CAR ADVICE

Days after an alleged manufacturer of cloned number plates was arrested, another man has been taken into custody for allegedly being involved in a vehicle rebirthing operation. The Victoria Police Special Operations Group in partnership with the Fugitive Squad have arrested a man concerning an alleged vehicle rebirthing racket. Following the arrest of the 35-year-old, a search of the man’s Doveton home and at a factory in Dandenong South – located in Melbourne’s southeast – uncovered a stolen Holden Commodore, a stolen engine, illicit drugs, and a “significant quantity” of cash. Also seized were more than 40 cloned number plates. Another search conducted in relation to the investigation uncovered a commercial quantity of drugs along with $30,000 in cash. While police did not publicly link the two cases, the latest arrest comes just days after a 44-year-old Frankston North man was charged following the alleged discovery by officers of equipment used in the manufacture of clo...

Reports from the UK claim the MG 4-based electric wagon will replace the older MG 5 wagon sold overseas, among a flurry of new models. MG is due to introduce a new-generation electric station wagon to Europe based on the popular MG 4, according to reports from the UK. The wagon version of the MG 4 will reportedly replace the European-market MG 5 SW EV (Station Wagon Electric Vehicle), itself a rebrand of a car sold in China as a Roewe (Rover) – according to a report by Autocar . The current MG 5 wagon has not been offered in Australia and that is not planned to change with its successor. “There is an electric MG 5 wagon ‘estate’ available in Europe however this model won’t be sold in Australia or New Zealand,” an MG Motor Australia spokesperson told Drive . “We have no plans at this stage to replace the current MG 4 [hatch] with a wagon nor will we replace the MG 5 [sedan] with the MG 4 wagon.” The spokesperson’s comment appears to implicitly confirm the Autocar ...

The first new Maserati GranCabrio in 14 years has arrived, nearly five years after production of the previous model ended. The 2024 Maserati GranCabrio sports car has been unveiled – at least six months behind schedule amid a string of Maserati new-model delays – ahead of European showroom arrivals later this year. The GranCabrio is the convertible version of the new GranTurismo coupe shown 18 months ago, and is the first all-new model in 14 years, offered with twin-turbo V6 petrol power at launch, ahead of a likely electric version to follow. The previous-generation GranCabrio – one of the last Maseratis with non-turbo Ferrari V8 power – has been out of production since late 2019. At the time, prior to the pandemic, the new model was planned to launch in 2022. MORE: Maserati confirms electric supercar, delays electric sedan by three years Drive reported in October 2022 the new, four-seat GranCabrio was due within the next year – by October 2023 – but it has on...

For a lover of Japanese cars and culture, driving a Nissan R34 Skyline GT-R through Hakone Pass is something very special – especially so when it’s the very car F1 champion Lewis Hamilton thrashed on social media. As it turns out, Ben Zachariah would be one of the last people to do so. Japanese comic books can lay claim to many things, but arguably the greatest achievement was bringing the art and romance of street drifting to the masses. Initial D is a comic-book series dating back to 1995, spawning multiple television series and movies, introducing the world to Japanese street drifting – driving in sustained oversteer on tight mountain roads. That, in turn, led to competitive drifting on race tracks. It also created spin-offs – including Wangan Midnight – and the latest, MF Ghost, which details illegal street racing in the near future, and on a circuit which begins at the Hakone Pass. For the uninitiated, Hakone Pass is considered by many to be one of the greatest dr...

A 52-year-old maintenance contractor has lost his life at a Fiat factory, making it the second death at an automotive manufacturing facility in as many weeks. Metalworker unions in Southern Italy have called for improvements to safety at a factory which produces Fiat engines. According to Automotive News Europe, a 52-year-old contractor at the Fiat engine plant died while conducting maintenance on a piece of machinery last week, prompting calls for a strike from union officials. Drive understands the facility may produce diesel engines fitted to the Fiat Ducato van sold in Australia. “Stellantis expresses its deep sorrow and sympathy to the family [of the victim]” a spokesperson said in a statement. Stellantis is the parent company of 14 brands, including Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroen, Jeep, Maserati, Peugeot, Ram, and Fiat. “The company … is actively collaborating with the judicial authorities and the police, who are investigating the causes of the accident,” the spok...

The X-90 looked like it had been designed by a couple of cartoon characters, and that was just the start of its many flaws… Story by Tony Davis originally published in Drive on 3 March, 2000. “You’ve never driven anything like this before!” announced the Suzuki X-90 brochure, and for once a brochure was right. The conveyance in question was squat and unsightly in appearance, daft in concept and lousy in packaging. And it rode like a bone-shaker bicycle. The X-90 had been originally shown in concept form at the Tokyo Motor Show, supposedly to test public reaction. The public reacted but Suzuki proceeded anyway. The first X-90s hit these shores in 1996 and Suzuki boasted the newcomer represented a “triumph in pure visual appeal”. However, a vehicle responsible for such an accomplishment in aesthetics might have been expected to command a premium in the market. The X-90 was introduced at $23,990, but this price was cut by $1000 three months later and by a further $2000...

Tesla has not forgotten about the new Roadster supercar – and it is edging closer to production next year with SpaceX rocket influences and 0-100km/h in less than one second, Elon Musk claims. The Tesla Roadster electric supercar is promised to finally see the light of day later this year – for production next year – with acceleration twice as quick as any other road-legal car ever made. The Roadster was unveiled as a concept in 2017 – with orders opened for promised deliveries in 2020 – but the trail of information went cold as Tesla focused on other projects, including the Cybertruck pick-up. After months of silence, Elon Musk has claimed the Roadster’s design is “complete” and due to be unveiled later this year, for first deliveries “aiming … [for] next yea[r]”. The executive has boldly declared a 0-60mph (97km/h) acceleration time of less than one second. The quickest-accelerating production cars – on regular road tyres, not drag-racing slicks – are ‘only’ capa...