Posts Tagged: Australia
It can be difficult to shovel your hard-earned money into a classic car. Between the uncertainty of what would make a good investment, fluctuations in pricing, and the inevitable wrenching and frustration, buying a classic car can feel like a rollercoaster ride without the seatbelt. Thankfully, Hagerty, the Sherlock Holmes of classic cars, has released its top picks for 2017. The list includes fun rides poised to boost in value, with some surprises from the 1980s and even the early 2000s making the cut.
At Summernats 30, the blower-topped Killa B Camaro hit the burnout pad ready to fight for the world championship title, laying down tire smoke thick enough to fill the frame. AZN from Street Outlaws jumped in the passenger seat to experience Australian burnout culture firsthand. 1320Video captured the entire high-horsepower spectacle from the ground. Watch to see what a burnout world championship run actually looks like.
The AMC Javelin G2, unleashed from 1971-1974, was the muscle car that made even your grandma want to race. With its futuristic design, this two-door hard-top was lower, wider, and sported a roof spoiler as if ready to take on a wind tunnel. The Javelin’s engines ranged from a humble six to a roaring 401-cubic-inch V8 that could turn heads and tires. It even snagged the Trans-Am race series prize a few times, proving that this beast wasn’t just for show; it was for full-throttle, tire-screeching action!
The fourth-gen Pontiac GTO, an Aussie import dressed as a muscle car, was born from a mix of Bob Lutz’s road trip and nostalgia for ’60s exhaust notes. Despite its Corvette heart and speed worthy of a drag strip, it struggled stateside, overshadowed by flashier Mustangs and Magnums. Imagine paying over $34k for a car that looks like it should come with an ‘I wish I were a Mustang’ bumper sticker. Even with tweaks and a new engine in 2005, it was more misfit than muscle, selling fewer than expected.
Bond’s DB5 and Dom Toretto’s Charger are not the only movie muscle cars worth remembering. A black Trans Am and a customized Mustang fastback both left just as big a mark on car culture, one by boosting real-world sales and the other by spawning an entire tribute-car industry. Here is the rest of the list.
The Pontiac GTO 2004-2006, a rebadged Aussie import, hit American shores with a roar reminiscent of its ’60s glory days. Powered by a 5.7L V8, it was less “muscle car” and more “muscle diplomat,” bridging automotive cultures. Despite its potent engine, it was met with a lukewarm reception—like serving Vegemite at a backyard BBQ. With only 40,808 units sold, it seems American buyers were more smitten with the Mustang’s mane than this GTO’s growl.
The Chevrolet SS packed a 415-horsepower LS3 V8, a rare available manual gearbox, and Brembo brakes into an unassuming four-door body most people mistook for a rental car. Few buyers ever noticed. Its 2017 cancellation had almost nothing to do with slow American sales and everything to do with a factory closing on the other side of the world.
In November 2016, a Ford F-450 reclaimed the Guinness World Record for Largest Flag Pulled by a Moving Vehicle, towing a 4,124-square-foot American flag around Homestead-Miami Speedway to beat a Chevrolet Silverado’s earlier record by nearly 1,000 square feet. The Super Duty’s 440-horsepower, 925-lb-ft Power Stroke diesel V-8 got credit for the pull, which stretched well past the minimum distance required to set the new mark. It’s proof that truck bragging rights aren’t only settled at the drag strip.
Someone crowned this clip ‘The Greatest Burnout of All Time,’ a bold claim in a genre with no shortage of contenders. See where the tradition of smoking tires for a crowd actually started, how it spread from drag strip prep to parking-lot ritual, and why it’s grown into a full-blown competitive event at shows like Summernats.
Shot for a Unique Cars magazine feature and aired on Australia’s Today Show in 2011, this comparison lines up classic Australian muscle against American big-blocks to argue which country built it better. Aussie cars like the Falcon GT and Holden Monaro were engineered for distance and touring-car racing, while American muscle chased straight-line cubic inches. The two rarely meet on the same track. See which philosophy comes out ahead.
It shouldn’t be a fair fight: a rough-looking farm pickup against an Italian exotic built to hit triple digits before most trucks finish their burnout. That’s exactly why Farm Truck, made famous on Street Outlaws, has built a reputation on embarrassing Lamborghinis in matchup after matchup. This clip is one more entry in a long-running highlight reel of sleeper builds humbling supercars.
A one-line caption — USA vs AUS!! — is the entire pitch behind this burnout showdown, and it turns out the two countries aren’t even competing in the same sport. American burnouts are spontaneous tire-frying stunts, while Australia has spent decades turning them into a judged motorsport built around the Summernats Burnout Masters. The difference comes down to one signature move most American drivers still haven’t mastered: the tip-in.