The world’s fastest Lamborghini will be unveiled at next month’s Geneva Motor Show.
The Italian brand has revealed it is building a special, low-volume supercar as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations, promising it will be the fastest road-going Lamborghini to date.
That means it will need to beat the 350km/h top speed of the current Aventador. Details of the exclusive model are clouded in secrecy, but Lambo has revealed the car won’t be an entirely new concept. Rather it’s likely to be a heavily modified version from its current range.
Lamborghini has a long history of producing special one-off cars, first showing the world a one-off Miura Roadster in 1968.
Last year it displayed the jaw-dropping Aventador J in Geneva, while a limited edition track-only Sesto Elemento (pictured) was unveiled at the 2010 Paris Motor Show.
Less than 10 examples of the new car will be built, with Lamborghini revealing ‘most’ of them have already been sold, despite an expected multi-million dollar price tag.
Behold, the all-important VF Commodore.
Holden has just revealed the Calais V version of its crucial new model that is expected in local showrooms this June.
It says the new Commodore has grown-up, is sleek and sophisticated on the outside and has premium feel on the inside.
The Adelaide-made car has lost the blunt and brutal design of the VE Commodore, taking on a shape with more lines and curves that designers refer to as ‘organic’.
Holden has also completely overhauled the cheap and dated interior, which was a source of criticism for VE, replacing it with a cabin that is the clear highlight of the new model.
Wheels was given a special preview of the car this week and can report that these pictures don’t lie, the new Calais is the most luxurious Australian vehicle ever produced.
It looks less muscle car and more European premium and there are similarities with the BMW 5-Series, including the overall proportions and boot treatment, which Holden is only too keen to point out.
Today’s public unveiling was held in Melbourne’s Docklands, a stubby’s throw from Holden’s headquarters, where its engineers and designers have been toiling away for more than five years on what could be the last of the rear-drive Commodores.
Holden has confirmed another Commodore will be built in Australia when the VF winds up at the end of 2016, but the new car will sit on a global base and there is no guarantee it will be a large car or even rear-wheel drive, two features central to the appeal of the Commodore since it was introduced back in 1978.
The VF is an update of the VE Commodore of 2006, but it is an extensive one.
Holden has changed the front (forward of the windscreen) and rear (from the bottom of the rear screen) of the interior and completely overhauled the low-vent VE interior.
The company only showed the Calais V publicly today, but also presented the sporty SS to dealers and select journalists this week. Images of that car will be released this Friday at midday. The VF Commodore will also be exported to the US to be sold as a Chevrolet SS, an iconic American nameplate. That car, which is closely based on the SS Commodore, will be presented at Daytona Raceway before the first race of the NASCAR season on Saturday.
The revised Commodore Ute and Sportwagon are expected to be revealed in the next few weeks.
Holden has not made extensive mechanical changes to its local flagship, but is not ready to confirm the details of what has been done other than to say it will run fuel-efficient electric steering.
It has talked up the design elements of the new car including the features customers will find inside the cabin.
These include several items not seen before on Australian large cars such as a self-parking system, which can automatically park the car in both parallel and perpendicular spaces (not many can do both), which will be standard on all cars.
Some cars will also get lane-keeping assistance, collision alert, a blind-spot warning system and a Head Up Display (HUD), which is currently limited to luxury brands BMW, Audi and Lexus. HUD projects your speed and other relevant information such as navigation guidance and the current gear onto the windscreen above the dashboard, allowing the driver to monitor the information without looking down at the instrument cluster.
The new Commodore will use an aluminium bonnet and boot, making it the first Australian car fitted with panels made from the lightweight material and its slippery shape creates less drag. Both factors are expected to help cut the car’s fuel consumption, although the savings are yet to be disclosed.
Holden’s designers, who started shaping the VF back in 2009, were determined to make the car look more sophisticated.
It said the overall proportions of VE were good and didn’t need to be changed. It left the roof, windows and doors the same and continued to make a feature of the car’s pumped out wheel arches.
GM Holden chief designer, Richard Ferlazzo, describes the car as ‘more serious’ and ‘well-planted,’ adding that while the VE design was ‘sheer and geometric,’ the VF look is more ‘fluid and sculptural’.
GM Holden design director, Andrew Smith, said: “The (exterior) design feels a little more grown up, it is sleek, upscale and the surfacing is somewhat sophisticated.”
There are plenty of chrome highlights applied to the car, a treatment Ferlazzo says has lasted through the ages of vehicle design.
Holden showed one Calais V with 20-inch wheels, but the standard wheel for the premium model is likely to be 19-inch, with 18-inch alloys also available.
Smith said the changes made to the exterior and impressive, but the interior changes are even better.
“I’m blown away by the interior, it really is what everyone is going to be talking about,” he said.
“All the (VF) interiors take a massive step forward, not just in the technologies…but in the premium content and the fit and finish, the materials we have used.”
Almost the entire cabin is different, apart from the roof, with a totally new dashboard design and centre console, door skins, all-new seats and a fresh steering wheel, with a flat bottom for the premium models.
There is an eight-inch centre information screen, in all models, which can be used to control smart phones and music devices that are either plugged in or linked by Bluetooth. Occupants can even use the pre-loaded Pandora application to access internet radio, using their phones to stream the audio through the head unit (although customers will need to keep an eye on the data usage).
There is also a dual zone climate control with a temperature read-out on each dial.
A combination of leather-look material and synthetic suede is used to dress the dashboard and doors, in all models, and adds to the high-class impression.
Holden has also used many more chrome highlights throughout the interior, while woodgrain is also used in the Calais.
The design is much cleaner, the surfaces are softer and look far more premium than those of the current car. There is also a keyless entry and start button so customers can leave their keys in their pockets.
Holden has ditched the unloved bulky handbrake design of the VE, switching to an electronic handbrake switch instead. It has also, finally, repositioned the window winder switches from the centre console to the doors.
There are two kinds of seats, with new foam and trim, while heated seats are available for the first time.
Unfortunately, the rear seats don’t fold down and customers will continue to make do with a ski port built into the centre seat. The chunky windscreen pillars, which can obscure vision through corners, have only been mildly revised and appear the same width or only slightly narrower.
Holden will introduce some bold new colours with VF including a rich green, which has been given the interesting name Regal Peacock, another grey, called Prussian Steel, and a vivid Fanta orange colour called Fantale.
All up, there will be 10 colours to choose from.
Holden has clearly invested a considerable amount in the VF Commodore, although it refuses to say how much, but it remains to be seen whether the new car will trigger a revival of the car’s fortunes in Australia. It is worth noting January was the worst month on record for Commodore, with just 1656 sold, the latest chapter in a long-running story of decline.
GM Holden managing director, Mike Devereux, conceded the VF Commodore will not return to the dizzy sales heights that accompanied the arrival of VE in 2006, but is still confident it make an impact.
“I think this is going to change what people think of large cars in this country,” he said.
“This is a car that is going to reconnect Australians with the name Commodore because it is absolutely world class in every respect.”
The new VF Commodore has landed, but 2013 marks another historical moment for Holden’s hero car.
It’s turning 35.
So to help celebrate, Wheels have flicked through the history books to give you this: an evolution of the Commodore.
Click the gallery to see all 15 models that have carried the iconic Commodore name and see just how much Australia’s favourite sedan has changed.
Here at Wheels we reckon expensive, super-rare cars should be driven, not hidden in dust-proof rooms.
But is this taking it too far?
Not content with a swift Sunday drive, the owner of this Ferrari Enzo has taken his hypercar rallying.
Obviously the owner has money to burn on repairs, or maybe he simply doesn’t care. Either way, it’s a great excuse to watch an Enzo dance on some slippery tarmac and dirt.
Holden has unveiled the VF Commodore it plans to take on the world with – the new, high-performance SS.
First shown to the world in Adelaide this morning, the SS will not only spearhead the new Commodore’s performance arm in Australia, but take the iconic brand to America.
General Motors is exporting the SS stateside, where it will rebadged as the Chevrolet SS Performance.
The move is expected to net Holden around $100 million, with GM also using the model in the hugely popular NASCAR racing series.
Holden’s new VF Commodore – which will contribute a staggering $2 billion to the Australian economy – is not even on sale yet, but work has already begun on its replacement.
Speaking at the launch of its super hot flagship SS model in Adelaide this morning, Holden chairman Mike Devereux revealed the VF will contribute billions to the economy through wages, capital spending and engineering.
True to his word, Devereux also confirmed once again that the Commodore name would live on beyond 2016, revealing serious talks about the next-gen Commodore are well under way.
Clay models of the VF replacement exist within the bowels of Holden’s Adelaide plant, with Devereux confirming the next Commodore will remain an Australian built and designed car – thus confirming the employment future of thousands of workers.
What Devereux couldn’t confirm, though, is whether the 2017 Commodore will remain a large, rear-wheel-drive car. There’s plenty of speculation that the next car to wear the famous badge will be a Toyota Camry-sized, front-wheel drive car. Or, shockingly, an SUV of some kind.
“No, this is not the last Australian-built Commodore. No way,” Devereux told Wheels. “To the extent that we’ll talk about the Commodore that replaces this, all we’ll say is that there is one and frankly in about three years time that’s when we’ll start talking about that.”
Surprisingly Devereux confirmed design work on the VF’s successor has already begun.
“There are clays of the next Commodore that our designers are creating,” he said.
“They are scale models, but I’m not telling you if its a large car or small car. I won’t speculate. All I’ll say is the Commodore brand is very strong and we’re going to deliver a car that is absolutely right for the times in 2017. The next car has to be relevant to 2022 so we’ll talk about details later.”
Holden’s new SS model will be exported to America with Devereux keen to sell the new Commodore as a ‘world beater’.
“This is the next step for Holden, it truly is the most advanced car ever built in Australia,” he said. “We know that, we don’t just believe it.This is the best Commodore ever. This car truly is a world beater.”
Devereux wouldn’t speculate on how many SS models he hopes to sell in America, preferring to highlight the VF’s impact on the Australian economy.
“This Commodore not only shows what we can build in this country, but what high-tech advanced manufacturing can do for this country,” he said. “During the life of the VF Commodore we will inject more than $2 billion into the Australian economy. We’ll do that in the form of employment wages, component purchases, moving things around, capital spending and engineering. The new Commodore really does redefine the Australian car.”
As far as car stunts go, this is a doozy.
In what MINI is calling a world first, the brand has performed an ‘unassisted 360 degree backflip’.
French daredevil Guerlain Chicherit completed the stunt overnight, tumbling the MINI Countryman off a snow ramp in France.
It’s estimated the car jumped 12 metres during the stunt, as well as completing a full 360 degree turn.
The stunt was four years in the planning, with Chicherit undergoing intensive training to complete the necessary airborne aerobatics.
Details on the car haven’t been revealed, but the heavily modded stunt vehicle is based on a JCW Countryman crossover which uses a 160kW four-cylinder engine.
OK. It may look, feel, go, and stop just like last year’s FPV GT R-Spec.
But the black sedan you see here is the first Falcon with a GT badge to be completely built for customer delivery at the 53 year-old Campbellfield plant since the demise of XB GT in 1976.
Until the end of 2012, FPVs were built across the road as part of a 49:51 joint venture partnership between Ford and UK engineering firm Prodrive dating back from 2001 – and 10 years before that with Tickford Engineering.
Prodrive’s decision to abandon Australia last year means that all go-faster Falcons are reunited under the same nursery at birth.
Completed over the summer shutdown, an assembly area once dedicated to interior seating now fits specific FPV parts, including the wheels, bumpers, badges, stripes, starter button, exhaust, rocket cover, and 5.0-litre V8 engine’s air box.
That V8 – which starts off as the US Mustang’s ‘Coyote’ V8 and ends up as the supercharged ‘Miami’ V8 – is put together in Geelong by one engineer.
Though relocating hasn’t changed the car itself, it has led to greater efficiencies, since ‘double handling’ of items like the exhaust, scuff plates, seat belts, carpets, and the rear seats has been eliminated.
Under the scrutiny of two ex-Prodrive FPV employees, the vehicle inspection regime has also improved, which includes up to 10km of road testing, thorough whole-car check listing, water testing, and final sign-off routine.
Taking around 1.5 days to complete, five FPVs are currently built each day, as a slow ramp-up will help with quality; total daily capacity is eight vehicles.
“Nothing’s changed,” says Ford Australia Bob Graziano.
“The individual customer experience that comes with FPV ownership starts right here in the new FPV Assembly Facility where each FPV is hand-finished for individual customers.
“It is all part of a very special ownership experience that comes with each FPV.”
It’s official: Volvo has built the world’s safest car. And it doesn’t just protect drivers.
In a safety breakthrough, the brand’s new V40 – which has scored the highest safety rating ever – features a revolutionary pedestrian airbag.
The technology ejects an airbag from in front of the windscreen to act as a cushion between pedestrians and the hard parts of the car’s engine and body.
It comes as standard on the new V40 hatch which also boasts Volvo’s Collision Warning and auto brake systems, which use sensors to avoid crashes at speeds under 35km/h, if the driver fails to react.
The car also has blind spot and pedestrian protection, which calculates whether a pedestrian will step in front of the vehicle.
Inside the car you’ll find hordes of airbags (including new ones for your knees), with the V40 also featuring Adaptive Cruise Control, Park Assist Pilot and Active High Beam.
It even has sensors that reads road signs to let you know if you’re speeding and a unique Cross Traffic Alert system that warns drivers of coming traffic while reversing, say out of a driveway.
When he’s not busy spreading the good word of the global game, what sort of vehicle does football superstar David Beckham choose to cruise around in? Click through our gallery to find out.
