Latest from Retro Rides Originals
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Top Tips for Buying a Used Ford Falcon/Fairmont XA-XC (1972-79)
Ford Falcon XA-XC values have improved significantly, but these cars still don’t match the popularity of earlier XW-XY versions. Basic cars still don't generate enough money to justify high-value restorations and can often be stripped for any usable parts.
Rear View: Aston Martin DB5
The Aston Martin DB5 was built in tiny numbers compared to its contemporary British rival the Jaguar E-Type, but its enduring association with one of the most successful film franchises in history helped propel the luxury grand tourer coupe to cinematic and automotive immortality.
Celebrating 90 years of the Škoda Superb
The Škoda Superb may only be a relatively recent addition to the Australian automotive landscape, having first launched here in 2010, but 2025 marks 90 years since its debut in its homeland, then-Czechoslovakia.
Retro Rides Presents: VW Beetle - Australian Assembly Commences at Clayton, Victoria
How the quirky little Volkswagen Beetle emerged from the ruins of post-WW2 Germany to conquer the world. Has any car ever been made, sold and driven in as many places and on as many continents as the Volkswagen Beetle? We’d wager that until relatively recently, the answer is a resounding ‘no’.
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Top 10 Homologation Specials From Bathurst’s Golden Age
How Australia and the Bathurst 1000 helped shaped the era of tarmac racing homologation specials.
Top Tips for Buying a Used Holden Torana LX SS V8 Hatch (1976-78)
The local motor industry was more than a little shocked in 1976 when Holden’s LX update of its mid-sized Torana included a stylish new hatchback body style. Versatility was the reason Holden had gone with the hatchback, expanding the Torana’s appeal and giving the car maker a player in a segment populated by Japanese models like Datsun’s 260Z 2+2 and Toyota’s Celica.
How the Nissan GT-R became King of The Mountain for two years running, helping create the legend of Godzilla
To fully understand how the Nissan GT-R earned its monster ‘Godzilla’ moniker, you need to travel back in time to 1992 to the holy grail of Australian motorsport, Mount Panorama.
Top 5 Unlikely Bathurst 1000 Heroes
The recipe for success at Bathurst is well established. Of the 61 races held, 51 have been won by a car with a V8 engine powering the rear wheels. Obviously, since 1993 the regulations have dictated no other option, but even when it was open slather, from 1967, when the first Ford XR Falcon GT appeared, to 1992, only five winners had a different mechanical configuration.
How the Nissan Bluebird Turbo signaled a changing of the guard at the 1984 Bathurst 1000
Forty years ago, there was a changing of the guard at Bathurst. Since 1967 and the arrival of the Ford XR Falcon GT, every car that sat on pole position for The Great Race had had eight cylinders under the bonnet.
Top Tips for Buying a Used Jaguar XJ6 (1968-86)
The XJ6 Jaguar displayed in 1968 at the London Motor Show was an extraordinary car. The shape was low and wide and owed nothing to the ‘compact’ saloons that had driven Jaguar’s fortunes since the 1950s, yet this car was so obviously a Jaguar it was displayed unadorned and without badges.
Top Tips for Buying a Used Alfa Romeo 105-Series Coupe (1963-77)
Bathurst in 1967 hosted an uneven battle between Ford’s new 4.7-litre Falcon GT and Alfa Romeo’s 1.6-litre GTV. The Alfas lost by half a lap but won the admiration of many enthusiasts, some of whom went on to become passionate Alfa owners in the years following that race.
Rear View: VW Golf GTI Mk1
VW replaced the revolutionary Bettle with the innovative Golf, adding the now-iconic GTI badge to help pioneer the hot hatch concept.
Classic TV: Ford Falcon XR8
Must be stuck in third! A blue streak rockets across the barren landscape, its two fully ignited jet engines spewing flame as it accelerates to warp speed. Onboard, the pilot struggles to read the gauges as his body is buffeted by extreme g-forces.
