Articles by Aiden Taylor

Jaguar F-Type all-wheel drive confirmed

Updated Porsche Cayenne GTS SUV to arrive in Australian showrooms early 2015 with turbo V6 power.

Hard-hitting Polestar wagon lands in Australia along with revised S60 Polestar sedan.

New S-Class Coupe to make Australian debut at Motorclassica, along with appearances from Maserati, Jaguar, Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin and Lotus.Melbourne's Royal Exhibition Building will play host to Motorclassica this weekend, as over 500 cars and motorcycles fill the world-heritage listed building and its surrounding grounds.Celebrating classic cars and bikes, Motorclassica started as a concourse event but has since grown to become a motor show-style exhibition which has attracted attention from several iconic sports car marques.Among the classic cars at this year's event will be new models from Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Porsche, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, Lotus, Caterham and Morgan.Each of these brands have rich histories, and Motorclassica gives manufacturers a platform to build on this heritage with their latest models.S-Class Coupe will be available with a number of powertrains, including the 430kW/900Nm AMG 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8Mercedes-Benz was the first contemporary manufacturer to debut a new model at Motorclassica last year, and will use this year's event to reveal its new S-Class Coupe to an Australian audience for the first time.The new model is Mercedes' flagship luxury coupe, replacing the CL-Class range, and will rival the Bentley Continental when it goes on sale locally in the first quarter of next year.Though Australian specifications are still unconfirmed, the S-Class Coupe will be available with a number of powertrains, including the 430kW/900Nm AMG 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8 aboard the S63 performance flagship.Maserati will celebrate 100 years in the automotive business at this year's show and is expected to be represented strongly with iconic past models. The Italian marque's new Ghibli and Quattroporte sedans will also be on display, along with the Gran Turismo and Gran Cabrio two-door models.Jaguar will showcase its F-Type R Coupe, the firm's most powerful production model ever, while fellow British brand Aston Martin will have a Vanquish and V8 Vantage on display.Lotus will also show a pair of mid-engine Exige S sports cars, one hardtop and one roadster.The show will also celebrate 50 years of the Ford Mustang with a special display featuring the most desirable and classic Pony cars, although the new 2015 model due to go on sale in Australia next year won't make the show.Motorclassica 2014 will run between October 24-26 at Melbourne's Royal Exhibition Building.

New entry-level and hybrid models added along with more standard equipment for 2015 Range Rover Sport.

Drop-top Audi S3 joins Sportback and Sedan models in Australia.

Range-topping performance flavoured SR model to join the Hyundai Santa Fe family SUV range early next year.Hyundai has revealed a new sports-themed Santa Fe SR to sit atop the large SUV’s Australian lineup.Ready to join Hyundai’s growing stable of ‘SR’ badged performance cars in the first quarter of 2015, the Santa Fe brings a more aggressive look and promises improved handling.An aluminium-look sports body kit and a set of 19-inch matte-finish OZ Racing Versilia alloys headline the list of cosmetic changes. The wheel dimensions are identical to those of the standard Santa Fe Highlander, but offer more clearance for the SR’s upgraded Brembo brakes front and rear.The front calipers are four-piston items, while the rears use a two-piston setup - and both sets are painted red for a sportier look. The SR also wears high performance Michelin tyres and rides on stiffer and lower H&R springs, which promise significantly improved dynamics and more cornering grip.These handling benefits come on top of the improvements already made across the entire 2015 Santa Fe SUV range, which include new front and rear dampers, new bushes and redesigned front steering knuckles.The SR will stick with the standard Santa Fe Highlander powertrain, featuring a 145kW/436Nm 2.2-litre turbodiesel engine connected to a six-speed automatic gearbox. The SUV’s standard all-wheel drive system is also unchanged.The new performance model also gets the hands-free tailgate, blind-spot monitoring system and auto park function introduced by the 2015 Santa Fe range.Pricing for the range-topping Santa Fe SR is yet to be confirmed, but it is expected to be dearer than the existing top-spec $53,240 Santa Fe Highlander.

Australian pricing and specifications confirmed for second-generation XC90 SUV.

Ford’s final V8 Falcon to match SS V Redline with $52,490 starting price, but with up to 75kW and 53Nm of extra grunt.The Falcon XR8 is about to rejoin Ford’s model lineup for the first time since 2010, replacing the FPV performance brand when the FG MkII Falcon lineup bows out later this year.The new V8 sedan will be the halo model for the FG X Falcon, the last Australian-built Ford sedan as the brand prepares to close its local manufacturing facilities in 2016.Using the 335kW/570Nm ‘Boss’ 5.0-litre supercharged V8 that was previously exclusive to the FPV GT, the new XR8 is only bested by the 351kW FG MkII Falcon GT F for outright grunt when it comes to fast Aussie Fords.But where the now sold-out GT F was limited to just 500 units for Australia and 50 for New Zealand, the new XR8 will be an ongoing model.Priced from $52,490 with a six-speed manual transmission or $54,690 with the six-speed auto, the XR8 will also be significantly cheaper than the GT F’s $77,990 list price.It’s not like has Ford cheaped out on the suspension either, as the XR8 gets the same hardware as 2012’s GT RSPEC and the GT F.The new XR8 is only bested by the 351kW GT F for outright grunt when it comes to fast Aussie FordsThe RSPEC suspension adopts retuned rear springs and dampers, a thicker rear stabiliser bar, revised front dampers, stiffer front spring mounts and stiffer front control arm bushes over the standard Falcon.The XR8’s tyres also mimic the staggered-fitment of the RSPEC and GT F, with wider 275mm hoops at the rear, while Brembo four-piston brakes feature up front with single-piston items at the rear.On top of these additional features, the XR8 adopts a limited slip differential, quad-tip exhaust system, upgraded cooling fan, and sports steering setup.It also rides on the same ‘shadow-line’ 19-inch alloy wheels as the RSPEC and GT F models, and features a bulging bonnet that is unique to the V8 hero model.Other styling features include ‘W’ shaped daytime running lights, rear spoiler and more aggressive grille treatment.Inside, the XR8 gains leather sports seats with grey inserts, sports pedals and steering wheel, satnav with traffic message channel, dual-zone climate control, and eight-inch display with Ford’s SYNC2 multimedia interface.The system brings voice-activated satnav and climate control systems, as well as DAB digital radio and Wi-fi hotspot connectivity.The XR8 Falcon will also be fitted as standard with a reversing camera, rain-sensing wipers and front parking sensors on top of the rear sensors already fitted to current FG Series II sedans.Ford has priced the new XR8 identically to its track-tuned Holden Commodore SS V Redline arch rival. However, the lion brand’s naturally aspirated 6.0-litre V8 pumps out 65 fewer kilowatts and 40 newton metres less in manual guise than the Ford’s blown 5.0-litre ‘Miami’ motor.This gap widens to 75kW/53Nm when comparing automatic variants, with SS autos using the less powerful Active Fuel Management (AFM) equipped engine.Ford are yet to make any performance claims for the new XR8, but 0-100km/h should be a match for the sub-5.0 second times achieved by the RSPEC with the same outputs.Combined fuel consumption for the manual is 13.6L/100km and 13.7L/100km for the automatic. Both models represent the last of the Aussie performance car genre and won’t be directly replaced once Ford and Holden close their local manufacturing facilities in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

Lamborghini unveils 669kW hybrid supercar concept in Paris.