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This is part of the ItalianCar.net archive - go to ItalianCar.net now NEWS ARCHIVE
Australian
International Motor Show - Italian car roundup
If you are an Italian car fan it is definitely worth your
while taking an afternoon to visit the Australian International Motor
Show at Darling Harbour in Sydney. Italian marques on display include
Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Maserati and new kid on the block Pagani, now distributed
in Australia by Motor Group Australia alongside Rover and MG and British
fast car manufacturer Noble. 2004 sees a continuation of the 'supercar'
wars - Italian manufacturers are traditionally some where near the top
spot for fastest car but seem to have been pipped to the post by Swedish
manufacturer Koenigsegg with their CCR model. Still, of the 7 supercars
making an appearance at the show 3 are Italian - the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti,
the Pagani Zonda and the Maserati MC12 (the other contenders are the homegrown
Joss, the Ford GT and the Porsche Carrera GT).
So - in alphabetical order - here is a quick rundown:
Alfa Romeo
The big news this year is the unveiling of the 8C Competizione concept
car (see previous articles). First shown
in Frankfurt the car was not shown last year in Sydney due to a last minute
hitch. This time around it has shown up and - unlike many concept cars
- in a latter stage of production. This is no plaster and fibreglass model
- it is fully functional (although Alfa in Italy have disabled the car
by locking the clutch and allowing the engine to turn over but not to
run) - and is scheduled to go into production in due course. ItalianCar
asked about the seemingly forgotten Brera concept - apparently this model
is also scheduled for production and is quite separate from the 8C concept.
Apart from the 8C Alfa also has on the stand the new GT, the facelifted
166, 147 and 147GTA and two 156 models - the Ti 2.0 JTS and V6, Spider
and GTV. The Sportwagon and new Crosswagon are missing from the line-up.
Ferrari
The big news from Ferrari at the show is the 612 Scaglietti which was
launched earlier this year at the Detroit car show (see previous ItalianCar
article here). The 612 is the centrepiece
of the stand, flanked by the various version of the 360 - the Modena coupe,
the Spider and the Challenge Stradale. The spec is pretty much as detailed
before - 540bhp/397kW power output from a 5.7l V12 - giving a 315kmh+
top speed and 0-100 of 4.2secs. Original price expectations were a little
short of the mark - the 612 is priced at AUD$575,000 for the 6-speed manual
and AUD$600,000 for the F1 paddle shift version.
Fiat (only joking)
Lamborghini
The big surprise is that this year Lamborghini have opted out of the Sydney
show - we can only speculate that this is because either i) they have
no new models to showcase since the launch of the Gallardo last year (the
Murcielago Roadster is not due
in Australia until the end of the year) or ii) because they are based
in Melbourne and only want to do that show.
Lancia (still joking)
Maserati
All eyes were on Maserati for the launch of the new racing car the MC12
Stradale - which also has earned the title of most expensive car at the
show with a price tag of a cool AUD$1.8M. Unfortunately for that price
you can a) only have it in blue and white b) left-hand drive only and
c) you can't drive it on the road. Despite these slight disadvantages
there has been plenty of expressions of interest from captains of industry
and other people with large amounts of money lying around so some of the
30 cars (5 of these are reserved for racing) that will be built will be
making their way down under. The other slight problem for a captain of
industry might be actually getting in and out of the car - with little
room between the bottom of the steering wheel and the lip of the driver's
seat many aspiring captains may need to shed a few pounds before jumping
in. The lithe editor of ItalianCar made it in and out without a hitch
and can confirm that it is a tight fit!
Maserati also unveiled their limited edition Gransport
model (see ItalianCar article here)
at the show (above) and had their Coupe and Spyder models on the stand
alongside their flagship Quattroporte model.
Pagani
Australia has been waiting a long time to see an example of this relative
newcomer to the supercar wars - remember the Pagani Zonda was voted UK
'Car' magazine's Performance Car of the Year in 2002. Powered by a Mercedes
derived 7.3l V12 AMG 120 mid mounted engine the Pagani Zonda does 0-100
in 3.7secs - a shade less than the Lamborghini Murcielago and half a second
slower than the fastest car at the show the Koenigsegg CCR. The Zonda
also comes with a whopping price tag (AUD$1.2M) but - unlike the Maserati
- is available in right-hand drive and is in the process of homologation
for the Australian market so you will be able to drive it on the road.
Motor Group Australia who distribute Pagani here expect to sell 1 a year
and are expecting completion the homologation process to complete next
month (Nov04) and first retail deliveries early next year. The other great
thing about the Pagani - you don't have to decide whether to get a soft
top or a hard top - the roof is about a square metre in size and clips
on and off - the car is so rigid that no modifications have had to be
made to stiffen the body shell.
Finally a few snippets of Italian-related information at
the other stands:
-we think the girls that designed the new Volvo YCC nicked something from
Maserati - we say Maserati bring back the curvy brake lights on the 3200GT
-we featured the Giugiaro-designed Toyota Volta
concept recently - unfortunately no sign of the hybrid-engined supercar
on the Toyota stand but our local Toyota man has promised to keep us informed
of developments
-Hyundai announced that their SUV Terracan model will be powered by the
Fiat developed common rail diesel engine
as of January 2005 in a 2.9l version
And finally finally - as the Sydney Motor Show is renamed the Australian
International Motor Show (what's in a name?) Peter Sturrock - Chief Executive
of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries - announces that 2004
will be another record year for new car sales - 80,000 in September alone.
Some of this is down to the popularity of the 4WD/SUV but some down to
the sheer low cost and high reliability of new cars these days - making
selling a second hand car pretty difficult for individuals and dealers
alike. We can't accuse the Italian car manufacturers of contributing to
this situation…
Finally finally finally - if you haven't
got half a mil in the bank and you still want a Ferrari why not pop along
to the Shannons auction on Sunday 17 October and pick up one of these
©
italiancar.com.au 10/10/04
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