Articles by Iain Kelly

Iain Kelly
Contributing Journalist

A love of classic American and European cars drove Iain Kelly to motoring journalism straight out of high school, via the ownership of a tired 1975 HJ Holden Monaro. 

For nearly 20 years he has worked on magazines and websites catering to modified late model high-performance Japanese and European tuner cars, as well as traditional hot rods, muscle cars and street machines. Some of these titles include Auto Salon, LSX Tuner, MOTOR, Forged, Freestyle Rides, Roadkill, SPEED, and Street Machine. He counts his trip to the USA to help build Mighty Car Mods’ “Subarute” along with co-authoring their recent book, The Cars of Mighty Car Mods, among his career highlights. 

Iain lends his expertise to CarsGuide for a variety of advice projects, along with legitimising his automotive obsession with regular OverSteer contributions.

Although his practical skills working on cars is nearly all self-taught, he still loves nothing more than spending quality time in the shed working on his project car, a 1964 Pontiac. He also admits to also having an addiction to E30 BMWs and Subaru Liberty RS Turbos, both of which he has had multiple examples of. With car choices like that, at least his mum thinks he is cool.

TopGear star's Beetle slays this Portland road
By Iain Kelly · 15 Dec 2017
Ex-TopGear USA host Tanner Foust is a noted racer, and he recently took his wild VW Beetle race car for a quick jaunt through the woods near Portland, Oregon.
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Australia's Goodwood Festival of Speed is the world's best-kept motorsport secret
By Iain Kelly · 15 Dec 2017
Down Under fans of vintage racing cars were given the ultimate treat last weekend, with Adelaide taken over for two days of epic machinery and racing, from the heights of Formula One and the Le Mans 24 Hour, to former V8 Supercars, rally cars and exotic road cars.
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The original 'Phase III' was an insane 535hp 1969 Corvette
By Iain Kelly · 14 Dec 2017
In Australia the term "Phase III" is intrinsically linked to Ford's ultimate factory road/race car, the XY Falcon GT-HO.
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How Chrysler's 300C sedan pays tribute to the most important US car of the last 60 years
By Iain Kelly · 13 Dec 2017
On the face of it, Chrysler's choice to name their modern muscle sedan the 300C seems strange.
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Old technology making electric cars unbeatable
By Iain Kelly · 13 Dec 2017
Electric cars are getting unbelievably fast now, but they are going to get faster and go further thanks to new-tech transmissions.
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F1 in the sand, sun and surf?
By Iain Kelly · 13 Dec 2017
Formula One has had a rich history in North America, from the lethal Watkins Glen up north, to street circuits around Long Beach, California, and Detroit, to the carpark of a casino in Las Vegas, and now the Circuit Of The Americas in Texas
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North Korea once stole 1000 Volvos from Sweden
By Iain Kelly · 13 Dec 2017
On top of developing nuclear weapons, getting into showdowns with the USA, trying to popularise terrible haircuts, and starving half its own citizens, it seems North Korea also stole 1000 Volvos from Sweden back in the 1970s.
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NASCAR's last Golden Era hero passes away at 92
By Iain Kelly · 07 Dec 2017
Walter Maynard "Bud" Moore passed away this week at the age of 92. Bud Moore's name might not be a household name in Australia, but the amazing exploits of this World War 2 veteran, and race car owner and crew chief, are legendary, and well worth celebrating.
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One-in-six cars to be electric by 2025
By Iain Kelly · 07 Dec 2017
While many consider electric cars to be a fad, UBS recently surveyed consumers and found that if more budget EVs, like Tesla's entry-level Model 3, were available then one-in-six cars bought new in 2025 would be electric.
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Watch this Mazda 1300 rotary's flywheel grenade through its bonnet
By Iain Kelly · 06 Dec 2017
All too often we forget that there is a heavy buzz-saw sitting near our feet in our car.
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