “Sorry, gotta go.”
Before GTO Judgement Day comes to an end, we head to the beach at Malibu in search of a surfer dude. Back in the ’60s, the GTO was part of the California surfing culture. Does the new GTO have the same appeal to today’s surfing crowd?
“Is that the new GTO? Is it out yet?” says Kyle Rae, a 29-year-old production assistant with an LA advertising agency. “Man, that sounds real sweet. What kind of motor’s in there?”
Kyle walks around the car, trying not to dent the Pontiac’s bodywork with his towering board. He checks out the interior. Tries out the driver’s seat for size and nods in approval.
“Nice car. But they shouldn’t have called it a GTO. Too much history. Too much baggage. Too many high expectations. Me? I’d have called it something different. Something Australian. What about Pontiac Bondi? Has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”
It’s better than Pontiac Dundee.
FAST FACTS 2004 Pontiac GTO
BODY: 2-door coupe DRIVE: rear-wheel ENGINE: 5.7-litre pushrod 16-valve V8 POWER: 261kW @ 5200rpm TORQUE: 495Nm @ 4000rpm COMPRESSION: 10.0:1 BORE/STROKE: 99.0mm x 92.0mm WEIGHT: 1690kg POWER-TO-WEIGHT: 154kW/tonne TRANSMISSION: six-speed manual SUSPENSION: MacPherson struts, coil springs, anti-roll bar (f); semi-trailing arms with toe links, coil springs, anti-roll bar (r) L/W/h: 4821/1841/1395mm WHEELBASE: 2788mm TRACK: 1570mm (f); 1570mm (r) BRAKES: 3297mm ventilated discs, two-piston calipers (f); 287mm solid discs, single-piston calipers (r), ABS WHEELS: 17 x 8.0-inch (f & r), alloy TYRES: 225/50 R17 (f & r) FUEL: 70 litres, ULP PRICE: USD32,500
Oz GTO has real muscle
Until the current 285kW upgrade, HSV’s 260kW (and original 255kW) GTO was the closest match to the warmed over 261kW US GTO. Bet the Yanks are dirty about the 285 jobbie and the 300kW GTS.
The GTO legacy
Before John Z DeLorean started building his doomed gullwing-doored sports car, before he ripped off the British government and before he tried to do a little cocaine dealing, he was chief engineer at Pontiac.
Back in 1963, DeLorean came up with the bright idea of plonking a big-ass 6.5-litre bent eight into a dull Pontiac LeMans two-door coupe. He called the $US295 option the GTO package, ripping off the Ferrari GTO name. The rest is history. It was arguably the first-ever ‘factory hot rod’. GM insiders doubted they would flog 5000 a year, but by 1966 more than 100,000 GTOs were being snapped up.
By 1974, soaring insurance rates and government restrictions had put an end to the muscle car era in the States. Sales tumbled to just 7058 and the GTO quietly slipped away. Today, the most valuable GTO is one of the so-called Judge models, with the Ram Air motor. One of the 108 GTO Judge convertibles built in 1969 could fetch upwards of $US100k.
Lutzy’s involvement
It was Monaro love at first sight for GM product guru Bob Lutz. At the New York motor show in April 2002 (just six months after its Aussie reveal), Lutz was excited about bringing the Monaro to the US. “I can tell you we are planning to bring the Monaro to America as the legendary Pontiac GTO.”
Five Little-known GTO facts
– Ronny & The Daytonas hit it big with Little GTO in 1964 – GTO is shorthand for Gran Turismo Omologato – Americans nicknamed it ‘the Goat’ instead – Vin Diesel drove a purple ’67 big block GTO in xXx – The original ’64 GTO did 0-100 kays in 7.6sec
“One thing we do not need is more power.” That’s a statement I don’t think I’ve ever heard in any motorsport context before but Nicolas Gueranger, Peugeot Sport’s Project Manager for 208 WRX is nothing if not frank.
“The 208 WRX already makes so much power that it is like this in corners,” he says, wide-eyed and frantically flapping at an imaginary steering wheel. “Phew. It’s too much.”
The 208 WRX sends 417kW to its four wheels which would give it a power to weight ratio comfortably in excess of that of a Bugatti Veyron. Gueranger won’t confirm or deny exact figures, but given the fact that rallying demigod Sebastien Loeb is having trouble taming the 208, we can imagine it’s a handful.
Quite how difficult it is to drive soon becomes apparent. “The regulations require a 45mm restrictor on the turbocharger,” says Gueranger.
“Because of that, the car makes peak power quite low, just 6000rpm. So we sit at the line at 7500rpm and when you decelerate for a corner, bam, it’s making more power,” he laughs.
Peak torque is a monster 850Nm at just 4500rpm. “No need for revs, just brrm, brrm, brrm,” says Gueranger mimicking shortshifting up through the six-speed sequential box. “It is a very difficult car to drive.”
Loeb’s weekend ride has some intriguing technical details. “Clever drivers like Solberg, they will drive up to the back end of your car and tap you here,” he says, pointing the toe of his boot at the exhaust, “and as soon as your exhaust is damaged, poof, you lose 20, 30 percent power. So we did this.” He swings his boot at the tailpipe and gives it an almighty kick. It swings out of line and then returns to its original position. It’s mounted on a tiny damper that was borrowed from a truck so no matter how hard you hoof it, it’ll move and then return. Ingenious.
“On tarmac it accelerates to 100km/h in 1.9 seconds,” Gueranger claims. “On dirt, maybe 2.7.”
All the wild rear wing structures are functional, but they’re not for downforce. “We create a low pressure are at the back of the car using this plastic wing,” says Gueranger. “The reason for this is to pull hot air out of the car. There is a lot of thermal management here.”
With 300mm of suspension travel to cope with the jumps, the ride quality of the 208 WRX is actually pretty plush. Besides, a bit of pitch and squat aids traction, and traction is at an absolute premium in these cars as the FIA regulations don’t allow for any sort of electronic traction management device.
“So the drivers use the rev limiter as a kind of traction control,” says Gueranger, explaining a brain-bending technique of the drivers leaning on the soft intermittent ignition cut to quell wheelspin.
Unlike prior rallycross cars which have been co-developed with the Hansen team, this one is a full in-house job at Peugeot Sport in Versailles and will campaign both this season and next before it’s expected that World Rallycross goes full electric in 2020.
The sprint format of the races and requirement for instant, savage acceleration would suit electric powerplants but a more immediate concern is dethroning Volkswagen’s dominant Polo R rival in rallycross’ elite Supercar class.
That’ll be quite the task as Johan Kristofferson has wrapped up the 12-round championship early, winning nine of the first ten races. Meanwhile, Loeb is the best-placed Peugeot contender in fifth place overall, behind the two Volkswagens and pair of Audi S1s.
Limited editions should always be treated with a bit of caution. Normally a model’s sales slow and need a spark, so on go a set of alloys, cheap stripes and a ‘this is a special model’ badging.
This review was originally published in MOTOR’s January 2004 issue
But that’s not how HSV chose to launch the Y Series 2, GTO Coupe Series III. The first 100 (80 of which are autos) of the 285kW/510Nm-adorned GTO will be the LE, Limited Edition, that offers a few nice little extras.
But it’s what’s not exclusive that matters most, and the thunderous 285kW Gen III V8 is now standard across the HSV car range, with a deeper induction and exhaust note. That’s a good thing, and while it renders the 300kW GTS Coupe as a special order only from February 2004, unless you’re in need of bragging or heavy braking, there’s really little need for it. The GTO’s extra 25kW over the old car are felt throughout the rev range; it’s fatter underfoot from 3000rpm to the 6200rpm cut-out.
Ride quality is so good that it’s easy to forget it’s riding on 19s, and that’s impressive because the handling and roadholding are way up there with the best. Yeah, it’ll push on turn-in like the Holden chassis tends to do, but it just puts its power down so well.
Traction control off, it’s a struggle to break the rear end free unless you’re being stupid. But it suffers in a straight line: Holden and HSV coupes have always struggled to equal their comparable sedan’s times, and while a 20kg heavier HSV ClubSport manages 5.3 seconds to 100km/h and a mid 13-second quarter mile (incidentally the same times HSV claims for the GTO), the identically geared GTO struggled to get closer than one second to those times. Its speed was also down around 10km/h through the 400m marker, so its lack of herbs may not be a true representation.
We hope the same is true of build quality. Sure, this was car 001, but it’s not HSV’s first Monaro and there should have been no reason for its massive panel gap inconsistencies, the loose headlight switch or the misfit spring on a console door.
Still, the Y Series II does offer more. Updates include parking sensors, active head restraints that fly forward during a rear collision, a front strut tower brace and the option box of HSV’s Adjustable Performance Suspension by Ohlins.
Brakes are HSV’s Performance pack with 330mm front rotors and PBR twin-piston calipers that stand up to a decent prod without turning to putty. They’re not as impressive as the Clubbie R8’s 343mm Premium Package with four-piston calipers, but they’re not far off.
The LE version is a good deal, but with the engine revisions to the GTO, don’t fret if all 100 have sold out because, disregarding quality issues, even the regular version is now a bigger hoot than ever.
FAST FACTS 2004 HSV GTO Coupe LE Engine: 5.7-litre pushrod 16-valve V8 Power/Weight: 285kW/1677kg Drive: rear-wheel Price: $79,990
