Like a normal MX-5, only better. And faster. And bett…oh wait.

WHAT IS IT? The racing version of our reigning Car of the Year. Sadly it’s not for Australia – not yet anyway – but Mazda says it could bring it to local race tracks if the planets align.

WHY ARE WE DRIVING IT? Because it promises to be the ultimate version of one of our favourite cars. Plus, Mazda called and said they had a spare car, and an empty race track. As if we’d say no.

THE WHEELS VERDICT How, and where, can we buy one? Mazda’s new baby racer is brilliant. Fun, grippy, nuanced and approachable, it promises to be an enjoyable, and potentially affordable, turn-key racer.

PLUS: Affordable (we think); brilliant fun (we know); raspy sound track; balanced chassis; improved driving position MINUS: You can’t buy one, unless Mazda changes its mind

But as I thread myself into the cabin, which instantly feels more V8 Supercar than affordable two-seat roadster, thanks to its exposed, FIA-approved roll-cage, window netting and digital dashboard – there’s even shift lights! – a nasty voice whispers in my ear: “What if they’ve dialled out the fun? What if adding racing suspension and slick tyres has locked it down and stolen the Mazda MX-5’s magic?”

This is one of just two MX-5 Cup cars in the country, but worldwide others just like it have diced in tightly fought one-make championships all year. You can buy one in the US, where they’re made, for around $US55,000, which at today’s exchange rate means this car would land here for roughly $70K.

It’s not much lighter, either. Sure, there’s no sound deadening or even a passenger seat, but that roll-cage is heavy. As is the upgraded cooling system, tougher brakes and other racing paraphernalia like the fire extinguisher and ballast box. All up, the Cup car’s frame is 25kg lighter, meaning it hits the scales just shy of a tonne, sans driver.

All this means the Cup car still feels like an MX-5, only better. And faster. And praise doesn’t get much higher than that.

SPECS Model: Mazda MX-5 Cup Engine: 1998cc 4cyl, dohc, 16v Max power: 118kW @ 6000rpm Max torque: 200Nm @ 4600rpm Transmission: 6-speed manual Kerb weight: 995kg 0-100km/h: 7.5sec (est) Fuel economy: n/a Price: $70,000 (est) On sale: Possibly never

Local racing legend Allan Moffat has officially backed a Ford Mustang special designed as a tribute to his race-winning steers in the first-generation Boss 302 in the 1960s and 1970s.

Mustang Motorsport – the Melbourne-based right-hand-drive conversion company that is now the distributor of Roush and Shelby modifications for the two-door pony car – has tagged the special the Allan Moffat Edition Mustang, aiming to give the latest model the look of the original racecar.

Canadian-born but Australian-raised Moffat steered original Mustang racers for Carroll Shelby in the US in the mid-1960s, before returning home to regularly conquer Australian Touring Car Championships in an unmistakeable, bright red Boss 302 Mustang.

“In 1969, Allan Moffat unleashed his Boss 302 Trans-Am Mustang on Australian racetracks. The awesome beast was one of only seven cars designed and built by Ford’s Kar Kraft racing division in Michigan, and was the closest thing you could get to a purpose-built racecar in a production bodyshell.

“Over six years, Moffat took it to 101 victories from 151 starts, ensuring its place in history as one of the most desirable touring cars ever to hit Australian racetracks.”

A high-flow front grille with unique fascia and functional splitter, bonnet with heat extractors, high-deck rear wing and 20-inch forged alloy wheels (with 265mm-wide front and 305mm rear tyres) round out the exterior modifications, while inside Allan Moffat signature embroidery adorns the headrests and doors. Moffat race numbers, meanwhile, are optional.

However a duo of supercharger upgrades are further available, respectively rated at 650hp (485kW) and 750hp (560kW) in line with Mustang Motorsport’s previously announced Shelby and Roush packages.

Mustang Motorsport has priced the three options packages at $59,990 base, $68,364.87 for the 485kW Roush supercharger kit and $70,589.87 for the 522kW Whipple version, all of which are addition to the $55K-plus pricetag of the latest Ford V8 coupe.

Will Power has again had to settle for second in the IndyCar Championship Series after mechanical issues robbed him of any chance in the decider at Sonoma Raceway, California, over the weekend.

The last race of the season, the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma road course inland from San Francisco, was a battle between Penske teammates, France’s Simon Pagenaud and Australia’s Power.

Remarkably for the 11th season in a row, the final race of the season determined the champion. Power went into the weekend 43 points away from the lead and ceded another point when Pagenaud won the pole on Saturday. Still he was heartened that the finale carried double the usual points.

It was the Frenchman’s first title and he did IndyCar it in crushing style, winning the season’s finale.

Pagenaud has been so dominant this season, with Power on his heels after a slow start. Other than their Penske team-mate Helio Castroneves, no-one else was really in the fight. Once Castroneves began to fade as the season went on, it was then a two-man title scrap.

It’s the fourth time Power, who won the championship in 2014, has finished second in the standings. He is nevertheless satisfied with his fightback after he missed the season opener when IndyCar ruled him out with concussion-like symptoms — it was an inner ear infection.

Clawing his way back into title contention was a sign of his grit and competitiveness.

“If I hadn’t won a championship, I guess it would be a pretty bad day,” Power said. “But finishing second, considering how I started the year, getting four wins, it’s a good year.”

He did way better than that, collecting his fifth win of the year to lead a strong Penske occupation of the final podium of 2016.

Power struggled home in 20th.

The Penske drivers also filled the first three places in the championship. Power finished second in the standings and Castroneves was third.

“My whole career has been about this day, reaching this level,” Pagenaud said. “For an athlete, it’s what you work for.”

Wider, gripper F1 tyres planned for the 2017 season pose as many questions under testing as they answer.

TEAMS using 2015 “mule” cars to test Pirelli’s back-to-the future new wide tyres for next season’s Formula One cars at Fiorano (with Ferrari), Mugello (Red Bull), Barcelona (Ferrari) and Paul Ricard (Mercedes) have provided some fascinating early data, and a few concerns.

Next year’s cars will gain way more downforce because they’re 20cm wider and have bigger wings and a higher diffuser.

The clever blokes on the teams calculate the downforce will increase by 20 per cent at the start of the season, growing to 30 per cent by the end.

The overall outcome should be lap times three to four seconds faster.

There are concerns that the 2017 Pirellis, wider though they are, will not deal with the higher loads although the 2015 cars used in the tests will not accurately provide perfect results. The test cars have about 10 per cent more downforce than the current 2016 F1 cars, but projections suggest 30 per cent more next year, so accuracy is not possible: just calculated guesswork.

F1 in 2017

1. The nose of the car is 20cm longer than in 2016, while the width of the front wing increases from 165 to 180cm.

2. The wing’s new delta shape means the distance between the front tyre and the endplate remains unchanged, as does the endplate size.

3. The front tyres are wider, with tread width up from 24.5 to 30cm.4. The overall width of the car increases from 140 to 180cm.5. Rearward of the front of the cockpit, the car cannot be wider than 180cm.6. There must be a cut-out at some point to bring the body inside the 180cm maximum. 7. Another proposal prescribes a minimum body width of 160cm at all points, which means the cut-out cannot be more than 10cm deep.8. The rear tyres are also wider, with tread width up from 32.5 to 40cm. The extra footprint is expected to make cars around three seconds a lap faster.9. The rear wing is wider, up from 80 to 95cm, with a bigger overhang.

Source: F1.com

A HOT Ford Ranger and hyped-up Mustang will be the first two models from a road car business established by the Blue Oval’s former factory V8 Supercars team, Prodrive Racing Australia (PRA).

The venture has been registered as PRA Garage but is expected to be marketed under the Tickford name associated with local fast Fords in the 1990s and early 2000s.

But while the old Ford Tickford Experience (FTE) high performance brand was a joint-venture sanctioned by the factory, as was its successor Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV), PRA is going it alone without official backing of Ford Australia’s local sales and marketing arm.

But there is some involvement from Ford internationally, as parts and accessories are being developed by PRA Garage in conjunction with Ford Asia Pacific to supply to the regional licenced accessories program.

PRA Garage has also been appointed an official wholesaler and retailer of the global Ford Performance Parts catalogue.

“PRA Garage is going to build performance and enhancement parts for ultimately most of the (Ford) products, but initially it’s to do with Ranger and Mustang,” PRA co-owner Rod Nash told Wheels in an exclusive interview.

“People associate us with Ford product and we have no plans to work on anything else,” Nash said.

Tuning work will cover off both engine and chassis, as well as delivering exterior and interior styling enhancements.

Development work is being done in-house and through suppliers here and overseas. Bosch Australia has been contracted to test modifications to an OEM level.

Nash said conducting its own development and gaining official recognition from Ford globally separates PRA Garage from rival aftermarket tuning houses.

“We are not only a buy-in parts business. Much of what we are doing we are tailor-making and engineering ourselves.” A Ranger Wildtrak development mule spotted by Wheels was fitted with 20-inch beadlock-style wheels developed for the new venture, and a new exhaust with dual outlets that exited behind the right-rear wheel.

The development mule was testing Bilstein dampers, but the production model is expected to come with South Australian-made Supashocks, the same brand PRA uses on its race cars.

Under the bonnet, the Ranger’s 3.2-litre five-cylinder turbo-diesel is expected to have a power boost of more than 20 percent.

PRA, which is currently based in FPV’s old headquarters just around the corner from Ford Australia’s Broadmeadows plant, is planning to move into new, larger facilities to cater for the manufacturing work required to service PRA Garage and its expanding racing business.

It currently races four Falcons in the Supercars championship and another two in the Dunlop development series. It raced as Ford Performance Racing from 2003-14 and won the drivers’ championship with Mark Winterbottom in its final year as Ford’s factory race team last year.

PRA Garage currently employs about 10 staff directly but can call on the extended engineering ability of the PRA organisation.

The division is run by former Walkinshaw Performance Products chief Tony Harris, who quietly joined last February.

THE Northern Territory government says carmakers will still be able to do high-speed runs above 130km/h on public roads – but only because it fears it will miss out on potentially millions of dollars of economic benefit.

In a letter sent to car companies shortly after last month’s NT elections that returned Labor to power, NT chief minister Michael Gunner insisted that his government was offering “continuing support” for vehicle testing in central Australia.

However, while the government’s Department of Transport has been asked to develop a “simple permit and exemption system” that will allow high-speed vehicle testing over short stretches of road after a 130km/h cap was recently reintroduced, all other road users will be forced to stick to a 130km/h speed limit.

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“Central Australia offers a unique testing environment due to its climatic variations, availability of sealed and unsealed roads, and proximity to amenities in Alice Springs,” Gunner said.

“The vehicle testing sector plays an important role in supporting the central Australian economy, one which I am keen to strengthen and grow.”

That appears to be because carmakers – including Porsche and Bentley – have been willing to inject millions of dollars into the NT to produce promotional videos celebrating speed and promoting the territory to the world – and help to plump the local economy.

“However, road safety remains a key priority for my government,” Gunner said. “Our commitment to reinstate the 130kph speed limit on the previously unrestricted sections of the Stuart Highway was put before voters at the recent Northern Territory election.

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“Our policy was designed with the safety of all road users in mind and received overwhelming support right across the Territory.”

Gunner said he believed that most vehicle testing undertaken in central Australia “is not speed related” and would therefore not be impacted by the government’s decision to dump the trial.

“I want to ensure the reinstatement of the 130kph speed limit will not be a barrier to high-speed vehicle testing on Territory roads,” he said.

Last month’s NT elections marked the end to a five-year trial of open speed limits over a 300km section of the Stuart Highway north of Alice Springs. The Country Liberal party, which lost the election, had planned to roll the trial out to more sections of NT roads in other parts of the territory where it was deemed safe to do so.

The move to abandon the high-speed trial has come under attack from Porsche, which questioned its ongoing support for the Northern Territory.

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“We’ve done a pretty good job of killing off the local car industry, the manufacturing of local cars in Australia, and now it seems the Northern Territory government’s doing its best to deter international car companies from coming to Australia to spend money and invest in the local economy,” Porsche Cars Australia public relations director Paul Ellis told the ABC.

An online petition asking the Gunner government to reverse its decision on the open speed limit trial has already attracted more than 1600 signatures.

Hot hatchbacks need a manual transmission – there, we said it. After driving the facelifted VW Polo GTI, we’re wrapping both arms and legs around the left pedal lest Volkswagen take it from us again.

The 6R-generation Polo GTI from 2009 came only with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission which proved almost as problematic from a reliability perspective as the 1.4-litre ‘twincharged’ four-cylinder it mated with.

Even before the whole DSG saga went down, I recall wanting to burn the automatic faster than it self-harmed its own clutch packs. Hard on the brakes in a straight line, wiping speed off coming into a corner, I was left furiously slapping its left paddleshifter never knowing when the electronics would permit access to a lower gear. Coming up to the next corner, it was impossible to press the engine into its redline without auto-upshifting, often right before turn-in.

The fresh engine it teams up with, a 1.8-litre turbocharged four from the Passat, is similarly creamy and smooth yet also bloody fast. Maximum 320Nm from 1450rpm to 4200rpm, peak 141kW from 4300rpm to 6200rpm – there is simply surging response everywhere in this car.

Indeed, the duo of engine and transmission give the latest Polo GTI a bit of an alluring, sports-luxury personality to go along with its more compliant suspension, bright touchscreen and superbly comfortable, classically tartan-trimmed cloth seats.

A seven-speed DSG continues in the Polo GTI as a $2500 option not to bother with, all those computer-controlled immediate shifts merely deliver an identical performance claim due to a 70Nm deficit (to preserve the troublesome DSG, you see).

Rarely will the driver of a Boxster Spyder emerge from the driver’s seat and say “might swap to the Polo now”, but so it was with Associate Editor Newman after a hard strafe in the Porsche. No elitism here. The little Volkswagen may be the smallest and cheapest car of the field by far, but it was far from left behind.

A recent MY16 update has brought standard two-stage adaptive dampers and along with Sport stability control and grippy Brigestone Potenza 17-inch rubber, it gels near-perfectly with the drivetrain’s raunchy personality.

Through corners, the ordinary on-centre steering, most noticeable around town, gives way to firm and crisp response. Playing Polo is about indulging in bodyroll, exploring nose-tightening lift-off oversteer, finding sweet balance and nailing quick exits, rather than darting snickety-snick and wickedly-quick between bends a la 308 GTi. Tellingly, though, the Volkswagen’s steering, gearshifter and brake pedal feel are preferable to the double-the-price Peugeot.

It may have been in Goliath company here, but just like the manual transmission itself, David proved a damned good bloke, standing tall even among A-grade sporting players.

While the Polo GTI’s power and handling puts it on a par with some of the big boys in this comparison, the ESP won’t turn completely off and sometimes gets in the way of some truly foot-to-the-floor shenanigans.

SPECS Body: 5-door, 5-seat hatch Drive: front-wheel Engine: 1798cc inline-4, DOHC, 16v, turbocharger Bore/stroke: 82.5 x 84.2mm Compression: 9.6:1 Power: 141kW @ 4300-6200rpm Torque: 320Nm @ 1450-4200rpm Power/weight: 114kW/tonne Transmission: 6-speed manual Weight: 1234kg Suspension(F): A-arms, adaptive dampers, anti-roll bar Suspension(R): torsion beam, coil springs, adaptive dampers, anti-roll bar L/W/H: 3983/1682/1443mm Wheelbase: 2470mm Tracks: 1447/1441mm Steering: electrically-assisted rack-and-pinion Brakes(F): 288mm ventilated discs, 2-piston calipers Brakes(R): 232mm solid discs, single-piston calipers Tyre sizes: 17.0 x 7.5-inch (f/r) 215/40 R17 (f/r) Tyre: Bridgestone Pontenza S001 Price as tested: $27,490 Pros: Torquey engine; sweet gearshift; adaptive dampers Cons: Loss of steering feel Star Rating: 4/5

First published in the September 1999 issue of Wheels magazine, Australia’s best car mag since 1953.

In 1999, a hot Ford arrived that Wheels could get excited about.

This is the moment David Flint and his engineers at Tickford Vehicle Engineering have been waiting for. After eight long years, Tickford finally has the machinery to put the wind up Holden Special Vehicles.

The people who brought you ground-breaking Ford Falcon XR cars and two tiny litters of tantalising Falcon GTs are ready to unveil the Ford Tickford Experience (FTE). And unlike the GT, this is no short-term testosterone tease that resurfaces only once every five years. This time, Henry’s chasing HSV on its home turf, taking Ford Australia into the new and unfamiliar territory of high-performance, luxury sports sedans.

The new FTE luxury-performance vehicle franchise will initially comprise TE50, TS50 and TL50 (based on Fairmont, Fairmont Ghia and Fairlane), mixing and matching a pair of extensively Tickford-tricked, 5.0 litre V8 engines with a variety of chassis and braking packages.

The cars will be powerful- the two engine options are rated at 200kW and 220kW- and well equipped. And expensive: At around $80,000, the TL50 luxo-stormer is set to become the most expensive passenger car Ford has ever sold in Australia.

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The T-Series range opens with the short wheelbase, 200kW TE50. It gets a much-needed upgrade over the standard Falcon brakes, with a new booster and master cylinder plus larger diameter, 330 x 28mm grooved front rotors and standard diameter grooved rear rotors.

Like its T-Series brothers, the TE50 comes with independent rear suspension, uprated springs, dampers and bushings, plus Tickford’s own 17in alloy wheels, and 235/45ZR17 tyres.

The black car you see in the photographs is for show only and carries styling cues from all three T-Series cars. For the TE50 (and other models), Ford has replaced the standard grille, side sills and front and rear bumpers with custom T-Series items. Inside there are dual airbags, a black and grey Momo steering wheel, new cloth trim, six CD stacker and blue-on-white instruments.

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The TS50 gets the 220kW V8, with enhanced’ front and independent rear suspension with Koni dampers, 18in alloys on 245/40ZR18 tyres and leather trim.

Optional on both TE50 and TS50 is an Electronic Sport Shift auto transmission with thumb-controlled, steering-mounted shift.

The top line TL50 has the 200kW V8 linked to the ESS auto transmission, and shares the brake package of the short wheelbase cars but get sits own, softer suspension set-up and a sunroof.

So much for the basics. But how will these new-century fast Falcons drive?

Wheels gained an exclusive T-Series prototype test drive, some months prior to launch. Slightly shop-worn and less than sexy, the white AU Fairmont ‘mule’ gave us a taste of Tickford’s acclaimed engineering abilities.

The mule car’s 5.0-litre, 220kW engine was well down the development path, but at the time of driving some areas of noise, vibration and harshness were yet to be ironed out. Where the Ford Falcon EB/EL GT engine copped GT 40 heads, a larger throttle body, larger air mass sensor, GT 40 inlet manifold and exhaust extractors, the standard Explorer V8 fitted from AU onwards comes out of the crate with productionised GT 40 heads already installed.

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Throttle response was encouragingly urgent, noticeably sharper than the smooth delivery of the standard bent Henry, although the mule’s test-tortured transmission (a four-speed auto) was suffering some shift shock at each 5500rpm upshift.

Like arch rival HSV, TVE has assembled a mini-catalogue of engine, suspension and newly developed braking components.

While vehicle styling is done locally by Tickford and Ford, new components (such as the patently powerful brake package) have been produced from an assortment of new and existing OE or aftermarket parts.

The ride height reduction on this, and probably production versions, is no more extreme than in the XR-series cars, although the FTE suspension will use more exotic components. On 18-inch wheels with Dunlop SP Sport 9000 245/40 ZR18 rubber (the biggest that will physically fit), the mule’s chassis was immensely grippy.

The steering, while feeling slightly low-geared, had tramlining commendably under control.

With the front end’s tendency to gently ‘porpoise’ over sharp bumps, however, the test car still felt like a lowered, stiffened Falcon. Buyers forking out for the finished FTE product will expect – and get – a little more suppleness and sophistication in the ride.

They’ll also get what seems to be Australia’s most outrageous stopping power, courtesy of the Tickford-developed, grooved dinner-plate discs at both ends, with four-piston callipers up front.

According to Flint, this stuff matters as much as horsepower.

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“What I’d really like is for our cars to be recognised as moving quickly and safely from point to point”, he says. “I’m interested in the chassis, the brakes, the gear-change, just how comfortable and tractable the car is. The fact that you can do a straight-line quarter mile in minus three seconds is really of no interest to me. Besides, I’ve already got high blood pressure.”

T-Series cars will be sold nationally through only 10 or 12 hand-picked dealers, and most of those will be members of Ford’s new ‘premier’ dealer groups. Showroom space, signage and advertising will be aimed at distinguishing the new hot-shop products from the ordinary Ford flock.

Flint anticipates production of around 700 cars per year across the three-model range.

But how did Ford summon the courage?

The catalyst for change came in the form of an extensive brand equity survey, the results of which showed that Ford and its most visible product, the Falcon, were perceived as dull and unexciting. It was the same survey that prompted the formation of Ford Tickford Racing.

Ford’s ‘Live It’ advertising campaign and the formation of Ford Tickford Racing began the turnaround in communications.

And while you can’t introduce a completely new, more exciting Falcon overnight, you can certainly allow Tickford, a brand name that polled strongly for its performance image, to get hot with what you’ve got.

And branding is everything in this game, by admission of the master of marketing motors, HSV’s John Crennan.

“If I was sitting where Tickford is sitting at the moment, my only fear in what they’re doing is that the

Tickford brand is a confused brand,” Crennan observes.

“Tickford means everything from LPG gas, to a spoiler, to a sunroof, to a suspension kit, to an XR8 to an XR6.”

Not that Crennan’s company is above work like LPG conversions and spoiler kits; they just do it under a different brand name, HVD (Holden Vehicle Development).

“If I am proud of anything, I have kept the HSV brand very, very specific to performance luxury cars – we have not mixed the breed up in any way, shape or form.”

Not easily intimidated at the best of times, Crennan says he welcomes the prospect of a challenge. “If you’ve got competitors going at it together, I would believe that the cake could become larger, rather than [our] having to concede some of the cake; I think that Ford coming in and modelling their operation to a large extent on ours, I look at it positively, and I mean that genuinely.”

Flint is nothing if not a gracious competitor.

“I think there’s a lot of stuff we could learn from the way in which John Crennan organises his product line-up, and the way in which he markets it. We’ve got nothing to learn from an engineering perspective, but we’ve got a lot to learn from the way in which he presents it in the marketplace.

”What we’ve tried to do is develop an overall marketing strategy which is good for the

Ford Motor Company now, and for the next five years,” Flint says. “Some of that stuff [HSV does] already, some of it they don’t, and products is only part of it. But our cars will be sophisticated, well balanced, well-engineered cars, and that’s all I can say.

“In the Flint world, we would have made this move earlier, maybe within two years of introducing the XRs. But we’ve built a level of business that’s going to continue for some time to come, and we can start to put some cream on the top.”

The cream’s been well earned, too. It was in 1991 that the gritty Briton, whose CV in engineering and manufacturing includes a stint at Aston Martin, first came to Australia to establish the Tickford Vehicle Engineering venture with Ford.

“When we first sat down with Ford, they said ‘You beauty, we want some exciting product out in the market place, we want some big 5.0-litre stuff, some hot six-cylinder stuff and some gentleman’s cruisers’ and so on,” Flint says. “What we were actually planning to do was this (T-Series) sort of stuff”.

The reason Tickford was sidetracked into the more volume-oriented XRs and LPG conversions, wasn’t the obvious one of big corporation conservatism. Holding back was pretty much a joint decision, prompted in part by Flint’s observations when Tickford launched the limited-edition EB GT in 1992. That car was an instant sell-out.

And therein lay the problem. Tickford may be described as Ford’s ‘performance partner’, but it’s a separate business – and one that has to make money.

“In 1991, you’ll remember, Victoria was a basket-case, Australia wasn’t too shit-hot and there was quite a lot of unemployment and labour disruption,” Flint recalls. “Ford was not doing too well, it had its problems with EA and they’d got Capri around their necks.

“It struck me that Ford’s propensity to sell anything other than Falcons would be a bit limited,” Flint says. “After the EB GT, I actually took the decision to move away from that market, because I could see no way that Ford could support it. You make 265 vehicles or whatever it was, that sell themselves in 10 minutes, and after that, what do you do?

“You can’t actually build a business doing very small numbers of very expensive cars once every five years. You need to have a strategy a bit stronger than that. None of that was in place.”

Flint saw an opportunity for a specced-up six, a sister car to the XR8, which could still be largely built on-line by Ford. The XR6 idea had some detractors- including HSV’s John Crennan.

“There were a few people who said the XR6 was a silly thing to do, including Crennan, when I had dinner with him one night,” Flint says. “I think the six cylinder thing got to people. Why would people buy a six-cylinder performance car? Well, because it’s cheap and it does the job. I’ve got to say it took our competitors a few years to catch up, and with the HSV XU6 they’ve caught up.”

In the interim, the economy has improved spectacularly and the new vehicle market is at a record high. HSV, meantime, has kicked enormous goals in establishing itself as the aspirational marque among young buyers, with a very tangible rub-off on donor manufacturer Holden.

Why so long to get with the program?

One reason was that Tickford had no real cause for complaint.

“Last year we did 13,500 vehicles,” Flint explains. “So where I used to say, ‘We should be doing more exciting stuff’, they’d reply, ‘Your sales have gone up by 10 to 20 percent a year, your turnover this year is $45 million and you’ll make profit on that, and you’re not doing any special vehicles; life’s not that bad, is it?”

Not now.

You’ve seen mountain drift battles before, but not like this.

French film company ODOXO tagged along to a French drifting event and slapped its 360-degree camera on a competitor, revealing a new way to watch these door-to-door duels play out.

The camera allows you to look anywhere on a 360-degree axis from where it’s mounted, in this case atop Jack Shenahan’s 410kW S13. The Irish driver was in Chamrousse, in the French Alps, with his RB25DET powered Silvia, where he found some rather scary BMWs to battle.

Drifting’s all about accuracy, but being able to see how close these guys run as trees and drop-offs lurk close-by adds another layer of respect. It’s also extremely fun as a viewer being able to choose who you follow.

The video quality’s not spectacular but the ‘virtual reality’ effect of the camera works well, especially with motorsport. Even Red Bull’s F1 team played with the new technology on Max Verstappen’s car around Zandvoort, seen below.

There’s lots of potential in the tech. Being able to ‘see all’ not only transforms the way this footage is viewed for us, but could be used to better investigate incidents. Expect more of this to follow.

No, this very neat Porsche 930 Turbo doesn’t have the engine from a McLaren F1.

It has something much cooler, the engine from an actual McLaren Formula One car, namely the 1.5-litre TAG-Porsche twin-turbocharged V6 that first appeared at the 1983 Dutch Grand Prix.

A 911 was used as though the engines were badged TAG (CEO Mansour Ojjeh owns a significant stake in McLaren) they were built by Porsche. It clearly worked well, as McLaren would capture the 1984 and 1985 constructor’s championships and 1984, ’85 and ’86 driver’s championships.

Kudos to Martin for ignoring the ‘no photography’ signs and providing evidence of this incredible car.