Articles by Paul Gover

Moss admits he was scared when he began practice at an historic event during the Le Mans 24-hour race meeting and decided it was time to hang up his helmet.It's his second retirement, following a monstrous crash in 1961 that almost killed him.Moss became a household name during the 1950s and 1960s and is best know as the most successful driver never to win a Formula One world championship.He came back to racing in the 1980s but concentrated on historic events and developed a career that took him around the world - including many visits to Australia - where he starred simply as 'Stirling Moss'.

The designers at Broadmeadows created a pair of Interceptor dream machines that could work for a 21st century Mad Max and their original computer work has now been converted into 40 per cent scale models for the show. They will be revealed on opening day at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre and, even though there is zero chance of any involvement in the upcoming Mad Max revival movie, they show what the Ford crew can do and what Mad Max has become. "It's fair to say there was a fairly bezerk reaction to the idea," says Ford Australia spokesman, Neil McDonald. "The whole thing has gone viral around the world with the whole Mad Max phenomena. There has been a huge reaction." The Mad Max project began as an after-hours idea at Broadmeadows to celebrate the return of the movie franchise with a new film that will be shot near Alice Springs, scene of the original. More than 100 people at Ford were eventually involved under the direction of Chris Svensson, Ford's design director for Asia, Pacific and Australia, and he even organised a special screening for staffers who were too young to see the movie in the 1970s. The project eventually involved designers, engineers and clay modellers who built the show machines. Mad Max launched the international career of Mel Gibson as he drove a jet-black 1973 XF Falcon GT coupe-based car called the Interceptor. The 21st century Interceptor concepts are much wilder than anything done at Ford for a long time, partly because there were no limits. "The design folk were pretty engaged with the whole thing as the cars did not have to conform to normal design parameters set down by a production car - like bumpers and headlight heights. They were let loose and it shows in the creativity of the final models," McDonald says. "The models are a little smaller than half sized but they have plenty of impact. They were impressive designs, with a bit of extra jewelery to give them some bling."

The updated and much improved Territory has been delayed by a computer glitch involving the dashboard display unit but Ford says the problem has now been solved. It has been stockpiling cars around the country while working on the problem and, with a remedy now in place, intends to pump the new Territory through dealerships immediately. The result will be around 700 deliveries in quick time, followed by a concerted campaign with Australia's only locally-made SUV. Ford Australia is downplaying the delay, even though Carsguide has been peppered with complaints from potential buyers following the press preview drives of the car in early April. "We had always said we would have it into showrooms in May and it's slipped slightly into the first week of June," says Sinead McAlary of Ford. "It was always important to us, because of the amount of interest and the build-up to the car, that we delivered the right result for customers. We want to maintain the positive momentum with Territory. " "We believe it was absolutely the right thing to do to get the car right before we sent it out." Success for the Territory could help to offset the dismal showroom effort by the Falcon through the first five months of 2011, which has some people recalling the dark days - including massive stockpiles - from the time of the AU Falcon. Ford only got back on track with its Falcon with the BA model in 2002. On the Territory front, Ford has more than 700 customer orders and, with more than 200 dealers, is keen to get the SUV up to speed at its Broadmeadows factory, which, ironically, is hardly stretched by Falcon. "There are 209 dealers and we've promised each one they will have at least one car by the end of this week," says McAlary. Ford has also begun an intensive showroom push with the Falcon, reacting to very sluggish demand for its bread-and-butter model. "We have a new advertising program we've just launched with some incentives to small business. Dealers are starting to report increased traffic for Falcon, which is good," says McAlary. She is confident there will be a rub-off from the updated Territory. "Positive momentum for Territory is positive moment for the brand, and that can only be good for Falcon." Ford is still assessing the impact of its ne w diesel model in the Territory range, and the potential growth of all-wheel drive sales with buyers who want a diesel SUV for towing. "The early launch mix is heavily skewed to diesel, 70: 30. There is pent-up demand for the diesel but we believe it will settle at about 60:40. We're Also expecting more demand for the all-wheel drive system, although we don't have a clear picture of that yet," says McAlary.

There is plenty of go left in the BMW M3, based on the way it's being teased and tizzied for extra showroom appeal. The newest tweak is an M3 sedan that fits between the regular model and the GTS coupe, a space previously reserved for the lightweight CSL. The newcomer was teased at the Shanghai Motor Show with the promise of around 325 kiloWatts, bigger brakes, firmer suspension and lightened exhaust - without the wild rear wing on the M3 GTS.

There is no chance of the Mercedes-Benz GLK making it to Australia until it gets a total makeover, so the left-hand drive facelift scheduled for Europe soon is good news. The new bumpers and a C-Class style quality upgrade, previewed by Carparazzi, mean it's a mid-life makeover and a right-hand drive GLK suitable for Australia is only four years away.

The world's newest supercar company is moving fast on its plans for five models to rival Ferrari. The McLaren MP4-12C has only just been previewed in Australia and already Carparazzi has a clear picture of how the super-quick coupe will look as a convertible. It could be previewed as soon as the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, but with the 12C Coupe as the big mover for 2012 it could be a little further into the future. The second rival for Ferrari, the $500,000 MP4-12C convertible is due here early 2013.

…despite being served a death notice in the USA. The Tesla Roadster is officially headed for the history books but the company says it will continue to deliver cars in Australia - priced from $206,188 - until the end of 2012. Ten Roadsters have been sold here since the start of full-scale operations at the beginning of the year and following a massive road trip with a car that ranged almost the full length of the East coast. "Things have really picked up since the long-distance tour. We were able to connect with a lot of people who could not make it to Sydney. We're ahead of where California expected, at least on the order intake," says Jay McCormack, national sales and marketing manager for Tesla. "We've sold 10 cars since January. We've even sold our first car into Western Australia. The owner flew over, drove the car for an hour and fell in love." Tesla is closing the book on the Roadster as it moves its focus to the upcoming Model S, described by the company as its first premium sedan. "We're already pushing 50 reservations for the Model S in Australia. Model S for us in Australia is 12 months after it begins in the United States. It's always going to be that way," says McCormack, pointing to a 2013 showroom date. "Price positioning will be in the luxury segement alongside an E-Class Benz or 5- Series BMW, depending on which of the three battery packs are chosen." He says it's too early for exact pricing or specifications but says the Model S will have a variety of drive packages to customise the performance and range to owner requirements. McCormack says Tesla fans should not worry about the news on the Roadster, as it is running to the brand's original plan. "The Roadster was always intended to be a limited-production vehicle, created with the goal to attract the world's attention to electric cars. " Tesla launched the Roadster with very specific goals, all of which have been accomplished. "This includes proving that electric vehicles can outperform the best conventional supercars, demonstrating the range and practicality of EVs, and to motivate the rest of the car industry to launch their own EV programs." Roadster deliveries have now topped 1650 cars in 30 countries and McCormack says they have been driven a collective total of more than 18 million k ilometres. "The Roadster is officially a piece of history. When people look back at the electric transportation revolution, the Roadster will be remembered as the car that started it all," he says.

The upcoming Mini Coupe and Roadster are getting a thorough workout at the Nurburgring in readiness for showrooms, including the go-faster John Cooper Works model.Carparazzi caught the car with plenty of evidence of a typically-JCW performance upgrade, including a retractable rear spoiler, a centre-mounted twin-pipe exhaust and bigger wheels than other Roadster prototypes.

…during high-speed testing on the Nurburgring course in Germany. The V8 turbo mechanical details are identical to the four- door but the wagon could be even faster with smoother airflow over its tail end, as well as much more practical.

…as this Carparazzi shot proves. It's the first picture of the upcoming S1 - obvious from the air intakes, deeper bumpers and double-barrel exhaust - which will be powered by a 165 kiloWatt turbo engine. But will the S1 stay as a front-drive car to leave space for an RS1?