Car News Articles

When BMW’s X6 was unveiled a couple of years ago, car fans all over the world asked: “What the?”.

After all, it has less space and a higher price tag than the X5 it’s based on; not exactly a solid selling point.

But, just as coupes command a premium and look sportier - so are inherently more exclusive than their four-door brethren - the X6 appears to be doing what it was supposed to. That is, make BMW more money and make owners feel special for owning something not many other people do.

It’s a trend that’s in full swing in the car industry as car makers look to give people the individualisation they’re calling for. You could say niche cars are the new black for the industry.

But they are also essentially answers to questions nobody has asked, which makes them risky propositions.

For all the cars that have successfully carved out a new niche, there are just as many that have become expensive flops.

So are they a good idea? What do you make of the latest niche vehicles? Which ones do you like, and which ones should be confined to the giant car graveyard in the sky?

And what niches are waiting to be created? Would you like to see an off-road convertible or perhaps a large hatchback with a V8 engine upfront?

While you’re at it, see if you can name the cars we used in the photo above. We’ll give you the answer next week.

Toby Hagon

A weekly wrap of motorsport from around the world.

Foiled on last lap

Marcos Ambrose experieced a devasting last-lap defeat in the Nationwide series road race in Montreal, Canada, last weekend. He was on track for a second Nascar win for the season after qualifying in pole position. But a rare mistake on the final lap — after leading from the start — handed victory to Carl Edwards. Ambrose recovered for second.

Race veteran dies

Frank Gardner, one of Australia’s most successful racers of the 1960s and ’70s, has died at the age of 78. Gardner starred in all sorts of high-powered cars in Europe and returned home to win an Australian sports sedan championship. He then ran the factory BMW racing team with a long string of drivers from Jim Richards and Allan Grice to Paul Morris and Tony Longhurst.

Swept away in crash

A rare crash cost Chad Reed another sweep in the AMA 450cc motocross championship at the Southwick track in the US last weekend. Reed rode his Suzuki to an easy first-leg win but a fall on a soaking track in the second heat left him 31st, and eighth overall for the event. Even so, Reed has already clinched the series.

Lighting way for Aussies

The first Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be run under lights later this year. A 5pm start time means the second Formula One event in the Middle East will start before dusk and run through to the flag once the sun has set. The move opens the way for a potential V8 Supercar night race next year if plans for an Aussie double-header in the Middle East go ahead.

Taylor made for title

Molly Taylor has achieved a career milestone — named this year’s British Ladies Rally Champion. She is still battling to win the Suzuki Cup title but a string of top results in her Swift have given her the top award for a female driver in the British championship.

Closing in on leader

James Davison continued his front-running form in the US Indy Lights series with second place at the Chicagoland oval track last weekend. Davison qualified sixth but moved up to follow Daniel Herrington over the line. The result moves him to second in the championship behind J.R. Hildebrand.

Celebration booked

TeamVodafone has started plans for a series celebration this year with an official record of the V8 Supercar campaign of Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes. The TeamVodafone yearbook is already in production, under the direction of photographer Scott Wensley and journalist Gordon Lomas, with plans for hard and soft-cover books before Christmas. Details: http://www.teamvodafoneyearbook.com

Briggs back on track

John Briggs, a former V8 Supercar team owner and Australian sports sedan champion, is coming back to racing. Briggs will drive a Mosler sports car in the Australian GT championship in a move that gives him Australian distribution rights for Mosler.

 

Arguably the first real Australian muscle car, the Ford Falcon GT was introduced in 1967 as a variant of the XR range.

It featured a 289 cu in (4.7-litre) Windsor V8 engine that pumped out 225 horsepower (168kW). The engine was sourced from the Ford Mustang - the car that inspired the production of the sporty GT.

The XT Falcon range updated the GT visually and gave it a slightly larger engine, but it wasn’t until 1969 with the XW that Ford got a bit more serious about its performance hero.

In August 1969, Ford introduced the legendary GTHO specification. Built for homologation, it looked almost identical to the GT, but under the bonnet things were different. The ‘HO’ stood for ‘handling option’ but there was more to it than that. The Phase I GTHO used the GT’s now larger 5.8-litre V8, and gained larger Holley carburettors plus other performance tweaks. But it was soon upgraded for the Phase II version, which used a 351 cu in (5.8-litre) Cleveland engine that produced 300hp (224kW).

With the introduction of the Falcon XY model range in 1970 came the Phase III GTHO. The most sought-after of the GTHO cars, the Phase III produced a whopping 385hp (287kW) from its upgraded Cleveland V8. It got bigger Holly carburettors and, again, more performance upgrades. It also received exterior updates like racing stripes, sporty alloys and a plastic front spoiler.

The Phase III GTHO was Australia’s fastest four-door production car, reaching top speeds of around 227km/h. Alan Moffat had great success with the Phase III in the early 1970s, including wins at Bathurst, Oran Park and Phillip Island.

In 1972, the XA Falcon was born and — as a result of the Falcon not being produced in America anymore — Ford Australia had a lot more input into Falcon design. Unfortunately, changes to production racing regulations meant that the GTHO was no longer required and production was stopped, but not before four examples were produced. Three of those became race cars and one was sold to a member of the public.

Given their demand and rarity, Phase III GTHOs now fetch in excess of $600,000 and this has had a flow-on effect to GS and GT Falcons of the same era. In 2007 a mint Phase III sold at auction for $683,650.

 

Although he wasn’t riding the reverse-cylinder 2010 Yamaha YZ450F, James Steward recently did a shoot for the 2010 Answer Racing catalog at his riding compound in Haines City, Florida. How’s that for a reason to make an amazing video of James training in his backyard? Indeed, that’s not something to be missed, so the filming crew took a heli there and we believe that’s exactly what James was trying to reach during those high jumps.

VIDEO: Gymkhana 2.1 - Electric Boogaloo: Block vs. Dyrdek

by Chris Paukert (RSS feed) on Sep 4th 2009 at 8:00PM