First published in the February 1983 issue of Wheels magazine, Australia’s best car mag since 1953.

FORD’S two door Falcon lives on.

No, it doesn’t come from Broadmeadows but for 26 Big Ones you can be driving a most exclusive Ford Falcon.

This new two-door Fairmont may be motoring’s answer to Claytons … y’know, the Ford you have when you’re not having a Ford. Have a Spanmor Fairmont or Ghia coupe instead.

If the Spanmor looks remarkably like a Ford, that’s because it’s supposed to. There are no wings or spoilers or flares, no overt attempt to disguise the Ford Fairmont ‘s identity. Rather it’s a basically simple, finely executed conversion which fits right into the why-didn’t-someone-think-of-it-before category.

The company that thought of it now, and put the idea into metal, is Spanmor Limousines of Brunswick, Victoria.

Though not one of the motor industry’s big names, Spanmor is well established as a specialist body builder. Apart from hearses and diverse medical vehicles, Spanmor is best known for its compact nine-seater limo and the super luxury LTD limousine with extended wheelbase and a full complement of luxuries including cocktail bar, two moon roofs and a video cassette player to name just some.

Judging from a first glance at early photographs of the Spanmor Ford, we’d have bet money that its wheelbase had been shortened. But it’s only optical. The floorpan is untouched, and the entire front-end to the windscreen, all the mechanicals and the tail are just as they left the Ford factory.

To make the two-door, Spanmor takes a new Fairmont Ghia or ESP then discards the original doors and B-pillars. The handmade replacement doors are 30 cm longer than those replaced. The rear-quarter panels are shortened accordingly. New B-pillars are fitted, along with C-pillar revisions. Another supplier makes the door windows and fixed rear quarter panes. Spanmor crafts new door/side trim panels and headlining made to match the stock Ford interior.

Because the conversion doesn’t involve modifications which conflict with ADRs, the Spanmor Ford two-door carries what’s known as a Second Manufacturer’s Compliance Plate, assuring no-hassle registration anywhere in Oz.

The projected 100 or so coupes to be made this year will be marketed through a national network of selected Ford dealers, with prices ranging from about $26,000 to $30,000 depending on the equipment level which begins with virtually everything and extends into the you-name-it realm. So you could be first in your neighbourhood to own a Spanmor Fairmont Ghia/ESP coupe, safe in the knowledge that the odds for exclusivity are on your side. After all, Spanmor has made something of the car Ford forgot.

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When turbos first ruled the world, Mitsubishi was at the forefront.

First published in the February 2016 issue of Wheels magazine, Australia’s best car mag since 1953.

WHAT was the most famous turbocharged car launched in 1982?

Duh! The Knight Industries Two Thousand, of course.

KITT, the Pontiac Firebird Trans Am that starred in Knight Rider, was a forced-induction fake, but it probably marked the year in which turbocharging left the realms of European exotics and filtered down to more affordable machines.

Mitsubishi was early to the force-feeding party with its four-cylinder ‘Sirius’ engine. It developed a turbocharged version of the 1.8-litre 4G62 for the rally-destined Lancer EX1800 in 1980, and soon followed with the turbocharged 2.0-litre 4G63.

The rear-drive Mitsubishi Lancer EX2000’s econobox body hardly sizzled with sex appeal. As Mitsubishi prepared to emerge from part-owner Chrysler’s shadow in the US, it was only too aware of what the Nissan Z, Toyota Supra and Mazda RX-7 coupes had done for their respective brands.

The 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine featured electronic fuel injection with a single turbo. US and European versions used a 2.6-litre 4G54 ‘Astron’ turbo that wasn’t notably more powerful.

The Starion’s rear-drive chassis was derived from the hot version of the Galant Lambda coupe, which was sold in Australia as the Scorpion. This brought a decent suspension spec, including a four-link independent rear, and a limited-slip differential was available as an option.

The Starion landed in Australia amid a boom in production-car racing, and was soon a front-running favourite in the hands of drivers including Brad Jones and Peter Fitzgerald. It was less successful in Group A, despite the development skills of Kevin Bartlett.

Early JA-JB Starions were well regarded for their road-going performance, but the final JD (1986-89), which introduced a handsome wide-body variant (sadly, not sold in Australia), was hobbled by the dreaded unleaded petrol, dropping outputs to 110kW/222Nm.

Bin there, done that

STARION was a clever parts-bin project, borrowing the platform of the Scorpion coupe, albeit on a slightly shorter (2435mm) wheelbase. Suspension was by MacPherson struts up front and a four-link independent coil-sprung rear. Anti-roll bars, gas dampers and ventilated discs featured at both ends. Main dynamic disappointment was the vague recirculating-ball steering.

Smooth and swift

AUSTRALIAN-spec 1997cc single-cam injected engine provided 125kW at 5500rpm and 245Nm at 3500rpm. The counter-rotating balance shafts made it smooth as well as swift, but it suffered from lag. With a five-speed manual gearbox (a four-speed slusher was optional), we clocked the Starion from 0-100km/h in 8.9sec and 0-400m in 16.2sec (Sept ’82). Later JD wide-bodies with blistered guards (not sold in Australia) added intercooling.

STARION’S cabin delivered the full 1980s sports coupe experience. Novel door-mounted seatbelts wrapped the driver into hugely adjustable front sports seats, which had leather optional. Dash, instrument pod and centre console were all about colour-coded plastic, sharp angles and sci-fi appeal. Early steering wheel was especially Star Wars. One US mag described the glistening plastic environment as “a proving ground for Armor-All”.

Fast & factual

Still-born weapon

Mitsubishi Ralliart developed a 1050kg 4WD Starion for Group B rallying, but the category was axed.

Starions proved fragile in Group A, though Scott/Nakaya claimed fifth at Bathurst in 1987 after the Sierra exclusions.

Known Starion problems include blown head gaskets, head cracks and weak pistons, but easy fixes make for a cheap track-day weapon.

That name

Mitsubishi claimed it was a blend of “star” and “orion”, though urban legend insists it should have been “stallion” and was a Japlish miscommunication

Water works

Jackie Chan played a Mitsubishi engineer in Cannonball Run II (1984). With Richard ‘Jaws’ Kiel co-driving, their Starion could drive underwater

Jaguar Land Rover’s factory-owned SVO division is its version of a high-end drug laboratory.

But instead of concocting nefarious chemicals for the Rio-bound crowd, this factory peddles performance-enhancing products of another kind. Run by John Edwards, SVO (which stands for Special Vehicles Operations) pumps out special one-offs and line-toppers like the Range Rover Sport SVR from its off-site skunkworks in Wolverhampton.

The latest effort of the in-house power-brokers is the stronger, sharper F-Type SVR. Available as a coupe or convertible, the SVR is louder, faster and more expensive than the regular 404kW R-version.

Along with the exotic exhaust material and aluminium-rich suspension, the lightweight wheels ensure every SVR will shed at least 25kg. But owners can go further and option carbon-ceramic brakes and a carbon-fibre roof to take that total to 50kg.

All-wheel drive’s enlisted to tame the car’s new stonk and a huge tail spoiler announces its unique bodykit. The rear wing will automatically pop up at 113km/h, stow at 80km/h, and is programmed to work with an automatically adjusting front spoiler. Meanwhile, a smooth underfloor and rear diffuser round out efforts to cut lift and boost downforce.

At $289,590 for the SVR coupe, or $308,470 for the convertible, the SVR costs a whopping $47,220 more than a regular F-Type R AWD hardtop. Or $10K less than the recent XKR-S coupe. Is it worth it? Well, that depends.

The 423kW range-topper cuts a claimed 0.4sec off the R’s 0-100km/h acceleration time (now 3.7sec), its top speed increases from 300 to 322km/h and peak torque spreads over a wider plateau stretching from 3500 to 5000rpm.

Still, the car is beautifully put together and offers plenty of options to personalise colour and trim. Those who visit the Jaguar dealer with enough cash can spend big on the lightweight roof and brakes, and a full carbon-fibre trim package.

To drive it we’re thankful to be dragged two-hours from Barcelona to Motorland Aragon, because out here rests a 5.34km circuit and the appropriate space to see if all-wheel drive and torque vectoring have taught this big-fanged kitty some manners. After all, the early F-Type V8 S was a car that challenged both the competent and fearless even in the dry.

Pushed hard, the angry F-Type displays notably less understeer at both high and low speeds, and with the grip of all-wheel drive, you can use throttle without fear of turning the rear tyres into ghosts too easily.

The colossal supercharged 5.0-litre V8 is explosively responsive; it punches hard with an addictive supercharger whine. Meanwhile, the dual-stage exhaust is noisy enough to strip foliage off nearby trees above 3000rpm.

It’s obvious the eight-speed auto also shifts faster, DSC and Dynamic mode change the handling attitude more keenly and the directional stability has been greatly improved.

Downsides? The dual-mode dampers can be too compliant or overly stiff. There are a lot of vertical body movements, the front-end dislikes transverse imperfections and the rear-axle can’t absorb bumpy surfaces under load. Those that find its looks too ‘aggressive’ can delete the rear wing, but without it the maximum speed drops to a paltry 300km/h and street cred suffers accordingly. Oh, and there’s still a distinct lack of luggage space inside.

This car is all about theory versus practice, and it doesn’t come cheap. Rational thinking requires considering an F-Type S coupe, with a 280kW V6, costs almost half as much bob as the SVR coupe, but certainly isn’t 50 per cent less desirable.

In a perfect world, we’d like to see a lighter, no-frills edition aimed at performance-oriented purists who must currently queue for a 911 GT3. But if you prefer ticking all boxes and money’s no real object, then what the heck – it’s a wild ride.

4.5 OUT OF 5 STARS

LIKE: Bone-shakingly fast DISLIKE: Unpractical; price; moody dual-mode dampers

SPECS Engine: 5000cc V8, DOHC, 24v, s/c Power: 423kW @ 6500rpm Torque: 700Nm @ 3500rpm Weight: 1705kg 0-100km/h: 3.7sec Price: $289,590

First published in the April 1982 issue of Wheels magazine, Australia’s best car mag since 1953.

Commodore SS Group Three meets Falcon 5.8 ESP. Long live the bent eight!

AMONG THE Commodore SSs which crowd Leveson St, North Melbourne, outside unprepossessing premises signed HDT Special Vehicles, Peter Brock’s own car looks quietly superior. It’s red like all the other SSs parked in a double line down the centre of this wide Melbourne street, but there’s something about its bulges and wheels and flashes of black on the front guards that suggests it has extra to offer; more even than the Commodore HDT, a couple of which lurk nearby, heavily suggestive with their rounded wheelarch extensions and louder striping and badgework, but lacking the red car’s low-key assurance. You know this is the car long before Peter’s brother, Phil, comes out to hand over the keys.

There’s a label attached to the keyring with the handwritten scrawl: Peter’s car. You would think there a remote chance of Phil Brock, affectionately known as Splitpin, being Peter’s distant cousin, let alone brother. He’s much taller than the Bathurst champion and has what a diplomat would describe as a face of character. He sees but ignores the silver ESP Falcon parked nearby, the car that had brought us to Melbourne the night before as easily as only 400 Nm of torque and a four-speed can, and asks if I can try the special stereo gear fitted to Peter’s SS, if I get the chance. It’s $1400 worth he says, in a tone that half suggests it might be a little excessive. I ask if the 14.6 second 400 m time is fair dinkum. He says it is. I forget to ask how many revs you have to use to get that.

Later, at Mangalore airstrip north-west of Seymour, the five-litre V8 engine shatters the cemetery quiet with a moderate 5000 rpm, taking Peter Brock‘s red car, the first of the SS Group Threes, past the 400 m mark in 15.1 seconds. Disappointment is marginal.

WE LEAVE the outskirts of Sydney at 3pm and get to Albury at 8pm, the 5.8 litre four-speed Falcon ESP, heading for Melbourne to do battle with the Group Three in our own mini-James Hardie , lapping up a pleasingly deserted Hume: 523 km in five hours on one tank of petrol (just) at 6.4 km/L (18 mpg) with four big adults aboard and a heap of luggage. The journey could have been arranged by Ford PR as an example of a Falcon’s capabilities, for the car is suited to the task perfectly. I drive the first stint to Albury; it’s easy. I think we stopped once at a red light and there were three gearchanges; 415 Nm of torque did the work, not me. It is the first Falcon I have come to respect.

In a time, rapidly reaching Australia, of turbocharged fours and injected sixes it’s a surprise we have available in this country any V8 of 5.8-litre capacity, and, of course, Ford’s all-iron lump isn’t long for this world. Production stopped in mid-82 and, it has been confirmed, won’t be started again. Availability for several months now has been on and off as the special stock set up by Ford, originally to last three years, diminished. Ford has kept a low profile on the 5.8, and those who didn’t sift through April ’82’s launch material on the XE Falcon range could be forgiven for thinking it was dead already, the little information there was being well buried (the 5.8, despite improvements to its economy, hardly fitted into Ford’s picture of the six-cylinder XEs with their significantly slaked thirst). The 5.8 is probably a cause of embarrassment for Ford in the months before its fuel-injection sixes arrive: demand is still high – the police still want it, for instance – and the cupboard is just about bare.

Socially irresponsible a 5.8litre engine may be to some, but equally there’s no doubt many, many others will regard a switch from a V8 to a six, however much power it has, a difficult-to-accept comedown.

Still, Ford public relations department, under pressure from motoring journalists, made available a 5.8 four-speed test car towards the end of ’82; it probably would have preferred not to have done so, for from Ford’s point of view now cannot be the time for column inches praising something as supposedly inefficient as a 5.8 when around the corner lurks technology just itching to thrust Australia’s most popular big car into a new era of efficiency.

The test car, traditionally numbered 007 with the prefix XE for the new model, is a Fairmont Ghia with the European Sports Pack; only the boys in blue are allowed their 5.8 four-speed without the Ghia’s performance-sapping embellishments. There are a few of those too, for the Fairmont Ghia is not underprivileged in the equipment stakes.

The ESP option, available with other drivetrains adds a deep front airdam, gold-coloured alloy wheels and Scheel bucket seats, while the XE Falcon’s newly coil-sprung and Watts link-located live axle suspension system gets Bilstein gas dampers, a 24 mm instead of a 22 mm front anti-roll bar, increased-rate coils and a lower ride height, a reset rear end and changed geometry for the power-assisted recirculating ball steering. Brakes are servoed discs back and front, a limited slip differential is used and the gearbox is a close-ratio four-speeder from Borg Warner. The price of all this, if you can find someone to take your cheque, is $18,555.

GMH, too, recognises that big-capacity V8s are not in keeping with the image a forward -looking car-maker wants to project. But unlike Ford, which converted its Geelong V8 line to make the new four-cylinder engines for the Telstar, GMH, faced with a similar production dilemma with the Camira’s Camtech engine, chose not to sacrifice its bent eights. And today retains its V8 line, albeit today it’s much more slow-moving than in the heyday of the V8 musclecar.

No one can say how long the General’s V8s will last: an optimistic Phil Brock says the SS’s five-litre – and the 4.2, which at HDT’s hands benefits from a greater percentage power boost than the five – has given results which must guarantee continued production by GMH. Certainly that production has recently been upped (the decision was apparently taken before the favourable Bnthurst result): to the original run of 500 SSs to be built by the end of October we can add an extra 200 by Christmas and another 700 between February and March ’83, making a planned total of 1400 cars in seven months. Phil Brock says 800 of these will have the five-litre.

HDT Special Vehicles, acting as an outside supplier of GMH, offers three levels of development on this basic SS, regarded as dealer/purchaser options. Instead of being shipped to the dealers those cars requiring the Group One, Two or Three treatment are taken direct to Leveson St from the factory. The three levels, with nil changes and additions tested, ADR’ed and warranted by GMH, are priced separately for addition to the SS’s base price, which is $13,3S5. Group One adds to the SS the HDT suspension kit – reset and rerated coil springs, a bigger front and smaller rear anti-roll bar, henvy duty top strut bearing mounts, Bilstein front strut inserts and Bilstein rear dampers and revised geometry – a chromed and bigger capacity air cleaner, heavy duty brake master cylinder and Uniroyal tyres. The body gets a ‘Group One’ decal, and there are more decals inside along with sports steering wheel, HDT gearshift knob and footrest. Group One costs $1995.

Group Two, for $3250 on top of your SS, has everything from the Group One car with in addition blueprinted cylinder heads, chrome rocker covers and other bits, a gas-flowed inlet manifold and fuel anti-vapourisation kit. The body gets the black guard-mounted ‘aero fences’ and a rear deck spoiler. Power in this car is claimed to be 153 kW, 50 kW up on the standard 4.2.

The Group Three 4.2 costs $4750 and with it you get everything mentioned so far plus a blueprinted ignition system – power is similar to the Group Two’s at 153 kW – 15 inch Irmscher alloy wheels with 225×60 Uniroyals and, on the body, a front airdam and extended sills. Optional is a bonnet scoop which is the only other body mod available, although you can have the HDT’s flares to special order. Like the HDT’s styling mods, the SS’s visual revamp is the work of GMH’s design chief Leo Pruneau (who, incidentally, is presently busy putting the final touches to the HDT Camira).

Five and a half grand gets you the Group Three SS with the five-litre engine; the big V8 only being available with the Group Three pack (Phil Brock says candidly the lesser SSs cannot adequately handle the five’s power). An important change over the 4.2 is in the use of harder rear suspension bushes. The bonnet scoop is standard. The big V8 gets the similar treatment to the 4.2 – in simple terms, a thorough ‘head job’ beloved of the custom car fraternity: big-valve heads, gas flowed inlet manifold and blueprinted ignition system with, waiting in the wings for an AOR clean bill of health, exhaust headers. Power of this ultimate Commodore goes from the standard five-litre’s 132 kW at 5000 rpm and 364 Nm at 3000 rpm to 180 kW at 4 750 and 430 Nm of torque at 3500.

A heavier clutch pressure plate is fitted, the brakes- all disc, of course like the Ford Falcon– benefit from Castrol GT LMA fluid and a bigger master cylinder, and the steering, too, is remarkably little changed, though there is a discernible difference in feel thanks to the revised front end geometry (to reduce the standard car’s maximum negative camber and increase positive castor). Like the Falcon, too, the Group Three five- litre, like all SSs, comes with a limited slip diff running a 3.08 ratio (significantly taller than the equivalently tyred HDT with a 3.36. but still a little shorter than the very long-legged Falcon’s 2.92) and it uses GMH’s own M21 close-ratio four-speed. Tyres on both Falcon and Commodore are Uniroyal Wildcat ER60H 15s.

MANGALORE IS not what you’d call a busy airport, just as well for us of course for as a dragstrip handy to Melbourne it is a godsend. The blokes who watch over the place never seem to have much to do and today they are sitting in a ute alongside the main runway, closed to aircraft with two giant crosses, watching us line up the ESP and the Group Three. It is a frenetic figures-getting session. The surface is very grippy and the traction of the cars so good it is difficult to get them off the line without bogging the engine. Many runs are abandoned as engines, clutches and tempers get hot.

We do the in-gears acceleration times and the stopwatches click like I’ve never heard them click before: both cars are despatching the 30 km/h increments in as little as three seconds in second gear; even in fourth the Commodore is taking less than five seconds for many speed rises, and McCarthy’s practised hands work the watches like there is no tomorrow, concentrating hard in the Commodore especially to allow for the most stupidly illogical speedometer error.

A concerted effort results at last in several good 400 m runs and we see 15.1 seconds for the Group Three car and 16.1 for the Falcon ESP. We are not game to see more revs to try to get into the 14s with the Commodore, although perhaps it is possible as HDT claims. We do, however, run a nought to 160 km/h time in the Holden Commodore (by this time worsening carburetion troubles with the Falcon have sidelined the car). Any car that can reach a true 160 from standstill in around 20 seconds is a strong performer, and the Commodore does it easily in 17.4. The last car with this type of performance we drove was the Alfa GTV Turbodelta (WHEELS September) which, rightly, we called shatteringly quick. The Commodore Group Three is afull five seconds faster to 160 …

Look at the figures; only very rarely do motoring magazines anywhere in the world have the opportunity of publishing the times we quote for the Falcon ESP and the Holden Commodore Group Three, and if they did the figures would certainly be associated with cars of enormous price tags or dubious reliability. “These two cars,” we tell the airport blokes still watching us from their ute after we’d finished taking the figures, “are very probably the best sporting sedans for the money anywhere in the world.” They don’t look terribly impressed.

FROM MANGALORE we drive to Shepparton and the two cars lope along easily, their huge reserves of torque pulling their tall fourth gears impossibly easily. With each car’s ultimate performance locked in our memories we find there no reason to speed; we know we can blow off anything that comes along and in many ways that’s more satisfying than having to prove it. A fast-moving BMW Seven Series overtakes us and I consider slipping the SS into second – we are doing about 90 km/h- for a two-second burst and then a snapshift into third, a gear that would reel in that BM, however hard the driver was trying, with ease.

Instead, later down the road, there’s a flat, straight and empty stretch and there the SS gets its head; 5000 rpm in second, third and fourth- 105, 139 and 192 km/h corrected, though now, spearing down this deserted road with the tacho needle evenly on five grand and the engine straining at the leash, the speedo is registering 200, its last calibration. And, praise be, it was push-you-back-in-the-seat stuff all the way there, without a surge or a stutter. And now, this fiery V8 howling for more, I have to lift off heavily to prevent the needle swinging into the red. How dare Phil Brock tell me when we return the car that the engine can go briefly to five-eight! It would have pulled the revs, of that I’m sure, taking the SS into the rarefied performance world past 220 km/h or 135 mph.

Playing things strictly by the book, the Falcon has the higher top speed, 194 km/h at fewer revs than the Commodore – the Ford’s red line is 4800 and feels it – but in a longer-striding (40.4 instead of 38.3 km/h/1000 rpm) fourth gear. The Falcon takes twice or three times the length of road to get to its top speed, which is still mightily accelerative but not in the Commodore’s neck-snapping class.

Past 160 km/h there’s a noticeable tailing off of urge as weight and wind resistance sap the reserves.

ln the lower ratios similar maxima are available except in third which is usefully longer than the Commodore’s; in any car but the Group Three SS there would be a hole between third and fourth.

Big capacity V8s with four-speeds, specially the American-derived variety, are not known for their snap-action gearshifts, light clutches or quiet cogs and neither car breaks with the tradition.

Except for the Falcon’s gearshift: it’s a delight to use. The lever is short and has a firm, German-type feel to it in its well-defined, short travel gate. The clutch pedal, too, though heavier than the Commodore’s (and tiringly heavy in traffic) works progressively and has a short travel which coordinates much better with the gearshift, specially since the accelerator is well-placed for easy heel and toeing. With a longer, floppier and notchier gearlever, coupled with a longer-travel clutch, the Commodore lacks the Falcon’s gear-changing finesse. Both have plenty of truck-like gear whine in second and third ratios, the Ford the most.

Both cars are good to drive and ride in, when going quietly being staggeringly similar to their cooking-model brothers.

There’s more bump-thump from the bigger tyres (though generally the Uniroyals are very quiet, apart from an annoying tendency to squeal in the Falcon) and the rides of both cars are firmer than normaI but certainly not uncomfortably so: at low speeds the Falcon, despite some unnecessary body movement, copes smoothly with the type of rough surfaces that give a hint of jiggling in the Commodore.

Through traffic , whether you’re seated on the plain-looking and low-mounted driver’s seat in the Holden or on the firmer, better bolstered and positioned Scheel bucket in the Ford, the cars display impeccable manners, sacrificing nothing – not even noise suppression, which in both is excellent – to ordinary Falcons and Commodores. Only the solid torque available and the 200 km/h calibrated speedos (with Ford scoring the points for clarity of dash design) suggest to the unknowing that these cars are designed for doing something more than pottering to the shops and back.

They are designed for going very long distances very quickly and both do the job superbly. The Falcon does it quietly, softly and lightly – too lightly, for the steering, although good at the straight-ahead and accurate, is too light for comfort at the ESP’s potential cruising speeds. The Commodore does the same job significantly faster, and with crispness and accuracy. From that you will gather that one’s a cruiser and one’s a racer but in the Group Three SS’s case the roles are completely interchangeable for it is certainly as good a cruiser as the Falcon.

The Falcon 5.8 can’t slip as easily into the role the Commodore is so good at. Apart from the steering lightness, the ride is patently underdamped at the front end and this shows up in high-speed wallowing over bumps and, on occasion as we found, a disconcerting tendency to find the bump stops. The Falcon also twitches on bumps mid-corner, heightening the often present, but never excessive, understeer.

The engine and brakes – superbly powerful and progressive – are two steps ahead of the chassis in being able to provide ultra-fast cross country times. Stiffer dampers would, we presume, harm the low-speed ride too much, a shame but then if there has to be a compromise probably the Falcon has the right balance, specially since it is such a gentle, predictable car to handle.

Another magazine which shall remain nameless (Modern Motor) recently said the 5.8 ESP was a difficult car to drive quickly. It is nothing of the sort, for though the car may have deficiencies, it certainly has no vices. Pushed very hard, its handling is almost graceful, Jaguar-style. Understeer and oversteer are slow-motion actions which, even when deliberately provoked in tight corners as they can easily be, require minimal correction. For all its weight and bulk and power this Falcon feels tame and – as best shown in high-speed cornering on smooth roads – well balanced. Whatever Dick Johnson may say about his racing Falcon, there is no viciousness in the road-going ESP.

The Group Three SS you tame. You must tame it to get the rewards, and at first it’s an intimidating car. Peering up and out over the dash to the big air scoop on the bonnet, practising the clutch and gearchange, not as well synchronised as the Falcon’s, remember, all these things take acclimatisation and it’s best to be sure before you unleash all the performance . At first that performance is simply frightening; this car in the wrong hands doesn’t bear thinking about. But for the luxury trim, the quietness and suppleness of the ride, you could easily think you’d climbed aboard 05 by mistake.

The handling, too, seems to be uncompromised in its bias towards performance. As in any V8 Commodore, weight transfer is noticeable in corners, and at first this buttock-contracting lurching feel from the rear is disconcerting. But the steering, through a lovely, thick-rimmed wheel is ideally weighted and accurate, is so damn good.

The engine is so responsive, and the brakes are so reassuring … surely this car has no vices? Indeed, the rear-end heaviness is just a feeling, a premature warning for the unambitious. There is nothing beyond it to surprise the driver: nothing but a new bite from the tyres as the weight settles and the body flattens and as full noise goes on to take the car around – neutrally, in a four-wheel drift or in a tailslide. The driver has the choice. Bumps are taken in the car’s stride and the damping provides a standard of high-speed control the equal of many exotics, and better than some because there is never any harshness. The Group Three SS starts where the Falcon ESP stops.

IF THE Falcon gave me a drive to respect – and would do again, on the homeward run to Sydney – the Group Three SS provided the experiences to remember. Going up through the gearbox and feeling the wall of torque hit us in the back as the clutch is released, holding a powerslide for 50 m around our makeshift corner at Mangillore, revelling in the balance of the car. Spearing fast along the roads going to Eildon, straightening a series of chicanes with an easy flexing of the wrists on that lovely leather wheel. Braking deep and late into corners and accelerating out to 5000 rpm just to hear the engine’s heathy wail, never intrusive but always satisfyingly audible.

It’s a racing car for the road, you say? No, the Group Three SS is much, much more than that. It’s a sports sedan, a blend of accomplishment and accommodation, or purpose and practicality. And if it’s not the best sports sedan for the money in the world, I’ll stand rooted.

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Hyundai is celebrating 30 years in Australia by releasing Special Edition ’30’versions of its Tucson and Hyundai Santa Fe SUVs.

The 30 years special editions are family-focused, value-for-money SUVs with better performance, unique features and more equipment. Only 300 of each model will be available for sale.

But this is no party bag lolly surprise. The ’30’ Special Editions pack plenty of extra gear for just a slightly higher price-tag than the regular models.

Priced at $4000 more than the front-wheel drive ActiveX model it’s based on, the ’30’ Tucson features the same 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine, but is all-wheel drive only and comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission (the ActiveX auto-option is a six-speed).

For its $37,750 price-tag, the handsome Tucson gains matte grey side steps, matte black 19-inch alloy wheels, a twin-outlet exhaust at the rear and a unique Ash Blue body paint. Inside, the limited edition Tucson gets the same treatment as the ActiveX with leather seats, heated side-mirrors and 7-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay compatibility.

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Hyundai Tucson is one of Australia’s favourite mid-sized SUVs, claiming more than 14 per cent of SUV sales in its segment so far this year.

The Santa Fe special edition ’30’ version features an all-new 3.3-litre all-aluminium V6 engine, which is matched to a six-speed automatic transmission, and, unlike standard models, which are 4×4, it is front-wheel drive only.

Included in the seven-seater SUV’s $40,790 price-tag are a bunch of exclusive features: Mineral Blue metallic body paint, chrome-effect exterior door handles, solar rear-privacy glass, dark-grey 19-inch alloy wheels and unique ’30’ badging. It also includes heated exterior mirrors, tyre pressure monitoring system, leather interior, dual-zone climate control and glovebox cooling.

Hyundai Australia’s CEO, Scott Grant, said: “We wanted to do something special to commemorate Hyundai’s 30 proud years in Australia and I’m happy to say we’ve achieved that with our unique Tucson ‘30’ and Santa Fe ‘30’ Special Editions.

“These limited-edition versions of our standout medium and large SUV contenders really live up to their ‘30’ Special Edition status. They combine real-value, unique looks, features and enhanced performance. I honestly expect they’ll sell quickly.”

Hyundai is a South Korean company that entered Australian showrooms in 1986, and has since built its reputation from a budget brand into one of this country’s favourites, alongside Toyota and Mazda.

TELL ME ABOUT THIS CAR

There’s a lot to be said for a car with a one-setting-fits-all mentality, but sometimes that singular focus can be a bit too challenging. Take the R35 Nissan GT-R. Despite boasting multiple suspension and drive-mode settings, the overriding feeling always involved degrees of brutality. After seven years on Aussie soil (nine years in Japan), the R35 GT-R was in need of a deportment and grooming course.

But much has changed with the MY17 Nissan GT-R. With a range vaguely split into ‘comfort’ and ‘sport’ variants (though those are relative terms – all GT-Rs are proper sports cars), the GT-R has broadened its talents significantly. At entry level, it’s a better-finished, more sophisticated and liveable sports car, while at the upper end, it’s as close to a race car for the road as you’re going to get for a round-the-world business-class ticket over $200K.

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STRENGTHS

• Handling. The GT-R might weigh upwards of 1760kg but most of the time, you’d never know. A sophisticated all-wheel-drive system that sends 100 percent of drive to the rear much of the time, and up to 50/50 front/rear in more demanding conditions, enhances the Nissan sports car’s classic rear-biased balance, while Nismo-spec components and body strengthening turn the MY17 GT-R Track Edition into a mind-blowing circuit supremo. A seductive new steering wheel doesn’t hurt either.
• Street cred. Despite its encroaching vintage, the R35 GT-R has always been a head-turner. The MY17 mods not only enhance the GT-R’s street cred, they actually improve its function (namely cooling and aerodynamics). Black 20-inch Rays alloys (super-tough six-spoke forged items on the Track Edition), a striking new colour called Katsura Orange and new multi-hued leather interior options (red, ivory, tan or black – GT-R Premium Luxury only) give the latest GT-R the additional sparkle it needs to really stand out in 2016. That said, a black GT-R with black 20s still has enormous presence.
• Performance. With 15kW more than last year’s GT-R (meaning a serious 419kW), the MY17 should be capable of three-dead to 100km/h from standstill. And Nissan claims the MY17 GT-R is 0.2sec faster from 100-200km/h, which is great news if you live in Germany. The twin-turbo V6 also has plenty of torque, meaning you don’t have to be flogging the GT-R to appreciate its muscle.

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WEAKNESSES

• Everyday driving. Much-improved as the regular GT-R’s ride quality, steering ease and driveline refinement may be, the GT-R can still be a challenge in the cut-and-thrust of day-to-day life. Long, relatively heavy doors, minimal rear-seat space (despite its external size) and a deep boot with a high loading lip compromise its weekend-away capabilities, while firm suspension and difficult rear and side vision demand attention and driving ability to get the best from the GT-R in an urban environment.
• Turbo lag. In its most relaxed drive mode, following some sedate cruising, the GT-R is too languid when suddenly asked to harness its considerable grunt. Plant your right foot and it will kick down a gear or two before acknowledging your commitment, then dropping yet another gear for full forward thrust. Full kickdown should mean exactly that.
• Price. Starting at $189K (for the Premium Edition), the GT-R is a very expensive Nissan – especially one that lacks modern safety features like collision alert or autonomous emergency braking (AEB). And while the Premium Luxury Edition ($195K) and Track Edition ($227K) add plenty of choice equipment, like the option of a Nappa leather dashboard, console and door trim (in four colours) in the Premium Luxury Edition, or black and red Recaro leather buckets in the Track Edition, you’d want to be in love with the GT-R’s engineering to discover its true value for money.

Possibly the BMW M4 Competition and Mercedes-AMG C63 S Coupe if it’s ballistic two-door coupe cool you’re chasing, though both German heavyweights are better all-rounders than the GT-R, without perhaps quite reaching the height of its highs. And there’s always the Porsche 911 for an even steeper price than the GT-R, and that’s the base model. As far as supersonic thrills for the money goes, the Nissan has a unique appeal.

SKODA claimed a rare spot in the motoring-world limelight yesterday with its eagerly awaited big-SUV debut in Berlin.

The seven-seat Kodiaq signals the Czech automaker’s push into the large-SUV market “to win over new customers” and, if initial reports on pricing are anything to go by, it’s pretty serious.

While there’s no official word on pricing, UK motoring site AutoCar reckons the entry-level Skoda Kodiaq will cost a very competitive £22,500 ($39,500) when it hits British showrooms, which is cheaper than all its rivals there including the Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorrento.

Price won’t be the only attraction. Skoda claims the 4.7m long Kodiaq has the biggest boot space in its class – 720 litres with the sixth and seventh seat folded into the floor. Fold down the middle row and you have a van-like capacity of 2065 litres. With an optional flat-folding front seat installed this can be further extended to carry items up to 2.8-metres long.

The Kodiaq holds its own in the aesthetic stakes. It looks at home in town and the bush with a stately grille and narrow headlights that lead back to contoured surfaces including a recessed shoulder line along its entire length and rear.

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Utilising parent company Volkswagen Group’s modular engine platform, it comes with a choice of five engine choices – 2x TDI, 3x TSI with capacities of 1.4 and 2.0 litres – with power output ranging from 125 PS (92 kW) to 190 PS (140 kW). All engines come with auto stop-start system, brake energy recovery and a thermo-management system to improve efficiency.

There will also be a choice of 6-speed manual transmission, 6- and 7-speed direct shift auto transmissions (DSG) and front or all-wheel-drive (AWD).

The all-wheel drive system with electronic control is available for most engine variants and features an electronically controlled multi-plate clutch, which calculates the ideal driving torque for the rear axle to maintain traction on all road conditions.

The driver can select Normal, Eco, Sport or Individual setups while the AWD models come with a snow mode for slippery road conditions and an off-road mode to better suit rough terrain.

The Kodiak’s towing capacity is a handy 2500kg with a tow assist package available.

Inside, there’s a 6.5-inch touchscreen that can be upgraded to an 8-inch Bolero high-definition screen. Both combine infotainment and Care Connect which feature Google mapping and information services including live traffic, system monitoring and an emergency call function which sends a message to rescue services when the airbags are deployed. It also works with the Skoda Connect and Smart Link apps for remote monitoring and access to infotainment services via Apple Car Play and Android Auto.

Five major Renault Sport markets including Australia have campaigned for the next Megane RS to be produced with a manual transmission following heavy enthusiast criticism of the auto-only Clio RS strategy.

Speculation was rife that the fourth-generation Megane RS will follow the fourth-gen Clio RS and ditch a clutch pedal for the first time, however Renault Australia managing director Justin Hocevar has provided the strongest hint yet that the DIY-shifter would be retained.

“In an ideal world we’d have both [manual and automatic] and that’s what we’ve asked for,” Hocevar said, adding that “we’re not on our own” in asking for a manual to be retained in addition to the adoption of an automatic for the first time in the model series.

Hocevar insists that Renault Sport has listened to customer and media criticism surrounding the decision to use only the company’s Efficient Dual Clutch (EDC) six-speed transmission for the latest Clio RS, while admitting the call disappointed enthusiasts.

“[Renault Sport] thought the wise thing to do was to follow what performance cars were doing in general and go with paddle shift,” he said of the decision made well before the 2013 launch of the fourth-gen Clio RS.

“Maybe we’ve alienated a few people along the way [but] we did that at a time when we still had a manual offering [Megane RS] and you know I’d say at not a vastly different price point.”

It’s yet another indication that Renault Sport will not switch to an auto-only strategy for both Clio RS and Megane RS. Either way, Hocevar said “that decision has been and gone, that vehicle [new Megane RS] is advanced.”

“Timing is still not confirmed, it’s still a fair way away,” he continued.

“[But] I think it’s highly likely left- and right-hand-drive development on Megane RS will be very closely aligned, if not at the same time, and if that’s the case we’ll be a strong position to launch very close to the global rollout.”

With the current model having just finished production (yellow, pictured), expect the next Megane RS to debut globally late next year followed by an early 2018 local arrival. Meanwhile the new Megane GT (silver, pictured) with a 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine and EDC transmission arrives here next month.

The new Koleos is a massively improved SUV offering from French automaker Renualt, but what are some of its lesser-known attributes? We’ve already given you the rundown in our 2016 Renault Koleos Quick Review, but here are a few more morsels of info about the all-new 2016 Renault Koleos.

1. It might look completely different internally and externally, but the 2016 Koleos is based on the Nissan X-Trail’s platform and mechanical package, sharing its 2.5-litre petrol engine, CVT automatic but applying a unique suspension tune.
2. While some SUV rivals only pack a puny space-saver spare, the Koleos comes equipped with a full size spare as standard. It’s only steel rather than a matching alloy wheel, but its tyre width and outside diameter match the standard hoops, which should provide some peace of mind when venturing away from civilisation.
3. Release handles for the rear seats are mounted in the boot to make it easier to increase cargo capacity. Pull a handle, and the spring-loaded backrest it’s attached to swings down instantly.
4. The top-grade Koleos Intens features an 8.7-inch colour touchscreen infotainment display mounted in portrait orientation, rather than the more conventional landscape configuration. With an ultra-responsive screen, it operates much like a tablet with pinch-to-zoom and swipeable menus.
5. Got an armful of groceries? The Intens model features a hands-free power tailgate, which opens when you wave your foot below a sensor mounted under the rear bumper.
6. If you consider the $29,990 entry price for the base model Koleos Life to be a bit steep when other medium SUVs open at lower prices, remember that the Koleos offers an automatic transmission and satellite navigation as standard across its full range – no manual-equipped base models here.
7. You can get an all-wheel-drive drivetrain in the mid-spec Zen and high-spec Intens variants, which adds a grip advantage if you regularly drive in poor weather or on slippery surfaces. It normally sends the bulk of power to the front wheels, but when the going gets tough it can be manually locked in a 50-50 front to rear split for maximum traction.
8. Don’t like the colour of the interior ambient lighting? It’s customisable, with colours ranging from lurid purple to cool blues, sporty reds and neutral whites. The instrument panel graphics can also be swapped between four different designs as well

FORMER Ford Australia executives have demanded the Federal Government step in to prevent the export of Ford’s local archives. Under the Moveable Heritage laws, they believe the local archive, dating back to 1925, must remain in Australia, despite the closure of Ford’s local manufacturing operations.

The archive, originally due to be sent to Dearborn in March, is still in Australia. Following delays in collating and scanning a small portion of the material, currently stored in the basement of Ford’s old headquarters on the Hume Highway, Campbellfield, it is now believed the archive will be shipped in December or early next year. (Ford is gutting the old HQ and remodelling it as Ford’s new R&D centre employing up to 1500 people).

Ford’s unique archive includes board meeting minutes; engineering and styling Black Books detailing individual local model development; Hubert French’s, Ford Australia’s first MD, letters and communications; war time correspondence; Ford publications (Ford News), employee records, repair manuals for local models; a near complete selection of local press kits; and hundreds of hours of celluloid film and video footage.

In a statement to Wheels, The Department of Communications and the Arts says it has “contacted Ford Australia regarding its Australian archive to advise the company that under the Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Act 1986 (PMCH Act) it may need to obtain a permit if it intended to export objects classified as Australian Protected Objects (APOs)”.

“Ford of Australia Communications advised that the Ford Australia archive is not located in the plants and that the future of the archive is not linked to the plants’ closure.”

The department of Communication and Arts defines movable cultural heritage as, “objects that people create or collect and forms an important part of a nation’s identity. These objects are known as cultural property and can be artistic, technological, historical or natural in origin”.

Lead by former product planner Peter Fry, with support from ex-chief engineer David Ford and ex-director and vice president of product design and engineering Ian Vaughan, the group argues that the material is of immense historic value and should remain in Australia.

Ford says it plans to offer any scanned material held in Dearborn to researchers on-line. However, the ex-Ford group argues that local material will be filtered and of little help to local journalists, authors and students. Wheels strongly believes the archive should remain in Australia.

Only a small fraction of the material has been scanned, largely because Ford employees just one archivist, who works with a tiny number of volunteers. Michele Cook, who took over from the late Adrian Ryan, is now responsible for the archive.

In paying tribute to Ryan, when he opened the archive at its Melbourne headquarters in November, 2011, former Ford Australia CEO Bob Graziano said, “Adrian was instrumental in ensuring that not only did we collect the material but that we storied it appropriately too. He did his absolute best to keep the pressure on Ford, right until his last months, to find a proper location to store the archive. We believe he would be chuffed to see the archives treated with the respect they deserve.”