Articles by Chris Riley

German car maker VW is celebrating half a century of motorsport.

Chris Riley road tests and reviews the Peugeot 3008 with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

When Volvo went racing with a station wagon back in the 90s it set tongues wagging.

Treasure hunters will find plenty of gems to drool over at  Shannons Melbourne auction this week. The auction is headlined by a brace of American V8 muscle cars, with a 1974 Plymouth Barracuda Coupe leading the charge. But for Aussies the real jewel in the crown will undoubtedly be the “no reserve” Holden XU-1

Chris Riley road tests and reviews the Citroen Berlingo with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

Twenty-five lucky Australians are about to be introduced to the virtues of water injection.

Peter Brock fans are in for a rare treat at Shannons Autumn auction on Monday, May 30. Almost 10 years after the King of the Mountain’s shock death, collectors are lining up to bid on a 1984 VK Commodore SS Group 3 Sedan that was Brocky’s personal transport during his stint at HDT Special Vehicles.The VK SS was originally a GM-H company car provided to Peter Brock as a his personal vehicle, which he then converted into the first Group Three in August 1984.It was used for the official press release and studio photography and appeared on the cover of Wheels magazine in October 1984.As confirmed in a letter from Peter Brock the car was subsequently sold to HDT and Brock himself continued to use the car as his personal transport, with the wheels changed and the bonnet scoop deleted.Because of its significance Shannons expect the Commodore to sell for upwards of $100,000.But, in a double header, there’s probably even more interest in a 1984 Opel Monza Coupe that Brock was developing as the prototype of a future HDT Special Vehicle.This unique piece of Australian motoring history is the only survivor of the stillborn Monza project, a glimpse of what might have been and a wonderfully collectible muscle car.The story goes that Brock was inspired by his loan of an Opel Monza coupe while he was racing at Le Mans in 1981.He found the fastback Opel an altogether more sophisticated machine than its Commodore cousin.With disc brakes all round and fully independent rear suspension, Brock was quick to recognise the potential for enhancing the Monza’s performance with some real Aussie grunt and a car was secured from Germany in October 1983 for the full HDT treatment.This included a 5.0-litre V8 to Group Three specification positioned further back in the chassis for better weight distribution (the bent eight actually proved lighter than the in-line six it replaced), a Borg-Warner T5G five-speed transmission, rack and pinion steering and a limited-slip diff.Bigger brakes and stiffer suspension completed the list of mechanical upgrades.The press heaped praise on the prototype, with Modern Motor describing the Monza as “the most exciting car to emerge from an Australian workshop in recent years”.With a projected price of around $45,000, the HDT Monza was aimed at an exclusive market, with production vehicles slated to have a long list of standard luxury equipment.Despite the pleading of journalists and public alike, the HDT Monza remained a one-off due to time constraints and other projects, eventually passing into private hands.It’s expected to fetch up to $120,000 while its Brock 1 number plates will be sold separately.

Chris Riley road tests and reviews the Audi A3 with specs, fuel consumption and verdict at its international launch in Germany.

It's stablemate against stablemate - cars that share a basic premise but are worlds apart in design and driving. Chris Riley referees.

Chris Riley road tests and reviews the Volkswagen Passat 132TSI Comfortline with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.