Sports cars

This V8-powered Japanese coupe is being phased out in Australia. Lexus has confirmed the LC is approaching the end of its lifecycle Down Under. A special edition LC 500 will hit Aussie shores in the second half of this year as the final examples of the car.Lexus said allocation for the car has already been exhausted, with only a small number of units provided.A spokesperson for Lexus Australia also confirmed the you can no longer order any model from the LC lineup anymore.So what is next for the iconic sports car? The LC 500 is Lexus’ flagship two-door sports car, available in hard-top coupe or convertible form.It carried a more than $200,000 price tag in Australia, having launched globally in 2017 as a direct rival luxury grand-touring coupes like the BMW 8-Series.The rear-wheel drive LC is fitted with either a 5.0-litre V8 petrol engine, producing 351kW/540Nm or a 3.5-litre hybrid petrol engine, with 264kW and 350Nm. Lexus originally planned to halt production for the car in late 2025, but this latest special edition batch will now be its final iteration.It is the bigger sibling of the RC compact sports car that was discontinued in 2022. A spokesperson for Lexus Australia said they could not comment on what would replace the LC 500. It does seem like the full-blooded V8 engine will be a thing of the past for the Lexus sports car.Speculation in 2024 suggested the LC’s replacement would ditch V8 and non-hybrid V6 set-ups to be powered by a 3.5-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 hybrid engine or fully-electric alternative. Lexus also unveiled an electric sports car concept at the Japan Mobility Show last year that could provide a glimpse into what is coming. The concept provided few details other than its striking looks, but it did feature multiple electric motors and batteries, according to the brand. An electric successor to the LC is more likely as Lexus targets an electric-only lineup by 2030. We could learn more of this new potential model in the coming months, and into 2027.

A big change is coming for one of the most iconic sports cars in the world, with the next generation of Mazda’s convertible to go electric.Masahiro Moro, CEO of Mazda, has confirmed the fifth generation of the Mazda MX-5 must be able to forgo a combustion engine in order to be viable."The successor must also be ready for a scenario without a combustion engine,” the CEO told German outlet Auto Motor und Sport.The surprise confirmation raises one of the biggest questions regularly asked in regards to electric sports cars: what about the weight?Moro says the goal weight is between 1000kg and 1200kg. That would keep it close to the low weight of the current ND MX-5, which weighs around 1100kg, depending on the variant.“The challenge for us is to make the basic structure lighter without using exotic materials like carbon fiber.”Earlier this year Mazda’s General Manager of Global Sales and Marketing, Manabu Osuga, told CarsGuide electrification was unlikely for the fifth-generation MX-5.“At the moment, electric is going the opposite direction of fulfilling the MX-5’s (core) concept, as it needs to remain a lightweight sportscar, and electric means heavier,” he told CarsGuide in Melbourne.“We want to make the weight less than one tonne before additional equipment, then with additional equipment 1.1-tonne, but we don’t want it to exceed 1.2-tonne (in total) if it is to be a lightweight sportscar.”European outlets report similar statements from executives, with Christian Schultze, Director of Research & Operations at Mazda Motor Europe telling Dutch publication AutoRAI in February the same thing.“The moment you go fully electric, you fundamentally change the car’s architecture. That means different proportions, a different weight, and a different balance,” he said.An electric version of the fifth-gen MX-5 - which we expect to follow the generational NA, NB, NC and ND names of the first four - is coming, but it won’t be the only drivetrain available.Earlier this year, Mazda also announced the MX-5 would use the upcoming Skyactiv-Z engine, a 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine with hybrid capability.A mild-hybrid would more easily allow Mazda to equip the MX-5 with a manual gearbox, as heavier electrification complicates the system and automatic transmissions become preferred.We won’t see the fifth-gen MX-5 until at least next year, for a launch likely sometime in 2028.

Nissan’s snappy sports car has been updated and will now be available in sought-after Nismo form with a six-speed manual transmission in Australia.The Nissan Z Nismo is the higher-performance grade of the brand's rear-wheel drive coupe.The new manual Z Nismo will be priced from $95,000, before on-road costs, making it a near $20,000 jump over the standard Z manual.Nissan’s announcement also confirms the automatic Z Nismo is just less than a $1000 more expensive as part of this update, starting at the same $95,000 price tag.Meanwhile, the standard Z coupe starts from $76,800, which is $640 more than it was before. The updated Z range will be available for order from this month, with deliveries beginning in September.It competes in the hotly contested sports car segment against the likes of the Ford Mustang (from $72,990).The Mustang remains the dominant player of the segment, with the Nissan Z trailing its competitors currently.The Z Nismo continues to be powered by a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 engine, producing 309kW and 520Nm, representing an 11kW and 45Nm increase over the standard car. The Z has also received some tweaks as part of the updated range.There are new two-piece front brake rotors, resulting in a 9kg weight reduction. A redesigned front bumper adds 30mm to the car’s length to reduce front lift by 3.3 per cent and drag by 1.0 per cent. There is also a new wireless phone charger standard across all variants, along with a frameless auto-dimming rear view mirror.The new Z range was first revealed at the start of January as part of global preview even at the 2026 Toyota Auto Salon.The car went on sale in Japan recently, ahead of its arrival on Aussie shores. 2027 Nissan Z pricing (before on-road costs - manual a no-cost option)

A new performance electric car is coming soon.The Geely Galaxy TT has opened for pre-sale in China, and will be the latest four-door electric sports coupe to hit showrooms.Coupe-style sports cars out of China are surging in popularity as cheaper alternatives to the Porsche Taycan and Audi e-Tron GT off the back of the smash-hit success of the Xiaomi SU7.The Geely Galaxy TT has a front-mounted 180kW motor and a rear-mounted 245kW motor that combine for a total of 425kW.It has a one-button boost mechanism that offers an increased power output for up to 20 seconds. The Galaxy TT can accelerate from 0-100km/h in 3.8 seconds, and has a top speed of 210km/h. It is equipped with a 75kWh lithium-iron-phosphate battery that has a 650km driving range, according to more generous CLTC standards. The car rides on an 800-volt platform, meaning it can DC fast charge from 10 to 80 per cent in less than 12 minutes. It measures up at 4999mm long, 1919mm wide, 1479mm high, with a wheelbase of  2920mm, so it is a little bigger than a Toyota Camry. The exterior is similar to many of its rivals, showing off a sleek body shape and frameless windows. It comes with 19-inch wheels as standard. The TT’s interior features a 15.4-inch central touchscreen and 10.2-inch digital driver display, along with a 25.6-inch panoramic head-up display. It also includes is also a 50W wireless phone charger and 23-speaker sound system. The Galaxy TT will be a direct competitor to the seriously popular Xiaomi SU7 which sold its first 15,000 units in roughly half an hour earlier this year.The Denza Z9 S electric sedan will provide further competition, with its wagon variant due in Australia before the end of the year. The Galaxy TT is not in Geely’s Australia schedule in the short term, but the brand has demonstrated a methodical approach to introducing models rather than the explosive range expansions of some of its rivals.The TT is priced from 200,000 yuan in China, which is roughly A$42,000. Most Chinese cars carry a roughly 20 per cent premium by the time they arrive in Australia in right-hand drive, making a potential local price somewhere just north of $50,000.This would make it slightly more affordable than the Zeekr 7GT and significantly more affordable than the Denza Z9.The Xiaomi SU7 which it is seemingly designed to target is not headed to Australia in the short term, with the Chinese tech company overwhelmed by demand in its home market.

Recently, a realisation from behind the wheel of the current generation of a widely beloved rear-drive two-door coupe raised a question for me.Are sports cars doomed? The question came as I realised that because of the development of the car I was driving, the 2026 Nissan Z (specifically the Heritage Edition), underneath was essentially a Nissan 350Z that had been given enough surgery to be relevant in two decades later.But the last of the ancient platforms won’t be around for much longer, surely, and the cars built on them are, at least in two cases, some of the most-loved sports cars around.The other is the Ford Mustang, which rides on a platform closely related to one older than you might think.Back to the Z for a moment, because the platform it rides on comes from so far back that I was just getting into primary school when it debuted. The 2002 Nissan 350Z was released when I was in grade 2, about a decade and a half ago, when I was only allowed behind the wheel of one if it was on Need for Speed: Underground 2.Nissan recently celebrated 35 years of its Infiniti sub-brand, which kicked off with the G35 Coupe - a sibling car to the V35 Nissan Skyline - and gave the Front Midship (FM) Platform its flowers.The aim was to get a V6 nestled in just behind the front axle, which resulted in a 52:48 front/rear weight distribution. Slightly more weight over the front was a deliberate choice, according to the engineers.The FM platform would go on to carry the Z33 350Z to cultural relevance in the aforementioned Underground 2 and Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift, before the Z34 370Z came along with a heavily updated version of the platform in 2009 and hung around for 12 years. The FM was just about old enough to vote in Australia when the 370Z was discontinued.The RZ34 is already coming up on four years old, and its platform is 20 years older than that.Even though its chassis feels heavy for something carrying a two-door coupe, it’s not alone in the world of heavy hybrid and electric ‘sports cars’, but it retains a level of engagement and trust in the driver that doesn’t rely on tricks and electronics.If Nissan built another platform for the Z, not only would it have possibly sent the company bankrupt, it might have lost some of its magic.Nissan’s FM platform is not alone in this. In fact, even though Ford probably could afford to create a new Mustang platform, you could argue the platform it rides on is even older than the Z’s. Depends who you ask. While Ford says the S550 Mustang is built on a ‘ground-up’ platform developed just for the Mustang in 2015, it’s to some extent based on the existing D2C platform that the Mustang rode on since 2004, itself an evolution of the DEW98 platform used from the late 1990s.While the Mustang’s platform is now different in a few key areas, including the addition of independent rear suspension for the S550 generation onwards, it’s still related to that of the early 2000s.And it’s still quite capable and really, really fun, just like the Nissan Z.I point all of this out because I’m a little worried about what happens to the other, even more affordable sports cars when it’s time for their next generations. Will the Mazda MX-5 or Toyota GR86 (and Subaru BRZ) hold onto their platforms until it’s no longer possible to release a car on them?We’re going to be waiting until after 2030 for a new Nissan Z according to Nissan Americas’ Senior Vice President Chief Product & Planning Officer Ponz Pandikuthira, though given he says the next GT-R will ride on a new platform the FM Platform might also be outta here.A new Ford Mustang won’t be around until a similar time, though Ford CEO Jim Farley has notably said the V8 would stick around “as long as God and the politicians let us”. The platform might need some more work by then if the brand intends to electrify the pony car, though it won’t go full-EV if Ford can avoid it.If you’re anything like me, you’d probably be okay with the next generations of each of these cars riding on a very similar platform to their predecessors.Of course evolution needs to take place, otherwise the Mustang would still have a solid rear axle and the likes of ANCAP would have thoughts about that.The current Mazda MX-5 and Toyota GR86 are two properly affordable sports cars, and if keeping them within reach of most people means a new generation on the same highly acclaimed platforms as before, I’d be all for it.

Toyota in Australia has laid out its vision for its GR performance brand, assuring the range will grow as it looks to tap "performance hybrids" as the power source that will propel it into the future.The seeds have already been sown with the bonkers GR GT, which pairs a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 with a hybrid system for total system outputs of more than 478kW and 850Nm. Its top speed is in excess of 300km/h.The GR GT is expected to launch in 2027, but will also form the blueprint for Toyota's other GR models, with hybridisation coming to next-gen models."Efficiency hybrid is about matching existing performance, but has a significant improvement in fuel consumption. Performance hybrid is saying we take an existing ICE powertrain, and then the way to get a lot more power with effectively the same fuel efficiency is electrification on top. GR GT is an example," says Ray Munday, the Senior Manager Product Planning and Pricing at Toyota in Australia."A large, powerful ICE engine plus electrification is where we see looking forward."The concept of performance hybrids electrifying the future of GR ties neatly with reports out of Japan that the brand will launch a new hybrid engine in its Yaris GR and Corolla GR hatchbacks, with Best Car reporting the plan has been in place since 2024.At a 'multi-pathway workshop' that year, Toyota reportedly unveiled a petrol-electric engine that would redefine the brand's performance cars. The 2.0-litre turbo-hybrid set-up will reportedly produce 294kW and 500Nm, an uplift over the current GR Yaris’ 221kW and 400Nm."The GR side of the business is extremely exciting," says Toyota Australia VP of Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations John Pappas. "Going forward into the future, GR is going to play a bigger role across the family of Toyota Motor Corporation. We haven't determined how that looks or feels, and what that's all going to mean for what products and all the rest of it going forward. But it is very exciting in terms of what the company's planning to do with GR."While he wouldn't be drawn on details, Mr Pappas confirmed that meant the lineup would grow beyond the GR Yaris and GR Corolla in Australia as the performance sub-brand takes on new importance."Going forward globally, we've obviously articulated the role of GR about performance and really learning from motor sport and performance testing. So we're very excited by that here. And we're working out how that's going to look for Australia."

MG is furthering its moves to retain its historic British links by showing off two new electric cars at the 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed.The MG ‘Go!’ and MG Cyber Concept have both been revealed at the motorsport-leaning festival that has increasingly become an occasion for brands to showcase new models and concepts they hope will connect with enthusiasts.Among a display of MG’s current line-up, the MG ‘Go!’ and Cyber Concept - the former a retro-inspired hatchback and the latter a large SUV with a wagon silhouette - both aim to draw on MG’s British heritage to build more brand cache in its Chinese-owned era.The ‘Go!’ is a preview of a model set to go into production in 2027, with inspiration taken from some of the brand’s iconic models like the MGB GT.But MG’s UK-based Design Director, Carl Gotham, didn’t intend “to create a nostalgic showpiece, but something contemporary and relevant” according to an MG press release."With MG ‘Go!’, we wanted to create something compact and contemporary, but also warm, expressive and immediately likeable, an embodiment of all that we admire about the MG brand,” said Gotham.“It is not about looking back for its own sake, but about capturing some of the clarity, charm and emotional appeal that have always made MG so distinctive, and reinterpreting that in a way that feels relevant today and crucially creating something with strong charisma.”The MG Cyber Concept, unrelated for the most part to the MG Cyberster sports car, also previews a future model.MG says it “draws inspiration from two defining chapters in MG’s history”, those being the EX181 land speed record car, and the “spirit of innovation and reinvention that continues to shape MG today”.The large SUV is set to be a high-performance model, with a “dynamic character and sense of occasion traditionally associated with sports cars”, according to MG.Very little of either model has been detailed in terms of specification or features, so we won’t know more until the production versions of these two concepts start to shape up closer to their respective launches.

Hyundai's premium brand Genesis has detailed its plan to supercharge sales, with the group's local CEO suggesting deliveries could more than triple under a new strategy.Genesis launched in Australia under a direct model, in which the brand itself held the limited retail spaces (just one store each in a handful of capital cities) and sold the vehicles direct to customers without enlisting a dealership network.New Hyundia Group president and CEO Don Romano has previously labelled the strategy a "distraction", and vowed to return to a more traditional national network of dealer locations he refers to as agencies.Now Romano has forecasted the results it could deliver, telling CarsGuide 500 sales a month was a possible target, which would mean annual sales of 6000. Last year, the brand managef 1602 total deliveries."We're moving from a direct model to an agency model," Romano says."We've opened two stores that are operational right now, and we're opening a third hopefully next week. A fourth, we're just finalising the design plans."It is the direction that we're going to head in. It doesn't mean we're not going to keep the direct stores, because we invested all that money and they're in certain strategic locations, so we're still kind of working both at the same time."We could continue to do that, or we could convert those stores to dealer (owned), it simply depends on the development of the brand and the rate it develops. But right now the main focus is just to expand through the country with agencies owned by dealers."Even now, with five stores operational, Mr Romano says Genesis is massively underrepresented in Australia, which is hampering the brand's advertising spend that he describes as "wasting money" given the current location penetration."I think right now we're a niche brand. We're not advertising or promoting because we don't have the coverage necessary to be able to go out and tell the story," he says. "With five stores across a country of this size, it makes no sense. So we just need to go on the path we're on right now. But we don't want to force it because it's Genesis, not a mass-market brand, so it's best that we get the right dealers in the right place at the right time and if it takes two to three years longer that's fine."For us to take that next leap we've got to tell the story, and to tell the story, we have the resources to do it, but I'd be wasting money, because if you're for instance in Adelaide it means nothing to you because there's no representation. If you're in parts of Sydney, parts of Melbourne, parts of Perth, we just don't have the proper coverage to service the customers."Genesis has always been loath to talk about sales targets, instead referring to customer loyalty as a target, but Mr Romano says that, once the network is in place, monthly sales of at least 500 would be a viable goal.Hitting it would at last put Genesis on the premium-brand map, though one with plenty of work still to do to catch its closest legacy competitor in terms of sales, Lexus, which is managing around 1000 sales per month at the moment. It would also be well-timed to take advantage of the brand's new performance focus under its Magm Magma performance division."I'm not as focused on the volume growth as I am on the loyalty and the customer service ratings to get the word of mouth to help get the exposure, but I would say...double and triple would be the minimum if we had full coverage," he says. "Because right now we're doing 150 a month, so we should be able to do 500 absolutely, but probably way down the road when it's done organically and not done with incentives and prices and dumping vehicles and demos – I don't want to get near that."

Geely has detailed its upcoming TT halo four-door sports coupe.Sharing its name with a famous Audi, the Geely TT is instead a fully electric sports coupe with a similar layout to the Porsche Taycan or Audi e-Tron GT.Measuring nearly five meters long and featuring an 800-volt electric platform, the TT is available in either rear-wheel drive form with 245kW or all-wheel drive from nearly doubling power to 425kW.Three battery sizes will be available, according to previous data filings with the Chinese government, including a base 52.4kWh version, a 63.8kWh version and a 75.2kWh version with driving range up to 725km according to the more lenient CLTC scale.The Galaxy TT is part of a new halo range of Geely models from its Galaxy sub-brand, which incorporate new design elements for the brand, alongside the incoming and much-hyped Galaxy Cruiser off-roader.Geely has also now revealed the TT’s interior, which has significant crossover with its Zeekr premium arm, including a familiar dash layout, digital instrument cluster, and steering wheel design to vehicles like the Zeekr 7GT.It also features Geely’s new in-house Flyme Auto 2 software for its large central touchscreen unit, and like other cars in this class has a giant fixed glass roof and active spoiler piece at the rear.It even has a 110-litre frunk and a 5.2-litre refrigerated or heated drawer under the centre console, which itself shares a split-console feature and sunken cupholders similar to those which appear in Zeekr models.While the TT moves Geely’s Galaxy sedan range in a new performance direction and features a lot of premium Zeekr hardware, Chinese media is speculating that it will be more affordable than its direct rivals, which include the overwhelmingly popular Xiaomi SU7, which was the original Chinese four-door sports coupe success story, and the new Chinese-market MG07 which follows a similar format.Both the Geely and the MG are chasing the success of the Xiaomi which set Chinese sales charts on fire and was celebrated by global Ford boss Jim Farley who imported one to the US to personally drive as “fantastic”.CarsGuide understands the Geely TT isn’t currently on the schedule for an Australian launch, but isn’t ruled out for a future arrival either as the company rapidly expands its sales footprint Down Under.Its EX5 mid-size electric SUV has quietly become one of the best-selling electric cars in Australia, and the Starray EM-i plug-in hybrid spin-off is also one of the best-selling plug-ins.The company will next launch its fully electric EX2 hatchback, which has garnered lots of interest in the lead-up to its arrival. Geely will also launch both the Camry-rivalling Emgrand hybrid sedan and an unnamed three-row SUV in 2027.Geely's Zeekr premium arm has also been a resounding success in 2026, with its smash-hit 7X mid-size electric SUV outselling its primary rivals and causing a renewed surge of interest in both the updated X small SUV and incoming 8X plug-in hybrid large SUV.

The Honda Civic Type R is back in stock, but it won't stick around for long.This new batch of the Japanese sports car will be priced from $85,000 drive-away, which is $500 cheaper than the previous allocation. There will be less than 100 (expected to be 98) units available, with deliveries expected in December.The Civic Type R is one of the most sought after sports cars on the market.It tackles hot hatch rivals such as the Volkswagen Golf R ($71,990, before on-road costs).It has not been available for mass order in Australia since August 2025, when it sold out in less than an hour.This latest batch will not be fitted with the carbon fibre spoiler as standard, with it instead available as a pricey $4100 option, which effectively makes it more expensive than the previous version once the spoiler is accounted for.The Civic Type R has been subject to several price increases during its time in Australia.It is now in excess of $12,000 more expensive compared to when it first went on sale.It will continue to be powered by a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine, producing 235kW and 420Nm, paired with a six-speed manual transmission.  The brand was forced to axe the Civic Type R in Europe at the start of this year, due to tightening emissions standards. Honda is also facing emissions pressures Down Under, so it could have to make a similar move here at some point.The brand recently announced it will be investing heavily into hybrid models over the next few years.Honda has already added hybrid power to much of its range in Australia, including on its CR-V, HR-V and ZR-V SUVs.There are no plans for the Civic Type R to be given hybrid power at this stage.Bookings for the Civic Type R will open on Monday 6th of July at 12:00 pm at Honda dealers, and 3:00 pm online.Buyers will be required to place a $5000 to secure their order.