For this next blog post I am posting on behalf of my mate Hydie, some of you might know of him from the various forums. Anyway, he was in Sydney over the weekend for random shit, so decided to check out the Australian International Motorshow at Darling Harbor. Here is how it went down.
When I first told Rory that I was heading to the Motorshow, his first reply was “Fuck You”, then not long after followed by a “dare you to do an article for Downshift”, so with my amateurish camera skills I decided why the hell not. This is the second Motorshow that I have been to in Sydney, the previous time was back in 2005, so I kind of knew what to expect, plenty of basic models, a few standouts, and companies spending way too much money on their stands. There has been a lot of debate on whether it’s a viable Return on Investment for the exhibitors, which is why there were only 28 brands there this year. Some of the most notable not participating were BMW, Ferrari (which in turn meant no 458 :( ), Alfa Romeo, Fiat and Citroen. I have read in the media that these stands alone run into the millions to manufacture
and maintain, so wouldn’t they be better off refurbishing their showrooms? Anyway, enough of my opinion on that, down to some photos…
Started off at the Ford stand, with them having the new Ford Focus RS at pride of place. The RS retails for ~$68k and there are only 349 being imported into Australia. Not worth the price for a FWD turbo with a very basic plastic feel interior. (Obviously it is worth it considering they are all sold, I know I would front the money if I had it – Rory)
They were also showing the new FPV Boss 355 GT. (New FPV is so gangster, runs the new Coyote Mustang 5.0ltr, matched with a supercharger from factory. HSV eat your heart out – Rory)
The Ford stand would have been the biggest, and they had other things (not just the cars) to attract the audiences, for example, slot car racing…
…virtual cricket…
…this racing simulator, was pretty cool as it also spun 360 degrees aswell as the seat moving every which way it can…
…and last but not least, a magician? He was dropping news and information about what Ford wants to achieve by going ‘green’ and random other shit, started to get annoying so I bailed.
Made my way over to the Porsche exhibit, where I spotted this beauty, GT2 RS, just wow, I’m a major fan of carbon fibre accents too. (Favorite -Rory)
they also had their Boxster Spyder.
and this, it has been in Australia doing the rounds, wonder how much longer it’s going to be here for? (911 GT1, only 98 model ever made. Not sure how long it is here for though, word has it that it resides in a Porsche Museum somewhere down South -Rory)
Directly opposite here was the Holden stand, nothing too much to comment on, but here is some for your inner bogan…
….and of course the inner princess. Seriously WTF Holden, ‘speed strips’ like this are NOT cool.
Renault had their Megane Trophy car there, premiering in Australia.
Over to the Mercedes Benz, and straight to the 2 cars that have been getting the most publicity at the moment, the ‘Jaffa’ C63, and the matte black with orange highlights SLS. The C63 is 1 or 4 made by the factory, with the other 3 reportedly going to the same owner in Germany.
The SLS, honestly I think Mercedes should of has a white one on display, would of been much nicer to look at! Their harsh lighting over both cars didn’t help much.
Mercedes also showcased the G-series wagon, I can’t put my finger on why I like it so much though. (Probably your inner 50 Cent Hydie -Rory)
Honda had their new CR-Z at the pride of place, what old model does it remind you of? It was also sporting the Mugen updates which included the rims.
Mazda had their Targa Tasmania 3 series on show, nothing to spectacular.
Volvo not only makes safe cars, but ugly ones at that. Absolutely hate the design of the C30 rear!
The Motorshow tries to cater for people of all ages, so VW did this…
…but I’m not too sure on how much long they can call it the ‘New Bettle Cabriolet’
Suzuki were showcasing their new Kizashi Turbo model, and for some reason, I quite liked it for what it was, was also running Enkei’s (RPF1s -Rory) standard!
As you would expect, the Toyota stand was also one of the biggest. At pride of place was their FJ Cruiser. About time they have finally put it into production, I swear it was a ‘concept’ for years. But in saying that, it’s not the prettiest thing in the world. (Been on sale overseas for quite some years now bro, has been a ‘concept release’ for Australia for ages. Good to see it will be landing here -Rory)
Most viewers will recognize this vehicle immediately, the Top Gear Hilux that James May drove up the volcano. It was so hard to get a clear photo of this one due to the
amount of interest it created.
…and upon closer inspection…zip ties ftw!
Like the other stands, Toyota also had driving simulators, this one was showcasing GT5 Prologue (lol, will the actual GT5 EVER be released?), had a decent line up…
…that was until the guy playing somehow managed to break it, and put it out of service. I lol’d.
One of the big highlights was also seeing the Lexus LFA. Design wise it is absolutely stunning from every angle that you look at it from (and it showed in how many photos I actually took!). But would I buy it for the astronomical asking price? No way.
The Audi stand seemed to be very popular, having the newly released RS5 (in a deep red, absolutely stunning in real life), and R8 Spyder at the front of the stand. Both vehicles always had a crowd there, and doors non stop open and closing.. Oh how I could live with either! <3
Of course the Nissan GTR was there, however was locked. :(
Jaguar has now come back into the scene in a big was with its new XKR model.
The Maserati stand just oozed class and money, just like the brand does. They had a blacked out Quattroporte, looking hot. While in Sydney, everywhere I looked I seemed to see one of these everywhere, and then of course heard them, I think I am in love!
They also had the three variants of their Granturismo – GranCabrio, S and their Super Sports.
This Peugeot RCZ caught my eye, not too sure why. Is it just me or can everyone else see the Audi TT in it?
…also sported a carbon roof!
Peugeot also had their 908 HDi 2009 Le Mans winning race car there aswell. True work of aerodynamic art.
Lamborghini only had the 3 variants of their now aging Gallardo there, The LP550, LP560-4 Spyder and of course the Superleggera. It would of been nice to see a LP640 or even loan a LP670 SV to showcase just exactly what they could do.
By this stage we had made our way from the first hall to the last, and now down to the miscellaneous exhibitors.
The Kumho stand was just a mind fcuk…
Walkinshaw had this sitting there, and what surprised me was it was rocking a set of ADV.1’s. A wheel company that has definitely made their presence known in the
wheel business over the past 6 months or so.
The NZ made Hulme CanAm.
An insane looking go-kart capable of 200kph..
Now, best for last, and this really was sitting right at the end, in the corner. Word on the grapevine is that it has only recently sold, but is now also on the market for a mammoth $2.2m. The almighty Koenigsegg CCX. Such a mean looking machine! (Ughhhhhhhhh toughest cars on the planet -Rory)
And that was that, the interesting parts of what the International Motorshow had to offer. It only really took about 1.5 hours and that was taking my time aswell.
Hope you enjoyed.