In celebration of Wheels magazine’s 70th birthday, we’re running through the 70 greatest cars of all time – defined not by sales or talent alone, but simply as our writers past and present see it.

To follow the series, hit our Greatest Cars Ever main story here.

Following our first story in this series, The Greatest Sedans Ever, we now turn our attention to the fiery arena of sports cars.

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? Porsche 911

Of course it’s all wrong. Were you to design the perfect sports car from a clean sheet of paper, it probably wouldn’t have its engine slung out the back.

History tells us that, through an iterative process, Porsche made the layout work. History also suggests that Porsche committed to this architecture because it was an integral part of the company’s DNA.

That’s not strictly true. As early as February 1972, when the 911 was a mere nine years old, the company planned to replace it with what became the 928. Porsche chairman Ernst Fuhrmann was far from wedded to a rear-engined future and plotted its front-engined replacement. “Everyone was on board,” claimed 928 project director Wolfhelm Gorissen.

Fortunately, the 911 outlasted both the 928 and Fuhrmann. In 1982, new CEO Peter Schutz ushered Fuhrmann out the door. Schutz took one look at a product development chart that had the 911 running into the buffers, grabbed a marker and extended the 911 line across the board, way past the 928. It was a symbolic gesture, but it made one thing very clear…

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There was no Porsche without the 911.

The 959 project clearly informed the direction of future 911s, which saw the introduction of all-wheel drive on the 964 generation, the multi-link Weissach axle on the 993, liquid cooling and stability control on the 996 and the dual-clutch transmission on the 997.

Perhaps the most radical development in the 911’s 60-year existence came in 2019 when the mid-engined 911 RSR racer was unveiled, demonstrating that when competition is in the blood, tradition counts for little.

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What elevates the Porsche 911 to greatness?

More than anything it’s the care that Porsche has taken in rewarding the driver. That has never changed.

Flawed it may have been, but the 911 has never shortchanged us when it comes to delivering excitement. It occupies one of the few motoring sub-niches where rivals have simply given up trying to confront it head-on, a rare honour it shares with two other cars in these lists, the Mazda MX-5 and the Jeep Wrangler.

That recognition has kindled and rekindled the 911’s fire. That flame was flickering when Schutz entered the building, with 911 sales hovering around 11,000 units. Now it sells over four times that figure and is protected by the financial buffer of 200,000 Porsche SUV sales. The 911 could so easily have become a lazy caricature of itself. Instead it’s become a legend.

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? Mazda NA MX-5

Retro is a symptom of a certain laziness to innovate. That’s what most industrial designers would have us believe, at any rate.

Yet, when retro is done right, it can brilliantly revive a moribund genre and infuse it with a new reason to thrive.

That’s the logic behind Mazda’s MX-5, a reset and a palate cleanser after a diet of increasingly flabby 1980s sportsters. The original NA was the brainchild of ex-Wheels staffer Bob Hall and arrived in ’89, a vintage year for Japanese cars, eclipsing the likes of the Honda NSX, Nissan Skyline GT-R and the Lexus LS400 while breathing new life into the roadster segment.

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? Audi Quattro

Just as Apple didn’t invent the smartphone, Audi can’t lay claim to hitting upon the notion of an all-wheel-drive sports car – that honour falling to the Jensen FF of 1966.

As Apple well knows, there is a benefit in being a follower – and refining a flawed innovation is often the key to sparking mass-market appeal.

The Quattro revolutionised world rallying almost overnight and created a sports car template that’s set to outlive the era of internal combustion. Simpler, smarter and more effective than what came before: Vorsprung durch Technik.

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Ford Mustang

It’s easy to underestimate the impact of the Ford Mustang.

In 2016, after 27 years on sale, the Mazda MX-5 celebrated the millionth unit built. It took Ford 23 months to sell a million Mustangs. It’s become the heart and soul of Ford and, while not every generation has been a gem, it’s won Aussie hearts.

The first imports of right-hook sixth-gen cars started in December 2015 and it’s been the top selling sports car on these shores ever since, now representing the last holdout of the manual V8. Just be prepared for a certain weight of expectation when exiting Cars & Coffee.

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Subaru Impreza WRX STi 22B

For many, the absolute zenith of the JDM rally-rep genre, the 22B now basks in an afterglow that’s probably greater than the sum of its parts.

Despite appearances, the 22B was never a homologation vehicle, instead being more of a celebration, a loose homage to the actual Peter Stevens-designed WRC ’97 rally car.

Based on the existing two-door STI Version IV Type R, the 22B designation is perfect prosaic Subaru, the 22 referring to the 2.2-litre capacity and the B signifying the car’s Bilstein suspension. This box-arched bubble-era special oozes desirability but only five cars ever officially came to Australia.

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Nissan Skyline GT-R R32

It seems hard to believe that the Skyline R32 GT-R was a flop when it launched in Australia in 1991, with only 63 of the 100-car quota initially finding owners.

It took Jim Richards and his spirited speech from the podium at Bathurst in ’92 before the public at large realised just how good the GT-R was.

It enjoyed two years of Aussie touring car dominance before a contrived rule banning all-wheel drive and turbocharging effectively banned it, bolstering the legend of Godzilla. It heralded a Playstation generation while the Porsche 964 and BMW E30 M3 were battling on Atari.

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Datsun 240Z

MacPherson struts up front, Chapman struts astern and a inline six driving the rear wheels. It’s hardly groundbreaking is it?

Yet, it was exactly this recipe that Nissan used with the S30 Fairlady Z, better known to us as the 240Z.

Having been burnt trying to sell the minuscule open-topped Sports 2000 in America, the father of the Z, Yutaka Katayama envisaged something more rugged, more spacious and more weatherproof. Four years later and with 160,000 units sold, the Z car had achieved something groundbreaking for a Japanese sports car: genuine, hard-won credibility.

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Toyota 86 / Subaru BRZ

Whether you choose Subaru or Toyota, they’re both huge fun and the follow-up is even better than the original.

When it was first launched, we weren’t to know that the 86 would spawn a whole series of brilliant Toyota enthusiast cars.

As a rear-drive coupe, the branding seems a more natural fit for Toyota than Subaru, but the second-gen BRZ is probably the pick of the bunch. With a winning ability to shine at vaguely sensible road speeds, a certain bulletproof simplicity and relatively light weight, the 86 and BRZ are all the car you need if you can’t run to a Cayman.

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Chevrolet Corvette

The Corvette looked the oil crisis, the global financial crisis and the climate crisis squarely in the eye, and barely deviated.

As with the Mustang, there were malaise-era Corvettes, but the timeline of America’s sports car is a story of adaptation and reinvention.

The Corvette was born in 1953 – like Wheels magazine – and its current mid-engined C8 generation, the first to get a hybrid powertrain in E-Ray guise, looks to reinvigorate the nameplate once again. It’ll go some to beat the greatest car marketing coup of all time: Jim Rathmann’s plan to offer US astronauts Corvettes was pure genius.

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BMW E46 M3

Most of us never knew how great the BMW E46 M3 was until gifted with the benefit of hindsight.

We didn’t guess at the fact that its V8-powered successor would be a mis-step, nor that it would take another couple of generations for Munich’s most storied performance car to find its mojo again.

Harder edged and quicker-witted than the rangy E36 that came before it, the E46 was the last of the atmo straight-six M3s – and it was a belter. Curiously, it could have been even better, had Garching given us the incredible CSL lightweight with a six-speed manual ‘box. Hindsight eh?

To follow the series, hit our Greatest Cars Ever at the link below.

Pricing for the Porsche Macan has increased across the range for 2023.

Porsche’s midsized luxury SUV now starts from $95,300, up from the previous sticker of $89,300 and accounting for a $10,500 jump in entry price since the Macan facelift was introduced in 2021.

The lower half of a four-model range features a turbocharged four-cylinder engine, while the higher grades are powered by a twin-turbo V6.

Pricing

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Drivetrains and Performance

Power, torque and performance varies between the four Macan models.

All Macans are all-wheel drive and feature a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

The base Macan and Macan T share a turbocharged four-cylinder that dishes out 195kW and 400Nm.

While the T is quoted with faster acceleration, it comes standard with launch control as part of the Sports Chrono package. This package is available as an option for the entry Macan to match the T’s 6.2sec 0-100km/h sprint time.

The Macan S steps up performance with a 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 that punches out 280kW and 520Nm, and quoted to complete the 0-100km/h in 4.8 seconds.

Porsche’s flagship Macan, the GTS, features an uprated version of the V6, delivering 324kW and 550Nm. The German car maker quotes 4.3 seconds for the GTS’s 0-100km/h acceleration.

All engines are mated to Porsche’s PDK seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, sending power to all four wheels.

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Features

The Macan S’s premium over the T comes primarily from the switch from turbo four-cylinder to twin-turbo V6.

Note that some of the T’s features are actually optional on the S – such as heated front seats, heated steering wheel, and Sports Chrono Package.

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At the top of the range, exclusive standard features for the Macan GTS include:

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Warranty

All Porsche models are covered by a three-year / unlimited-kilometre warranty in Australia with 24/7 roadside assistance, renewed when the vehicle is serviced at a Porsche Centre.

Porsche also offers warranty extensions every 12 to 24 months for up to 14 years/200,000km, transferrable through private sales.

Who hasn’t dreamed of knocking on the door of that one temple-tappin’ genius in the replies? (Maybe I spend too much time in the comments section…)

Proving you can still make a fun ad about cars without resorting to doughies and burnouts, Volkswagen’s new Amarok ad takes a playful swing at the terminally online automotive justice warriors out there.

“We know that ute drivers are some of the most passionate in the comments section of your website and others,” a Volkswagen Australia spokesperson told me today, and he’s right – although I’d quite like to know what he’s doing looking at other websites.

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The spokesperson added that the new ad is authentic in its response to online critics – if perhaps not the usernames, likely changed to protect the innocent insolent.

“We took feedback from the 88,000 Amarok owners in Australia, we listened and we improved our Amarok.”

With a little help, of course… but then, there aren’t many new models these days that aren’t the result of a few mergers, acquisitions, alliances and technology partnerships.

Of course, this particular partnership has been good for Australian jobs and the local industry, which is a win in itself.

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As for criticism, well. Volkswagen has been no more immune to the usual complaints and stereotypes than any other brand – you can’t throw a keyboard without it hitting some poor bloke who’s had a complete lemon from Brand X, and watching it ricochet into a champ onto his 5th Brand X Falcadore over 70 years and has never once had a problem.

That doesn’t sound too bad, actually… anybody got a spare keyboard?

Nonetheless, with ‘dieselgate’ still fresh in the minds of detractors seeking ammunition for their replifles (I made that word up just now, pretty chuffed with it), it’ll be interesting to see the comments on this one…

Check out the video below.

“Are you Username: ladiesman217?!”

Sorry, wait, it’s this one.

June: New C-HR unveiled!

Euro-built second-gen C-HR small SUV here next year with two hybrids – including an all-wheel-drive GR Sport flagship. Details at the story below.

The story to here

The 2024 Toyota C-HR small SUV will be unveiled on June 26, the brand has confirmed.

A dim teaser image released overnight confirms the second-generation C-HR will feature an LED light strip at the rear, with a red illuminated ‘Toyota C-HR’ badge in the centre.

It is expected to be a toned-down version of the C-HR Prologue concept unveiled in late 2022, as depicted in our speculative rendering below.

Toyota Australia has confirmed the second-generation C-HR will be its first vehicle offered exclusively in hybrid form, with petrol-only engines set to be ditched for the model globally.

The new C-HR is tipped to be related to the latest Prius small car, with available powertrains including a more-powerful 1.8-litre hybrid or the 2.0-litre hybrid from the Corolla Cross.

The current C-HR offers a 1.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol or a 1.8-litre petrol-electric hybrid borrowed from the Corolla hatch and sedan.

Last year, the hybrid powertrain accounted for 44.1 per cent of C-HR sales in Australia, split between the Koba (84 per cent) and GR Sport (16 per cent) grades.

A plug-in hybrid version of the C-HR will be available in Europe, but it appears unlikely for Australia to compete against the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross PHEV.

The 2024 Toyota C-HR will arrive in Australia in the first half of 2024, with more local details expected to be announced in the coming months.

VFACTS new-car sales data reveals 1906 examples have been sold in Australia year-to-date, placing it at the lower end of the small SUV segment, behind rivals including the MG ZS (9823), Mazda CX-30 (4939), Kia Seltos (4283), Mitsubishi ASX (3859), Volkswagen T-Roc (3360) and Toyota’s own Corolla Cross (2302).

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An all-electric small SUV similar in size to the new C-HR – potentially badged bZ3X – will debut later. It was previewed by the BZ Compact concept in 2022.

Toyota’s local arm has announced it will offer three all-electric vehicles in Australia in the next three years, including the soon-to-launch bZ4X medium SUV – but hybrid technology is still the main focus.

Following the bZ4X, Toyota Australia is tipped to confirm the production version of the BZ Compact SUV concept for our market, and another electric vehicle due within the next three years.

Story time.

And while you’re reading this, consider that the stunning star of this story is up for auction this week with Collecting Cars. [↗]

Lotus Engineering’s release of the Eleven in 1956 marked a significant milestone for the marque in the motorsport world. Designed by Colin Chapman and styled by Frank Costin, it was built to perform.

For some, it looked as sexy as a D-Type Jag [↗] with aluminium body panels elegantly wrapped around the frame, making it lightweight and aerodynamic. Underneath, the cleverly-engineered space frame chassis and suspension design provided superior manoeuvrability.

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Weighing in at a sprightly 450kg, the Lotus Eleven [↗] was available with various engines, including a Ford 10 side-valve, 1098cc and 1460cc SOHC units, through to the punchy 1475cc DOHC FPF Coventry Climax, which powered the limited Le Mans edition.

Lotus produced 271 Elevens between 1956 to 1958 in Series One and Series Two variations. The Series Two, released in 1957, received a slightly wider chassis and upgraded double wishbone suspension.

The Eleven proved extremely competitive and campaigned across Europe’s race circuits, becoming the marque’s most successful race car.

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The Le Mans 150, also known as the LM150, was the rarest and most significant version of the Lotus Eleven, built for endurance racing.

With twin fuel tanks, an improved cooling system, and a strengthened chassis, the LM150 was powered by the Coventry Climax engine, producing 140-plus horsepower, making it the complete package for racing at the time.

LM150s were produced in minuscule numbers – just two were assembled by the factory. Lotus founder Colin Chapman campaigned one (chassis 322, which was later restamped as 332) in the 1956 Le Mans race with co-driver Herbert Mackay Fraser and sadly scored a DNF. That machine was sold to Carroll Shelby and raced by Jim Hall. It later returned to the UK.

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The other, chassis number 305 and our feature car, was first delivered to British race driver and team owner John Coombs.

It started its career with an illustrious 1957 race season in Europe driven by legendary steerers Ron Flockhart and Roy Salvadori as part of the Coombs race team. The drivers succeeded at circuits including Goodwood, Oulton Park, Silverstone, and Rouen in France.

The car was then offered for sale at the end of the season and snapped up by Australian racing driver Charlie Whatmore. He shipped the LM150 to Australia, where he raced it in events up and down the east coast, participating in club races at Lakeside, Toowoomba, Lowood, and Strathpine.

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Whatmore also raced the LM150 at Bathurst twice and the Melbourne Grand Prix in 1958, continuing its pedigree appearances until a minor accident at Lakeside in May 1961 saw the car dismantled and parked up for many years.

The LM150 changed hands a few times over the decades and was eventually picked up in 1998 by the current owner in a somewhat derelict state. It was a complete car at the time, but not the correct configuration.

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As with lots of older racers, many parts were missing or swapped out for non-genuine or incorrect items.

It was stripped down and meticulously restored over ten years, with every nut, bolt, and part replaced, restored, or remanufactured to the LM150 specification.

The owner completed a full research paper on the car, found genuine complete factory drawings to guide the process, and had regular contact with the Historic Lotus Register in England to establish what was required to return it to its original specification.

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As luck would have it, the mechanics who had dismantled the car in 1961 had a cache of original parts from the 305 stored in Sydney – a restorer’s dream.

Impossible parts to source elsewhere, like the steering rack, braking system, fuel tank, differential, engine mounts, inlet manifold, gearbox internals, and even the original gear stick, were snapped up and restored to their original glory and configuration in the car.

Sourcing the correct Coventry Climax motor was particularly challenging, but the owner managed to build the engine from parts sourced from Australia and overseas. The block came from the UK through Bill Clarke in NZ. Meanwhile the head, crank, and cams came from Melbourne through Ray Gibbs, and the SU carburettors were sourced from England.

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The engine’s tower gears proved difficult to find, so the owner convinced a UK mob to loan a second-hand set to copy here in Australia.

It took three years to source all the correct parts and assemble the engine to LM150 specification.

Ray Little from Body Craft Auto Restorations in Caloundra handled most of the fabrication and bodywork, resulting in a stunning finish. The body was fully restored, incorporating many of the original panels plus a second-hand front clip from English coachbuilders Pritchard and Williams. All finished off in the correct Ecuri Ecosse blue colour.

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Completed in 2011 the car appeared at various shows and events, including a run in the demonstrator event at the Australian Grand Prix in 2013 and the 50th anniversary of the Lakeside circuit, a hark back to its appearance on the grid for the opening of Lakeside in 1961.

The LM150 305 was afforded an FIA Historic Technical Passport with the hologram proudly affixed to the dash and in 2016 it was issued with a CAMS group LB log book.

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Overall, the Lotus Eleven LM150 is a rare and unique machine that will hopefully have lots more track time in its future.

Ed’s note: This car is now up for auction with Collecting Cars [↗]

Originally published at our sister site, Unique Cars [↗]

June 13: BYD Dolphin name confirmed, Australian launch set for June 22

Chinese EV company BYD has confirmed through its local distributor EVDirect that the compact BYD Dolphin EV will go on sale in Australia later this month.

Up to now, the brand has not been particularly communicative with media on the Dolphin’s coming, but a post to the LinkedIn page of EVDirect boss Luke Todd confirms both the Dolphin name, and the date of its launch: June 22.

Previously speculated to be named Atto 2 in Australia, signifying its size and range position beneath the popular Atto 3 SUV, the Dolphin is expected to be Australia’s most affordable EV when it arrives.

Right now, that title belongs to another Chinese EV: the GWM Ora hatch, a direct rival to the Dolphin. Although its drive-away price varies by state – as it always does, given the different on-road costs around the country – but in the Northern Territory, the Ora is priced from $44,490 drive-away. Its highest drive-away price is in Western Australia, at $47,891.

Watch for full pricing and details on the Dolphin to come next week, if not sooner – and keep scrolling here to catch up on everything we know so far.

Mike Stevens

March 23: BYD Dolphin spied in Australia again

The 2023 BYD Dolphin has been spotted again, and this time we’ve nabbed a much better look at the new EV’s cabin.

Alex Inwood

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Snapped by long-time Wheels photographer Cristian Brunelli in Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula, the lightly camouflaged test car was parked at the local skate park where it was replenishing its battery on one of the local fast chargers.

It appears to be the same car we spotted yesterday in Albury, which is about 450km away from Sorrento, but these shots give us a much closer look at the all-new small EV.

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The test car is right-hand drive and the cabin features a large shelf for your phone below the rotating central touch screen. The seats are also electric and appear to be finished in the same synthetic leather-like material used in the larger BYD Atto 3.

BYD is gearing up to launch the Dolphin in Australia later this year, where it’s likely to be badged as the Atto 2. Before then, though, the car will launch in Thailand, which is another important right-hand-drive market for BYD, and the company has today confirmed it will start at 799,999 baht.

That converts to around AUD $35,000.

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March 22: BYD Dolphin spied in Australia

An eagle-eyed Wheels reader has spotted a barely camouflaged BYD Dolphin in Albury, NSW.

John Law

Following several delays, the BYD Dolphin – a Toyota Yaris-sized EV that’s expected to start below $40K – is gearing up for a mid-2023 Australian release.

It’s anticipated to ditch the marine-inspired name for a more conventional Atto 2 moniker. Normal name aside, it’s a sharp looking vehicle with a full-width LED signature at the rear – just like the Atto 3 – and intricately-shaped door and side details reminiscent of a Hyundai Tucson.

The Dolphin/Atto 2 will slip in below the Chinese carmaker’s first release in Australia (the quirky Atto 3), and be followed by a larger sedan known as the Seal in China.

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Although it’s possible that the Dolphin is undergoing local suspension tuning, it’s unlikely. Instead, this Dolphin’s pilot is probably testing in-car connectivity, charging infrastructure, and safety aids further afield from its previous Metropolitan sightings.

The Dolphin/Atto 2 scores the same Blade battery tech as larger models, and is expected to offer around 300 kilometres of driving range from a circa-45kWh battery pack.

Wheels has contacted BYD’s local distributor, EVDirect, for further release and naming information on the Dolphin/Atto 2 ahead of a launch later this year.

Our original story, below, continues unchanged.

November 30: BYD Dolphin and Seal delayed

BYD’s local distributor has confirmed the Seal and Dolphin EVs will become available to order later than planned, with 2023 now the target.

Get all the details, and quotes, at the link below.

November 27: BYD Dolphin spotted in Sydney

The upcoming 2023 BYD Dolphin electric hatch, confirmed for Australia, has been spied in Sydney this week by Twitter user Lachlan Smith.

Full Australian details are still to come, but earlier discussions with Wheels Media in August saw Luke Todd, managing director of BYD’s Australian distributor EVDirect, confirm that pre-orders will begin before the end of 2022.

Given it is almost December, those plans may have changed, and we will update this story as more details become available.

What is the BYD Dolphin?

As reported previously, the BYD Dolphin is a small Yaris-sized hatch.

Although not confirmed, it is expected to debut as Australia’s first electric vehicle to be available at a price point in the $30,000 range.

Continue reading for further details on BYD’s model expansion in Australia.

Peter Anderson

August 2, 2022: BYD Dolphin hatch and Seal sedan confirmed for Australia

Pre-orders to commence later this year.

EVDirect, the local third-party distributor for Chinese electric vehicle brand BYD, has confirmed the BYD Dolphin hatchback and BYD Seal sedan will arrive in the first half of 2023.

Speaking with Wheels following a media event at Eager Automotive’s ‘Automall’ in Brisbane’s Indooroopilly Shopping Centre, EVDirect managing director Luke Todd reiterated that pre-orders for both models will commence by the end of 2022.

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BYD vehicles will be available for purchase online or at select physical dealerships operated by Eagers Automotive, with the Atto 3 small electric SUV set to arrive locally in the coming weeks.

Other models, including an electric dual-cab ute and large SUV, are tipped to arrive in Australia in the coming years.

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Todd said the company expects a production capacity for each of 3000 per month, which is anticipated to be filled based on current demand for the Atto 3.

However, the units are likely to be spread out to customers over several months, with monthly VFACTS data measured by vehicle registrations – but still comfortably placing BYD within the Top 20 brands.

As reported, the BYD Seal is rival for the top-selling Tesla Model 3, with sales kicking off this week in China. The smaller Dolphin hatchback is roughly the size of a Toyota Yaris and is poised to become Australia’s cheapest electric vehicle, kicking off in the low- to mid-$30,000 range.

For further information, check out our previous interview with EVDirect managing director Luke Todd below.

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April 5: BYD plans aggressive model expansion in Australia

BYD’s Australian distributor, EVDirect, is planning an aggressive expansion in the local market as the Blade battery-powered Atto 3 gets a strong start in online orders despite no cars arriving until at least July.

Speaking to Wheels during our time with the left-hand-drive evaluation Atto 3, EVDirect CEO Luke Todd outlined BYD’s plans over the next 18 months.

As expected, the Dolphin hatchback will be available for pre-order later in 2022, although he expects a new name for the small car.

After a year of speculation that the Atto 3 would start in the mid-$30,000s, it’s likely that the Mazda 2-sized Dolphin will be the one to dip into that more affordable price bracket.

UPDATE: We’ve now driven the new electric BYD Atto 3 SUV. Read and watch our review at the link below.

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Following on from that, the Seal sports sedan – yet to be officially unveiled, but already caught by spy cameras – Todd also expects a new name and pre-orders by the end of the year. The unveiling is likely to occur during April, with Chinese market cars featuring single and dual motor variants.

The Seal shares the Atto’s e-Platform 3.0 architecture, as well as its Blade battery technology, and is positioned in the same sort of space as the much-loved, but under-bought, Kia Stinger.

Possibly the most enticing prospect in the BYD line-up is the medium-sized dual cab ute, which doesn’t yet have a name.

“It’s real,” said Mr Todd. “It’s under development and I’ve seen it. We’d be looking to open pre-orders for it in 2023 for deliveries in late 2023.”

An electric ute to go up against Ranger, HiLux and Triton would no doubt be wildly popular, particularly as fuel prices hover well over the two-dollar mark and the obvious benefits of a power supply on wheels would be very appealing – not just to tradies, but a variety of mobile businesses.

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Todd also explained why the Atto 3 would, initially at least, be largely unchanged from its home market specification. There won’t be a local Australian market tune for the suspension, steering or brakes – save for some minor changes that aren’t hard to integrate into the dedicated right-hand-drive production line.

“We have a limited scope to modify the car, but we make changes where we can. This is balanced against the high production we want, so we want to get the balance right.”

A lot has happened since the Atto 3’s launch in Sydney with high demand for the compact SUV that has prompted the fast-tracking of expansion plans.

To “build robustness” in the local operation, EVDirect is looking to raise $200 million via a green bond. A green bond is funded by both private and institutional investors and made available only to sustainable businesses that meet certain criteria.

“There are seventeen UN sustainability pillars and we tick almost every one of them.”

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EVDirect’s servicing partnership with MyCar has already expanded beyond the original eight locations to a planned 30. MyCar – formerly known as Kmart Tyre and Auto – had lined up a selection of sites to deliver and service BYD cars, but the pre-orders suggested more would be required and further sites are under evaluation as MyCar itself builds new locations.

Todd also confirmed a Memorandum of Understanding had been signed with Eagers Automotive, a publicly-listed car dealership network, but said he was unable to comment further due to rules around public disclosure that could affect the company’s share price.

BYD’s first publicly-available model will start arriving in July at the rate of 1500 per month, with the capacity to expand to double that number if required.

Read and watch our review here.

Over the past 70 years, almost 10,000 vehicles have been tested by Wheels.

Ranking them in terms of talent would be a mammoth task and would possibly create a roster of cars very different to the one assembled here.

We’ve separated the vehicles into seven specific genres. Some are, by nature, a richer source of greatness than others.

Find each at the links below

• Greatest sedans ever
• Greatest sports cars ever
• Greatest 4X4 / SUVs ever
• Greatest utes / pickups ever
• Greatest small cars ever
• Greatest hot hatches ever
• Greatest supercars ever

These are the greats, and greatness can be a surprisingly tricky concept to nail down.

Case in point, the Ferrari F40. There are many objectively superior supercars, yet few would deny that the F40 captured a moment and built its legend from exactly the sort of raw intangibles that separate the great from the good.

By the same token, this is no rose-tinted wallow in nostalgia. Some phenomenal cars have failed to make the cut but there will be some surprises.

There may be one or two choices that seem parochial, and for that we make no excuses. Wheels is a proudly Australian publication and cars that work for Aussie buyers are always going to gain a degree of additional credit.

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The list, by Wheels staffers past and present, will doubtless exclude some of your personal favourites.

It excludes some of mine too, but all too often our choices are just that: personal.

How they stack up in a broader context is often a very different consideration.

To some, greatness is, like the Roth test, a threshold whereby you know it when you see it but is otherwise hard to define. Sometimes a car only needs to do one simple thing extremely well to elevate itself.

In other instances, it’s a track record of years of continual improvement. Then there are those that are intermittently great, interspersed by years of mediocre vintage.

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We’ve separated the vehicles into seven specific genres. Some are, by nature, a richer source of greatness than others.

We could likely have populated the supercars list with ten alternates and it still not look conspicuously odd. Nevertheless, we’ve nailed our colours to the mast and here are the 70 from 70 years of Wheels.

It’s been an epic undertaking and it’s one that’ll doubtless cause controversy.

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You’ll find all of these in the June 2023 issue of Wheels magazine.

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For the web, we’re going to roll them out one category at a time.

If you can’t wait, pick up the mag!

• Greatest sedans ever
• Greatest sports cars ever
• Greatest 4X4 / SUVs ever
• Greatest utes / pickups ever
• Greatest small cars ever
• Greatest hot hatches ever
• Greatest supercars ever

We’d love for you to get involved: let us know what your picks would be, and why.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned over seven decades, it’s to never underestimate our readers. So here’s your chance to share your opinion at [email protected]

In celebration of Wheels magazine’s 70th birthday, we’re running through the 70 greatest cars of all time – defined not by sales or talent alone, but simply as our writers past and present see it.

To follow the series, hit our Greatest Cars Ever main story here.

We’re opening proceedings with probably the most important class in the evolution of cars: the sedan. Here we go.

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? Mercedes-Benz W126 S-Class

There’s a familiar refrain with many of the cars on this list and Joni Mitchell sang it. “Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone.”

Except, with the W126 Mercedes-Benz S-Class, we pretty much did know what we had.

Like every S-Class before or since, it was the expression of everything Stuttgart knew about the art of making the car, yet the W126 was somehow different. It was imperious without being remote in its personality, refined without being uninvolving in its dynamics and, reassuringly over-engineered without being overblown, which is perhaps more than can be said for its successor.

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It needed eight cylinders under its bonnet to be at its best, and the last of the line 560 SEL versions were the pick of the bunch.

Introduced in 1989, it took a decade before rivals caught up, and its spiritual successor came not from Europe but from Japan.

The S-Class won Wheels‘ 1981 COTY crown by a huge margin, Peter Robinson noting “that the Mercedes-Benz overcomes the natural inclination of COTY to the more popular cars, to stand above all other new models of 1981, is a tribute to its depth of engineering brilliance and the huge influence it will have on cars of the future.” Amen to that.

1

? Tesla Model S

The car that changed everything? It certainly changed the way many of us viewed both the electric car and ICE vehicles.

If there’s been a more influential and game-changing vehicle built this century, we haven’t driven it. Recalibrated our meters on both drivetrain performance and refinement, and re-established the notion of the world-beating American car

1

? BMW E39 5 Series / M5

It’s possible to find motoring journalists, many of whom haven’t taken leave of their senses, who will identify the E39 BMW 528i as the best car ever made.

By reasonably common consent, the E39 was also the best M5. It made the W210 E-Class feel flabby and the C5-gen Audi A6 resolutely wooden.

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Mercedes-Benz W124 E-Class

The design of this icon is credited to Bruno Sacco, largely because his name is easier to pronounce than Joseph Gallitzendörfer’s.

The W124 succeeded the slightly agricultural W123 and brought us sophistication, speed and the utterly magnificent Porsche-built 500E. Sedans, coupes, cabrios and wagons were spun off the W124 theme with over 2.5 million built.

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Ford Falcon XY GT-HO Phase III

Uwe Kuessner’s iconic image of the HO Down The Hume, with Mel Nichols clocking 145mph is probably the greatest image ever published in Wheels.

Shot south of Wodonga, it highlighted the abilities of a car that could clock 6.4 seconds to 60mph in 1971. The world’s fastest four-door? The Magnum-engined 1969 Dodge Polara might have had something to say about that.

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Holden VF/VFII Commodore & Calais

“A charming and special instant classic, from base to beast. Forever Australia’s greatest car,” claims Nathan Ponchard.

He has a point, but given the money that was poured into its development arc, it should have been. Never quite did the business it should have outside of these shores, but remains one for Aussies to rightly feel proud of.

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Lexus LS400

Another Wheels COTY champ, the big Lexus claiming the award for 1990.

The cover line said it all: “How could the best in the world not win?”

Editor Phil Scott knew that recession-hit Australia would hate the notion of a $120,000 Japanese limousine carrying away the trophy. He didn’t care, and rightly so.

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Holden VB Commodore

The March 1979 issue of Wheels awarded the VB Commodore its COTY award by a huge margin, dubbing it “the best Australian car ever.”

In the same issue, John Mellor wrote a multi-page takedown titled “What’s Wrong With The Commodore”.

Divisive to the last, it revolutionised the previously boat-like Aussie family sedan – yet it was only sold for 17 months, and never won Bathurst.

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Peugeot 504

If this segment was predicated on a car’s ability to drive across North Africa in comfort and style, the Peugeot 504 would face little competition.

As tough as old boots, the 504 was a sedan, a wagon, a pick up, a coupe, a cabrio, an ambulance, a rally champion, a Popemobile and a presidential limo.

Production started in 1968 and ended in 2006, with over three million built. Vive la différence.

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Audi C3 100

Of course, using aerodynamics to predicate a car’s styling was nothing new.

The 1930s were full of suppository-shaped cars, but flush glass, rounded surfaces of the 1982 Audi 100 made wind cheating fashionable all over again, the car even featuring a Cd 0.30 decal on its glasshouse.

Instrumental in changing the shape of cars and kickstarted Ingolstadt’s push to premium.

To follow the series, hit our Greatest Cars Ever at the link below.

The Triton GLX is an honest, versatile and rugged ute, capable of getting down and dirty without costing a fortune.

Starting a reasonable $30,740 for the 2WD GLX Single Cab Chassis (manual), the 2023 Triton GLX reaffirms Mitsubishi’s reputation for crafting dependable vehicles without the hefty price tag.

With a reliable 2.4-litre MIVEC turbo-diesel engine and options for manual or automatic transmissions, the GLX is focussed on getting the job done without fuss.

Pricing and features

The Triton GLX offers an array of model configurations for potential buyers, spanning Single Cab, Club Cab and Double Cab body styles, available in both 2WD and 4WD drivetrains.

The entry-level 2WD GLX Single Cab Chassis starts at $30,740 and serves as a formidable workhorse, complete with heavy-duty suspension, front skid plate and an array of MiTEC safety tech.

If you’re after more cabin space, the 4WD GLX Club Cab Chassis, starting from $39,940, offers just that without compromising the practicality of the ute bed. It comes equipped with additional features like Easy Select 4WD and a 4WD indicator, with the choice of a six-speed manual or automatic transmission.

For those who require all-around flexibility and capacity, the 4WD GLX Double Cab options are worth considering. They begin from $40,440 and come packed with a double-wall utility body and rear step bumper, creating a great balance of utility and convenience.

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Safety

When it comes to safety, The Triton GLX comes standard with Forward Collision Mitigation, a system that can help prevent frontal collisions by providing a visual and audible alert, and, if necessary, applying emergency braking.

Lane Departure Warning is standard, which alerts the driver when the vehicle is veering from its lane without the use of indicators, to prevent potential accidents.

Also included is Mitsubishi’s Emergency Brake Assist system, which can apply additional braking power in the event of an emergency stop, while Hill Start Assist ensures a smoother and safer take-off when starting on an incline.

Key rivals

The Triton GLX finds itself up against some heavy-hitters:

• Toyota HiLux
• Ford Ranger
• Isuzu D-MAX

Should I put it on my shortlist?

The 2023 Mitsubishi Triton GLX is a cost-effective, versatile option with a vast range of included features. While it might not possess the luxurious fit and finish of some competitors, it delivers no-nonsense performance.

If you’re in the market for a capable, well-appointed and reasonably priced ute, the Triton GLX should be on your radar.

It’s that rare, thrilling, mindblowing time again: another Subaru WRX STI 22B is up for auction.

Auction house Collecting Cars reckons this car [↗] will fetch close to $500,000 – and they’re probably right, since car 156 of 400, with 40,000km on the clock, sold for A$402,000 in the US back in 2021.

Of course, that was in the height of the ‘COVID tax’ period…

This one, car 258 privately imported from Japan (only five came here officially), has 71,000km on the odo. Will it do as well? Collecting Cars say they’ve sold other 22Bs for “minimum” $360,000, so it’s in with a chance.

Need a catch-me-up on the 22B? Read on…

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RETRO: 1998 Subaru WRX STI 22B explained

Michael Stahl

“Forget tail-wagging wheelspin, axle tramp, induction roar, flailing fists, masses of metal being torn from rest,” I wrote in 1993, of the just-launched Subaru Impreza WRX.

“This apparently innocent sedan, built to carry Subaru’s future hopes in world championship rallying, might just be the car to define high performance 1990s-style.”

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In terms of rallying, I guess I was right: of the 10 WRC drivers’ championships from 1990-99, all but one were won in Japanese four-cylinder turbo 4WD cars.

Okay, the WRX accounted for just one of those (Colin McRae, 1995), punctuating the reigns of Toyota’s Celica and Mitsubishi’s Lancer – but in the WRC manufacturers’ title, Subaru claimed three on the trot (1995-97).

In this, Subaru was aided by its STi (Subaru Tecnica International) competition department and British-based Prodrive, with which it had collaborated in rallying since 1989 with the all-wheel-drive Legacy, and subsequently the compact Impreza WRX since 1993.

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“STi took direct inspiration from the sexy coupe-bodied ‘WRC 97’ works machine and packed a road-or-rally customer version with a hand-assembled…”

In celebration of its title hat-trick, and to better represent the new-for-’97 World Rally Car regs allowing greater freedoms than the outgoing Group A, STi took direct inspiration from the sexy coupe-bodied ‘WRC 97’ works machine and packed a road-or-rally customer version with a hand-assembled, enlarged 2.2-litre turbo flat-four, and a catalogue of trick homologation parts.

British designer Peter Stevens had penned the WRC 97 competition machine’s bulging, 80mm-wider body and unique aero package that included a tall, adjustable rear wing. Starting with the production coupe shell (STi Type R, introduced in 1997), both these elements would make it to the new, limited-production model, formally known as the Impreza WRX Type R STi 22B.

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STi began its production run of just 400 domestic-market 22Bs at its Osawa, Tokyo plant in March 1998.

The allocation had been sold out in less than 48 hours (some say in one hour). Urging from foreign quarters, not least Australia, teased out a further 25 cars: 16 for the UK, five for Australia, and three ‘000’-numbered prototypes, bound for special customers (see Fast & Factual). Production wrapped in August 1998.

All 425 cars were finished with gold-painted wheels and the familiar metallic Sonic Blue. A number of the cars were destined for competition, allowing those owners to chase their ’97 works heroes McRae, Kenneth Eriksson and Piero Liatti. And the rest – including wide-eyed journalists – got to marvel at supercar-beating point-to-point performance, and a truly iconic expression of the turbo all-paw four.

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Flat feat

The 2212cc EJ22G engine, a parts-bin peculiarity to the 22B, had a closed-deck block with stock WRX rods, forged pistons and EJ20K heads with sodium-filled valves.

Turbo was a single IHI VF23, though a larger, laggier VF22 was optional. Official outputs were 206kW and 360Nm, via a (disappointing) five-speed ’box, twin-plate clutch and driver-variable torque split. Zero to 0-100km/h took 4.7 seconds.

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Three-door’s down

The STi coupe body was 10kg lighter than sedan, hatch, but 22B’s bulged guards (on 20/40mm wider front/rear tracks) and aero package brought kerb weight to 1270kg.

Nozzles in bonnet scoop sprayed mist over the intercooler. Down under were a quicker steering rack, Eibach springs, Bilstein dampers and 17-inch BBS wheels, covering ABS-less discs with STi calipers.

Strip show

The STi 22B might have cost $125K in Australia (near BMW M3 money) but it had few luxury aspirations.

The coupe cockpit is surprisingly spacious, the (unbranded) blue Alcantara-insert bucket seats supremely grippy, but subtleties like CD player, air-con and airbags were absent, in favour of toys like console-mounted DCCD (driver controlled centre differential) dial and intercooler spray switch. Each car had a numbered plaque below the ashtray.

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Don’t stop now.