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Articles by Daniel Davis
2026 Mazda MX-5 - Automotive Torque
Mazda’s MX-5, the world’s best-selling two-seat sports car, receives a series of thoughtful enhancements inside and out for 2026. There’s an all-new, premium body colour, called Zinc Green Metallic. Debuting on the 2026 MX-5 Roadster and RF, Zinc Green Metallic takes inspiration from the colour and texture of zinc chromate primer.
Honda NSX Tensei
Significant features – The Tensei is a modern interpretation of the original Honda NSX, built by Pininfarina and JAS Motorsport. – Only 35 will be built, with each one customised for its owner and built at JAS Motorsport’s facility near Milan. – Every car starts life as a donor NSX before being stripped down and rebuilt by JAS, with Pininfarina-designed carbon-fibre bodywork. – Weight of the Tensei is only 1250kg. – Retains the iconic pop-up headlights, with modern LED technology.
Toyota GR KART - Automotive Torque
Toyota Gazoo Racing has launched the GR KART, designed to make grassroots motorsport more accessible. The kart is designed for children and adults and addresses some of the practical issues associated with kart ownership. In Japan, retail price is 385,000 yen, or about $3500 AUD. The GR KART is available for purchase at select kart tracks in Japan and at certain GR Garage locations, with additional sales locations planned. Significant features – The kart is 1820mm long, 1160mm wide, weighs 83kg.
Lotus to revive the Esprit in 2028
Lotus is planning to revive the Esprit, after the model last rolled off the production line back in 2004. The new ‘Type 135’ Esprit will be the first V8 Lotus offered since 2004, with a V6 option also available. In a welcome return for the V8, the hybrid powertrain will produce approximately 735kW and paired with an eight-speed dual clutch gearbox. Weight of the car is reported to be kept to around 1500kg. The hybrid V6 is likely to be the same powertrain that’s planned for the updated Emira.
Nissan Patrol Y63
Orders for the all-new Nissan Patrol Y63 will open later this month, with the model scheduled to arrive in Australian showrooms in the first quarter of 2027. First introduced in Japan in 1951, the Patrol nameplate celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2026. The all-new Patrol builds on that 75-year foundation with a comprehensive step forward in performance, technology and comfort, introducing an extensive list of new features.
Hyundai i20 N Shadow Edition
Significant features – Hyundai’s i20 N Shadow Edition marks the finale of the acclaimed current generation i20 N. – The Australia-only i20 N Shadow Edition is limited to 100 units in a choice of Atlas White or Phantom Black. – Pricing from $41,500 MLP (Atlas White) and $42,095 MLP (Phantom Black). – 18-inch Matte Bronze Flow Forged Alloy Wheels with black wheel nuts. – Pirelli P Zero tyres. – Shadow Edition Lower Door Decals and Numbered Plaque.
Ferrari Festival at Queensland Raceway
The Ferrari Festival will be held over 20-21 June 2026 at Queensland Raceway. Things to see and do at this event: Round 4 of the 2026 Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Australasia championship, featuring Ferrari 296 Challenge and Ferrari 488 Challenge EVO race cars. Qualifying and race sessions across both days. Ferrari Festival features track sessions showcasing other iconic Ferrari models. Multiple vehicle displays, open pit lane sessions, and a Next Level Racing simulator.
Citroën BX 4TC - Automotive Torque
Many car manufacturers entered the fabled Group B World Rally Championship in the 1980s, including Audi, Lancia and Peugeot. French car manufacturer Citroën also joined the party by entering the BX 4TC, a model based on the BX five door hatchback. Although 200 road going versions cars were required to be built for homologation, Citroën produced 110, with an additional 20 Evolution rally cars. The BX 4TC car was homologated for the 1986 season of the World Rally Championship.
Ford’s forgotten concepts at the Ford Discovery Centre
The Ford Discovery Centre opened in 1999 and was an interactive museum that showcased and preserved the heritage of Ford Australia. It was in situated in Geelong, Victoria, on the corner of Brougham and Gheringhap Streets. This location was significant as the Centre was situated across the road from Ford Australia’s original manufacturing site.
Mt Buller Sprint Videos 2026
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Mt Buller Sprint 2026 Gallery
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Genesis GV70 2.5T Signature Sport Review
The Genesis GV70 was launched in 2021 and has recently had a mid-life update. Available with three different engine choices, including an electrified version, a 2.5L turbo four-cylinder and a 3.5L twin-turbo V6, Genesis provides an alternative for buyers in the competitive mid-size luxury SUV segment. The GV70 2.5T specifically comes in three grades including the entry-level Advanced, mid-spec Signature and top end Signature Sport.
Toyota GR GT - Automotive Torque
Significant features – The 2026 Toyota GR GT is powered by a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 hybrid powertrain, with outputs of 478 kW/850 Nm. – Power unit has been developed in-house by Toyota and paired with an electric motor that’s integrated into the rear transaxle. – System drives the rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission and limited-slip differential. – Utilises an aluminium chassis with carbon fibre reinforced plastic body panels and a CFRP torque tube.
Mt Buller Sprint returns in 2026
In 2026, the Mt Buller Sprint officially returns, starting on Friday 13 February and concluding on Sunday 15 February. The event has been revived under the Australian Tarmac Rally banner and sanctioned by the Australian Auto-Sport Alliance (AASA). The event is limited to a field of 80 full competition vehicles. Rally Headquarters and the Service Park for the three-day hillclimb will be held at Mirimbah Park, with stages run from Mirimbah to the summit of Mt Buller.
Historic Sandown 2025
The 33rd Historic Sandown will be held from November 7th – 9th 2025, hosted by the Victorian Historic Racing Register (VHRR). The event will celebrate the 100-year anniversary of Ford in Australia with a feature race of Ford touring cars. A further feature event will be conducted, commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the Moomba Tourist Trophy for sports cars, originally held at Albert Park. There will be 300 racing and sports cars in attendance.
Monster Jam Melbourne 2025 Video
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Monster Jam Melbourne 2025
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Toyota GR Yaris GTS Aero Performance Package
Significant features – Toyota has announced an Aero Performance Package option for the flagship Toyota GR Yaris GTS, arriving in Australian showrooms by the end of 2025. – Priced from $64,990 plus on-road costs for the six-speed manual variant, the new Toyota GR Yaris GTS Aero Performance Package adds multiple exterior upgrades inspired directly from its involvement in professional rallying and Super Taikyu racing.
Farewell to the Nissan R35 GT-R
Production of Nissan’s legendary R35 GT-R has concluded, after 18 years and approximately 48,000 vehicles produced. Since its launch in 2007, the R35 model has become a symbol of performance and innovation, setting benchmarks in the high-performance sports car segment. The final vehicle produced was the Premium edition T-Spec finished in Midnight Purple paint. Learnings from the R35 will be integral to the next-generation GT-R. If you enjoy this website, please donate to help it grow.
2026 Lotus Emira
The 2026 Lotus Emira range will include three variants: Turbo, Turbo SE and V6 SE. For the first time since the start of 2024, customers will be able to order the V6 engined variant. ADAS functions are standard across the range and Adaptive Cruise Control, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Door Opening Warning and High Beam Assist are available in an optional pack.
Track Days - Automotive Torque
Below is an updated list of track days taking place in Victoria for the second half of 2025.
Ascari Cars - Part 1 - Road and Race Car History
Ascari was a British car manufacturer based in England and founded in 1994 by Dutchman Klaas Zwart, who’s a racing driver and chairman of oil and gas company Petroline. The company was named after Alberto Ascari, who won the Formula One World Championship with Ferrari in 1952 and 1953. The FGT was a concept car created by Lee Noble in 1992, with Noble launching his own automotive company a few years later.
Updated Victorian Track Day List 2025
Below is an updated list of track days taking place in Victoria for the second half of 2025.
Ferrari Festival at Sydney Motorsport Park
The Ferrari Festival will be held over this weekend (28-29 June 2025) at Sydney Motorsport Park. Headlining the festival will be Round 4 of the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Australasia, the marque’s one-make racing series that launched in 2025. Drivers from Australia and overseas will compete in the Ferrari 296 Challenge and Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo, with qualifying and race sessions held on each day.
2025 Mitsubishi ASX
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Audi RS 3 - Automotive Torque
Significant features – The updated Audi RS 3 is available in both Sportback and Sedan body styles. – Pricing begins from $104,800 for the Sportback and $107,800 for the Sedan. – The Audi RS 3 will be available in Australian showrooms in mid-2025. – Front of the RS 3 features a wide, flat hexagonal single frame grille with an aggressive rhombus pattern, flanked by vertical black blades and three apertures inspired by the iconic Audi Sport quattro S1 Pikes Peak from 1987.
Ford Mustang GTD
Ford’s Mustang GTD had already recorded the fastest time for an American car around the Nürburgring, setting a 6:57.685 late last year. Despite becoming the first American-made production car to break the seven-minute barrier around the circuit, a mixture of high temperatures and soggy conditions held the GTD back. Ford weren’t satisfied, believing there was more time to be found.
Targa Tasmania returns in 2025
For the first time since 2022, Targa Tasmania makes a most welcome return in 2025, with Targa Australia planning to run its signature event at a different time of the year. Instead of the event being held in April/May, it’s being moved to later in the year, starting on Sunday 16 November and concluding on Friday 21 November 2025. The return means that the iconic rally will be run at a different time of the year for at least the next five years.
McLaren Bringing Award-Winning Supercars to Melbourne Motor Show
British motor racing super marque McLaren has confirmed the multi-award winning McLaren 750S and McLaren Artura Spider, the latter of which will make its Australian debut at the Melbourne Motor Show, taking place at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre over the 5-6 April weekend. The rear-wheel drive McLaren 750S Coupe was recently crowned the Top Gear Performance Car of the Year 2024 and the Robb Report Car of the Year 2024.
Skoda Octavia RS
Significant features – Skoda’s most powerful and best-equipped Octavia RS ever. – The upgraded performance sedan and wagon arrive in Australia in March 2025, with a recommended retail price (RRP) of $58,490 and $59,990 respectively. – Power increase of 15kW, now resulting in 195kW from its 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol four-cylinder engine. – Equipped with a seven speed DSG gearbox.
Victorian Track Day List 2025
This year, I’m focussed on getting my Nissan 300ZX prepared to compete in track days again, after a four-year absence. In anticipation, I’ve compiled a list of track days in Victoria for the first half of 2025.
Autech GT-R - Automotive Torque
Nissan’s Skyline GT-R is not only remembered as an iconic road and race car but also its timeless two door body style. An interesting car was discovered recently at the Classic Japan event, a four door GT-R. Four door you say? Back in 1998, Nissan commissioned its tuning division Autech, to build a limited-edition version of the GT-R, that featured four doors instead of the regular two.
Hyundai i30 Sedan N TCR Edition
Significant features – Hyundai Motor Company has unveiled the i30 Sedan N TCR Edition (badged as ELANTRA N TCR Edition & AVANTE N TCR Edition overseas). – Derived from the Touring Car Racing (TCR) World Tour for production-based vehicles, the i30 Sedan N TCR Edition represents the wealth of experience Hyundai has gained since joining the TCR World Tour in 2017. – The car features a lightweight, adjustable Carbon Swan Neck Spoiler.
Lewis Hamilton drives Ayrton Senna’s McLaren at Interlagos
Ahead of the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton was given the very special opportunity of driving the 1990 McLaren MP4/5B of his racing idol Ayrton Senna. Hamilton completed several demonstration laps in the V10-engined MP4/5B, that took Senna to the 1990 world championship title. These laps were completed on a very wet Interlagos circuit between qualifying and the race for the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Toyota GR86 Limited Edition
Significant features – Toyota’s upgraded GR86 two-door sports car range will arrive in Australian showrooms in December 2024, headlined by the new GR86 Limited Edition variant. – Limited to a run of 86 units, the GR86 Limited Edition is based on the top-of-the-range GTS with Dynamic Performance Pack and its unique Forest Shadow exterior colour is inspired by classic sports cars. – The Forest Shadow colour is paired with bronze 18-inch multi-spoke alloy wheels.
2024 Toyota GR Supra Supercar
Toyota Australia will enter the 2026 Repco Supercars Championship with the GR Supra. The racecar will be designed and developed by Toyota Australia’s design team and Walkinshaw Andretti United has been chosen as Toyota’s homologation team partner. Toyota will field a minimum of four GEN3 GR Supras. The GR Supra will use Toyota’s 2UR-GSE all-aluminium, quad-cam V8. If you enjoy this website, please donate to help it grow.
Porsche 718 RSK - Automotive Torque
Brief History – The 718 RSK was introduced in 1957, as a successor to the 550 Spyder and was designed primarily for racing. – One of the most iconic and influential sports cars in Porsche’s history, with only 34 cars made. – Powered by a mid-mounted 1.5-liter, four-cylinder engine capable of producing around 142hp (106kW). A five-speed manual gearbox was equipped. – The 718 RSK only weighed 550kg and featured a tubular spaceframe chassis with lightweight aluminium bodywork.
Fox Classic Car Collection Videos
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Corvette C8 ZR1 - Automotive Torque
Significant features – The Chevrolet Corvette C8 ZR1 will enter production in 2025, but there are no current plans to offer the model in Australia. – Gone is the previous ZR1’s ‘LT5’ 6.2-litre supercharged V8, in its place is the Z06’s 5.5-litre V8 fitted with two turbochargers. The engine is known as the LT7 and has dual overhead camshafts and a flat-plane crank design.
Ford Falcon DJR 320
Ford Australia and Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV) certainly built some memorable performance Falcon sedans over the years. A lesser-known model was the DJR 320, a performance car based on the BA XR8 Falcon, that was introduced in 2003. The DJR 320 was the result of a joint venture between five-time Australian Touring Car Champion Dick Johnson, who helped to develop and sell the car through his Queensland racing facility, and Ford performance specialist, Rob Herrod, who assembled the cars.
2024 Le Mans 24 Hour Results
POS. NO. TEAM DRIVERS 1 50 Ferrari AF Corse A. Fuoco, M. Molina, N. Nielsen 2 7 Toyota Gazoo Racing J. Lopez, K. Kobayashi, N. de Vries 3 51 Ferrari AF Corse A. Pier Guidi, J. Calado, A. Giovinazzi 4 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport K. Estre, A. Lotterer, L. Vanthoor 5 8 Toyota Gazoo Racing S. Buemi, B. Hartley, R. Hirakawa 6 5 Porsche Penske Motorsport M. Campbell, M. Christensen, F. Makowiecki 7 2 Cadillac Racing E. Bamber, A. Lynn, A. Palou 8 12 Hertz Team JOTA W. Stevens, N. Nato, C. Ilott 9 38 Hertz Team JOTA O.
Mechanics near me
In many years of car ownership, like many people, I’ve found it difficult to find a good, honest mechanic. I firstly want to point out some of the bad experiences I’ve had with mechanics and who I recommend seeing to work on your car. It’s taken me a long time and I’ve been through a lot of people to find these mechanics. These mechanics are in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria and hopefully they can help you out as much as they’ve helped me.
BMW M3 E36 and Nissan 300ZX Z32 Repairs
It’s time for an update on the two cars that I own, being a 1994 BMW M3 E36 and 1990 Nissan 300ZX Z32. I’ve had to spend some money on repairing both cars since December 2023, and the repairs are listed below: Repairs on the 300ZX December 2023 A blown fusible link while out driving resulted in the car having to be towed home. The alternator cable was shorting to ground as the ring terminal had broken off the back of the alternator.
Nissan Z NISMO - Automotive Torque
Significant features – Power and torque of the Nissan Z NISMO increased to 309kW and 520Nm. – NISMO-tuned 9 speed automatic with paddle shifters. – Priced at $94,000 (MSRP). – New NISMO styling – exterior and interior. – Gloss black RAYS 19-inch wheels. – Enhanced Engine cooling. – Bigger front brake rotors. – NISMO aerodynamic enhancements, chassis, tyre and wheel enhancements, Sport+ Driving Mode, Launch Control, Active Sound Control, RECARO seats.
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