News

Victorian Monster Truck builder Sam Xuereb has added a 1000 horsepower beast that can jump dirt ramps to the incredible arsenal of vehicles he will show off at the National 4x4 & Outdoors Show at the Melbourne Showgrounds in August.

A largely standard Volkswagen Touareg V6 TDI has been chosen by adventurer Rainer Zietlow for his latest record-setting escapade - a journey from Melbourne to St. Petersburg, covering 23,000 kilometres.

Australia's leading offroad racers will launch into Queensland on August 3-5, for round two of the Australian Off Road Championship - the Albins Offroad Goondiwindi 400.

Range Rover's Evoque recently added to its string of 100+ international awards with a gong at the Australian International Design Awards. The Evoque took out the 2012 Design Award Best in Category - Automotive & Transport at the AIDA awards ceremony in Sydney.

Queensland's Scenic Rim Adventure Park (SRAP) has a new home in Innisplain. Rezoning of the former site at Bromelton forced the SRAP team to look for a new home for their popular 4x4 activities, competitions, off-road driving tracks and events. Fortunately, they found one, with the new facility located at 636 Tamrookum Creek Road, Innisplain.

The Land Rover had been conceived as a stop-gap vehicle, that could be manufactured both quickly and cheaply. It was originally envisaged for agricultural purposes, adaptable to a wide range of farming tasks from pulling a plough to driving a threshing machine.

The utilitarian Series I Land Rover was a surprise success that quickly saw Land Rover production surpass that of Rover saloons. Originally a single model offering, built between 1948 and 1951 on an 80-inch wheelbase, requests from customers for all manner of accessories and models, forced Rover to seriously consider the expansion of the Land Rover range.

When US auction house, Mecum Auctions, held their 25th Anniversary 'Original Spring Classic Auction' in May, the event was so big that it had to be held over six days. While 4x4s comprised a small percentage of the 2,100 vehicles on offer at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis, there were some very interesting lots amongst the consignments.

Holden's recently launched Colorado light commercial has been awarded the maximum 5-Star safety rating from the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP). Mr Lauchlan McIntosh, ANCAP Chairman, congratulated Holden on the achievement, saying it was satisfying to see manufacturers lifting the safety of light commercial vehicles.

Looking for a new speedboat or PWC for this Summer? Mark down September 21 - 23 in your calendar, because that's when an all-new expo dedicated to sports boats and PWCs is scheduled to take place in Melbourne.

Employees at JLR's Halewood manufacturing plant celebrated the first year of Range Rover Evoque production on July 4th.

Demand for Mazda's new CX-5 has reportedly forced Mazda Motor Corporation to increase production capacity by 40,000 units to cope with better-than-expected worldwide sales for the crossover SUV.

Following the announcement by Ssangyong Australia of a YTD sales increase of 30 percent comes news that their range-topping Rexton midsize SUV may be relaunched here later this year.

With the Defender due to be replaced, Land Rover have re-launched the 'X-Tech' special edition in the UK ahead of their utilitarian model's demise. The rugged Land Rover special edition is identified by exclusive paint and equipment upgrades to standard equipment. The special edition will be available on both the 90 SWB 'hardtop' (2 door) and 110 LWB 'utility' (4 door) body styles.

Hino Australia has completed the delivery of a batch of 56 new Hino 4x4 medium-duty trucks to the Australian Defence Force (ADF) as part of a long-standing relationship between the truck manufacturer and the Army.

Land Rover's historic 50-day 10,000 mile 'Journey of Discovery' marathon expedition from Birmingham to Beijing was celebrated at the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed event in the UK, June 29 - July 1.

Holden have released a range of Genuine Holden Accessories to suit their new Colorado light commercial vehicle. The accessory range suits most of the 4x2 and 4x4 variants of the Colorado.

The Caravan and Camping Industry Association (CCIA) NSW has appointed leading industry figure, Ms. Lyndel Gray, as its new CEO.

Citroen's first Australian-release SUV, the C4 AirCross, will be available in local Citroen dealerships from July. The production AirCross that made its debut at March's Geneva Motor Show will complete the family of C4 models, joining the C4, C4 Picasso, and DS4, offering a diverse range of vehicles on the same basic platform.

Land Rover have lent their support to the 'Race2Recovery' project, a campaign by a team of wounded British servicemen to compete in the 2013 Dakar Rally.

The under $60,000 medium SUV segment is one of the most competitive in the Australian car market. There is choice aplenty for buyers and a look at April's VFACTS sales figures makes interesting reading. Mazda's new CX-5 roared to the top of the charts with 1413 sales, followed by the perennial leader, the Subaru Forester, with 989. Next down the pecking order was the Nissan X-Trail (945) and then came Mitsubishi's now somewhat venerable Outlander with 453.

Holden has announced details of a new addition to their SUV lineup - the 'Trax'. A small SUV, the Trax claims room for five passengers and plenty of cargo space. The Trax will make its world debut at September's Paris Motor Show.

For more than three decades, the Tatts Finke Desert Race has been the ultimate test for offroad racers, with the track which runs down the old Ghan Railway from Alice Springs to the Apatula Community (Finke) and back over two days providing the ultimate proving ground for tyres, suspension and drivetrains.

Subaru will introduce its first automatic transmission diesel variant in Australia in the Outback early next year. The Continuously Variable Transmission is available with the Outback 2.0-litre diesel.