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Standouts ranged from ‘art on wheels’ in Ferrari’s limited-edition Daytona SP3 to the weirdness of the over-the-top Hummer EV.
This year of reviewing cars started in the brightest way possible, with the Lamborghini Huracán Evo Fluo Capsule – one of a very long run of special editions to see the Huracán out the door.
Our $571,475 (as tested) coupe was finished in Verde Shock, a sort of highlighter pen green. Fun, of course, though the Huracán (unveiled in 2013) is certainly showing its age.
The Lamborghini Huracán Evo Fluo Capsule is fun, although showing its age.
There was plenty of regular fare – some very good small Audis and Benzes, for example – and curios including a 1904 Napier L48 Samson. This 118-year-old holder of a land-speed record (a recreation built around some of the original parts) was being auctioned in Sydney and those responsible agreed to unleash me in this extraordinarily difficult-to-handle monster.
The problem, aside from the incredibly loud, smoky and temperamental 15-litre(!), six-cylinder engine, was that for logistical reasons I had to drive it in an industrial estate full of tight roundabouts. In the end the Napier didn’t reach reserve (around $2 million, I believe), something I put it down to the poor brakes and lack of Bluetooth.
This recreation of a 1904 Napier L48 proved almost undriveable with its temperamental 15-litre engine.
An all-new Toyota LandCruiser is a fairly rare thing. We drove a couple of variations of the 300 Series, and The Australian Financial Review stat-keepers tell me these reports drew more readers than most of the Aston Martins, McLarens and Ferraris we tested. That says a lot about our continuing love of big off-roaders.
Many new EVs impressed. The Volvo XC40, with two 150 kW motors, was possibly the surprise package, though the best drive in the under-$100K class was probably the skateboard platform Kia EV6, a sister car to the Hyundai’s Ioniq 5.
The pure electric Mercedes-AMG EQS53 is brilliant, as it should be given the price tag.
Further upmarket, the Mercedes-AMG EQS53 is the company’s first ground-up EV and simply brilliant, though at $338,780 (as tested), you would want it to be. The comfort, quietness, instant acceleration, exceptional handling (considering the weight), abundant technology and the originality of the styling all received a gold star and tick.
Although not built on a dedicated EV platform, BMW’s competitor, the i7 limousine ($297,900 excluding on-road costs), turned out to have surprisingly good road manners and packaging. The tech’s pretty amazing too, not least the massive (31.3 inch) rear entertainment screen, capable of streaming 8K video while pumping the soundtrack through 35 speakers.
BMW’s iX SUV ($170K-plus) proved superbly comfortable and capable, though the styling will divide any room.
BMW’s iX SUV has styling that will divide any room.
Meanwhile, sampling the new single-engine Porsche Taycan (at a mere $159,700 plus on-road costs) was a reminder just how good Zuffenhausen’s low-slung EV sedan is. This rear-drive effort might even be the sweet spot in the range.
There were yet more variations on the conventionally powered Porsche 911. At Sydney Motorsport Park, the new 911 GT3 version ($429,590, as tested) showed itself to be so accomplished, and so responsive to driver inputs, it reminded yet again why so many are in love with this odd, rear-engined coupe. The GT3’s race-car-like springing might grate in the real world; if so, Porsche has 22 other 911 variants to choose from.
Australian ’Vette diehards are lining up to buy the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray convertible. AFR
The sports car that provoked the most head turning, though, was Chevrolet’s Corvette Stingray. This is the first ever sold here in factory right-hand drive, and the price (from $160,500) is an apparent bargain for those Australians who have grown up idolising the ’Vette. The queue of buyers stretches over the horizon.
The Rolls-Royce Ghost Black Badge is described as an RR for the post-opulent era. It still seemed pretty opulent to us (and wonderfully cosseting), and you’d need a quiet $1.03 million to drive away the version we tested.
The Mercedes-Maybach S 680 is designed to compete with Rolls Royce’s Ghost and also features a V12 motor.
The Mercedes-Maybach S680, Stuttgart’s answer to the Ghost also has a V12, and is also a model of comfort, superb build quality and advanced technology. Our example cost $597,193 as tested.
Shortly after picking up the Maybach I stopped on a city street to adjust the sound (almost every test car has the bass, treble and midrange turned to 11 in the apparent belief things sound better when distorted). A man standing at the kerb nearby opened the back door and peered at the fields of leather and polished wood with a big smile, thinking his Uber had arrived. No such luck, mate, I had to say. Your Suzuki Baleno will be here shortly, I’m sure.
The delightful Lotus Emira will be the last conventionally powered Lotus.
Flinging the all-new, two-seater Lotus Emira around the Mt Panorama circuit at Bathurst rates as one of the year’s highlights. The Emira is slated to be the last internal combustion car from the venerable British marque (now owned by China’s Geely, the umpteenth foreign company to attempt to turn it around). The Emira is the most sophisticated and well-equipped petrol Lotus ever, and enormous fun at the limit, but it brings a little sadness too. The ultra-lightweight Lotus – exemplified by the Elise and Exige – is now a thing of the past.
A chance to drive the Ferrari Daytona SP3 was unexpected. Limited-edition Ferraris are almost never made available to the media, and this was one of just 599 examples already presold at something around $3.78 million apiece (plus any customisation you want!). The Daytona is a V12-powered modern evocation of a 1960s Le Mans racer. It’s a work of art on wheels, though the smaller, cheaper “regular production” 296 GTB stood out even more, in its own way.
The Ferrari Daytona SP3 is a work of art on wheels.
This small, stylish coupe, with a V6 engine and plug-in hybrid technology, develops so much instant torque and mechanical grip, it seems to want to dig a hole in the road.
On the weird side: the Hummer EV. Only available in the United States at this stage, it’s over the top in every department, with a 210 kWh battery pack (about three times that of a Tesla Model 3) and a trio of electric motors developing a total of 735 kW and 1420 Nm. The performance is amazing and, in the Crab Mode made possible by all-wheel drive and all-wheel steering, the experience is thoroughly strange.
At the other end of the charts, the Subaru BRZ ($41,590 excluding on-road costs), appeared in its second generation, and again provided the sort of simple, lightweight, rear-drive fun that is becoming hard to find (though let’s not forget the Mazda MX-5 is still around!). The lightweight two-door Subie coupe is produced in partnership with Toyota, which has its own (dearer) GR86 version.
The BMW CE 04 electric scooter more than holds its own in traffic, going from 0-50 km/h in 2.6 seconds.
The BMW CE 04 was one of the few powered two-wheelers I got around to riding this year. Sure, it’s a bit over $20K but it’s fully electric, agile, super quick off the mark, comfortable and almost the perfect commuter scooter.
The Genesis GV60 might just be the first EV with an optional petrol car soundtrack (it’s called the G-Engine setting; you can otherwise have sci-fi whooshes, or silence). Perhaps to complete the nostalgic picture, the G-Engine mode could also spit fake smoke out the back.
The electric Genesis GV60 can sound like a petrol car, and even emit a puff of smoke.
As one of the last tests of the year, the GV60 leads me into a very EV Christmas. Over the holiday season I’ll be driving the 2023 version of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 – an improved version (hopefully) of what is already one of the most awarded cars in history – and the new C40 Volvo, a sportier version of the XC40. Oh, and a couple of Bentleys, which just might even the ledger.
Then it all starts again.
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