When I went to Motor Ex in 2022, I was let down. The car selection wasn’t that interesting to me because it lacked variety, focusing more on muscle cars and hot rods with very few Japanese and European cars in between. To tell you the truth, I’m not that big on cars from the ’60s and ’70s. I’m more interested in cars built from the ’80s onwards because they’re the ones that I’ve seen a lot of in video games and motorsports. My dad was right into motor racing back in the late ’80s, and spent 2 years working with Dunlop fitting tyres in ’91 and ’92. Anyway modified car culture comes in many forms and the previous events didn’t represent it very well, but within about 5 minutes, all the bad memories faded away. I didn’t expect the show to exceed my expectations that quickly but I’m happy it did. Today I will put a spotlight on my favourite rides from the 23rd Motor Ex. If you like what you see, please let me know on Instagram!
This is the latest iteration of the world’s fastest R32 GT-R: JUN 3.0. However calling it a GT-R is a bit of a stretch because there’s very little of the original chassis left. Only the driver’s compartment is the same. The previous iteration of the car, JUN 2.0, could do a quarter mile in just 6 seconds: a totally insane number that no other R32 in the world could match. However that is not enough and this car aims to break the 5 second barrier. The front and rear ends have been completely reworked to increase tuneability at the top end of town, helping to put down almost 3000 HP through all 4 wheels. Producing all that power is an RB30 with a 3.2 crank, 24 injectors and a 110mm Garrett turbo attached to the left side of the engine, placed right in the airflow path. The redline is quoted at an astonishing 11,000 RPM – a figure that’s sure to rattle your teeth. Such madness can only be appreciated in person, and I spent ages looking at this thing. Everything that can be modified has been modified and it pushes the boundaries further than anything. It will be put to the test at GT-R Fest in Sydney later this month. Hopefully it doesn’t blow up.
Adrian Portelli is a controversial person. You either love him or you hate him but what you can’t ignore is his passion for cars and his willingness to share that with others. A lot of people would put their 6 million dollar hypercar in the garage, but Portelli does not. He drives his carbon and gold clad Koenigsegg Jesko despite the ridiculous performance. Fill it up with E85 and you will get a stonking 1600 HP from the twin-turbo V8 engine. The number drops to 1280 on “regular” fuel but that’s still insane. I used to dismiss Koenigseggs as stupid playthings with too much power and not enough poise, but when you look at this car, you realise just how serious it is. Like the F40, it’s a mechanical masterpiece that offers something truly spectacular. This is the pinnacle of combustion-engined cars and although I sat around it for several minutes on two occasions, I still had a hard time believing what I was seeing. No car has ever given me that feeling before. It’s like meeting your favourite celebrity and realising that they aren’t robots behind a screen.
If my knowledge is correct, this is a VR HSV Clubsport from 1994 made into a drag car. The name Caviar is obviously a reference to the horse Black Caviar, whose jockey wore an outfit with this odd pinky colour and black spots. This car stuck out to me because the pink colour is actually called “Salmon”, and my computing teacher at high school HATED it about as much as Comic Sans. Little tidbit aside though, this is a clean VR Commodore-based Clubsport which doesn’t look like utter garbage with oversized wheels and a stupidly low ride height. Extra brownie points are given because dad used to own a VS Commodore wagon – the VS being the successor to the VR with the same chassis. The mostly-stock appearance is something I really appreciate because it shows that the builder has respect for the original car.
Why would a factory spec R33 GT-R be soo interesting amongst highly modified cars? Because you don’t see them this clean anywhere. It’s the type of car the developers of Gran Turismo would put their mitts on for laser scanning. It might even be better than factory because the underside of the car is exceptionally tidy. Motor Ex would normally turn away unmodified Japanese cars for this section of the event so the fact that this thing made it in fills me with joy. The purple paint only adds to the fun because not many brands offer it these days. Finally, some appreciation for the JDM culture.
This is one of the cars that I had on my hit list before I left. It’s an XB Ford Falcon Coupe owned by Supercars driver Cameron Waters, with all the street cred you could ever hope for. Not only did Cam want something muscular, he also wanted something that he could actually drive somewhat comfortably on the road. It’s fitted with a modified V8 Supercar engine from the Gen 2 car, producing 745 HP with Willwood disc brakes, 19 inch front wheels, 20 inch rear wheels, thicker tyres and a more robust suspension setup to handle it all. It’s always great to see a racing driver’s custom ride and this exceptional bit of kit really hits the mark.
Before Liberty Walk made crazy widebody kits, they created less extreme cosmetic enhancements that weren’t soo divisive. No deep cuts were made with a reciprocating saw into the wheelarches for this Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder. Seeing this car reminds me of Midnight Club LA because you could add these sorts of modifications to it, along with a quite frankly obscene widebody kit. I suppose the DUB style was too much to bare but anyway, it’s good to see a tastefully modified exotic supercar.
Australia has produced some cracking cars and this could very well be our greatest hit, combining luxury, power and performance. It’s the Gen-F HSV Grange “SV” from 2016 – an extremely limited version of the car to send off local production. Only 50 were made. Based on the Statesman, a long wheelbase version of the Commodore, the Grange sat at the top of the HSV range with all the bells and whistles they could provide. No, it did not perform like the GTS-R but that wasn’t the point. This car even came with a bottle of grange wine. Now that’s what I call Aussie luxury.
Paint job of the day award goes to this Plymouth Barracuda. Back in the ’60s and ’70s, drag racers would give their cars funny names and paint them up in extravagant liveries so they knew exactly who they were going up against. This kind of style is not soo common now but every now and again, you get a gem like this. As the Barracuda is a fish, the name makes a lot of sense. I’m not a big muscle car guy but I have to admire the work that’s gone into this because it’s incredible.
Here’s another rare car from the Holden stable. The HDT VL Calais is a limited edition model that was produced as a homage to the VL that Peter Brock raced in 1987. I don’t know all the specifics when it comes to performance but that doesn’t matter because a mint “Brockadore” is going to get your heart racing. What’s even more impressive is that 2 showed up. They may not look like much to the regular person but these machines have their own place in Aussie motoring folklore, representing a true giant of motor racing.
I don’t even know where to start with this thing. Do I start with the fact that this is a front-engine rotary with rear drive? Do I start with the fact that this body is entirely custom made to look like a Lamborghini Diablo? Or do I perhaps start by saying that this car is built for drifting? No matter how you put it, nothing about this car makes any sense and that’s exactly why soo many people are freaking out over it. I should’ve taken more photos of this wild thing because it’s pure madness.
Here are a few more highlights from the show:
We really are mad about cars down here in Victoria. After all, it used to be a haven for manufacturing – Holden built cars in Fisherman’s Bend, Toyota built cars in Altona, Ford built cars in Geelong and Nissan built cars in Dandenong South. Despite this great loss, it seems as though our passion for cars hasn’t waned one bit. New cars, old cars, modified cars, unmodified cars, slow cars, fast cars, cheap cars, expensive cars, pretty women… you have it all at this mad event known as Motor Ex. What more could a man ask for? Oh yeah. A cat. Meow.
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