CAR ADVICE

After Ford reduced its support for the Supercars race category, a new report claims Porsche is stepping up with an electric Taycan safety car in 2024. The Supercars racing series is set to move to introduce an electric safety car for the 2024 season. According to a report from motorsports website Speedcafe, organisers behind the Supercars series – formerly called as V8 Supercars, and best known for its Holden versus Ford rivalry – are currently testing an electric safety car. The report claims the safety car will likely be a Porsche Taycan, though it’s possible Porsche may want to promote its recently-unveiled Macan electric SUV by making it a medical car or other support vehicle, despite it not launching locally until the end of 2024. A Porsche Taycan has been the official safety car of the Formula E World Championship since 2022. It could be the first step in the Supercars category moving towards electrification – with the 2020 ‘Gen3’ regulations making provisions for...

GTV Motor – the Asian nation’s first car brand – says its new factory is planned to open early in 2024, where it will build five new models. But they’re not the company’s own designs. Cambodia has launched its first car brand and is about to commence manufacturing a line-up of so-called “affordable” cars for local customers in the South-East Asian country. GTV Motor claims its inaugural factory – which was commissioned in mid-2022 – is about to commence full-time production of five new models for local sale: the Krusar dual-cab pick-up, Soben-P minivan, and three SUVs, badged Kain, Caesar and Soben. However all five models appear to be rebadges of existing cars from Chinese manufacturers. For example the Kain (above) is based on the Kaiyi Kunlun , manufactured by Chinese car giant Chery – while the Krusar is derived from the VGV VX7 , with a different front grille. The car maker is a government-backed project intended to help achieve the Cambodian royal family’s aim of gr...

Nearly two thirds of vehicles sold in Australia last year were used, not new – and prices are falling as stock of new cars improves. There are plenty of familiar names among the top sellers. More than 2 million used cars were sold in Australia in 2023 – compared to 1.2 million new cars – as prices continue to fall amid improving stock of new vehicles. Last year 2,013,465 used vehicles were listed for sale – and 2,074,535 were reported as sold – according to data collated by the Australian Automotive Dealers Association (AADA), the peak body for new-car dealers in Australia, in conjunction with research company AutoGrab. Sales of used cars increased by 34.4 per cent over the course of the year – hitting a peak in November – attributed to declining prices, amid improved stock of new cars and a record year for new vehicle sales. The data – excludes vehicles more than 15 years old, write-offs, and heavy vehicles such as trucks – shows used-car prices declined by 1 to 1.5 per cen...

China has responded to a growing number of tariffs and legislation thwarting exports of its electric vehicles, saying it will stem the tide to foreign showrooms. The Chinese government has said it will “rein in expansion” of its booming electric-vehicle industry, saying there is not enough “external demand” beyond domestic China. The Financial Times reports China’s vice-minister of industry and information technology (MIIT), Xin Guobin, as saying the government will take “forceful measures” to address “blind” establishment of new electric-vehicle projects “by some local authorities and enterprises.” It is being viewed as an acknowledgement of growing concerns in Europe and the US about the rapid rise of Chinese-made electric cars. The European Union has launched a probe into the low prices of Chinese electric cars in Europe, which it alleges are “kept artificially low by huge state subsidies”. China is dominating global electric-vehicle production, and has become the ...

Ahead of its unveiling, Porsche has been testing the facelifted Taycan in climates across the globe, including at -41 degrees Celsius in the Arctic Circle. Porsche has confirmed the updated Taycan electric car has completed 3.6 million kilometres of testing ahead of its unveiling in the coming months. According to the German carmaker, the “extensively remapped” electric four-door sedan will remain available globally in sedan, Sport Turismo wagon and Cross Turismo high-riding wagon body styles.  Few details of the updated model have been confirmed so far, however the updates are expected to go beyond what is usually expected of a mid-cycle facelift. Reports suggest the upcoming flagship Taycan model may be powered by three electric motors with up to 735kW – up from two in the current range-topping Turbo S – after lapping Germany’s Nurburgring race track in seven minutes and 7.55 seconds , or 25 seconds faster than the previous model. The testing procedure reportedly t...

You can probably guess the winner of this race. But just how far behind the 292kW twin-turbo petrol V6 Raptor is the four-cylinder diesel version? A YouTube channel in Thailand has pitted both versions of the latest Ford Ranger Raptor – the petrol V6 sold in Australia, and the four-cylinder diesel available in some overseas markets – head to head in a drag race. While in Australia the new Ranger Raptor is sold only with a twin-turbo 3.0-litre petrol V6 engine (292kW/583Nm), it is also available in markets sucg as Thailand with the same twin-turbo 2.0-litre diesel four-cylinder (154kW/500Nm) as regular Ranger models. Both variants have a 10-speed automatic transmission and four-wheel drive. We’d usually try not to spoil the winner, but even with a 110kg claimed weight advantage – 2200kg vs 2310kg – the diesel Raptor is no match for the petrol version with almost twice the power. The presenter of the CSL AutoTime video says the petrol Ranger Raptor has already beate...

A growing number of Australian cars are finding their way to the UK. But among the V8-powered muscle utes is an oddity: a humble 1.4-litre Holden Cruze hatchback. Australian muscle cars are becoming a more common sight on UK classified websites as V8 Holdens and Fords make their way to the other side of the world – and enthusiasts here and overseas look to snap them up. However someone in the UK has listed for sale a blue, six-speed manual, Australian-made Holden you likely didn’t expect to see: a humble Holden Cruze hatchback. Posted for sale on Facebook Marketplace for £1795 ($AU3350), the Cruze SRi hatch is said to be a 2011 model – which would make it one of the first five-door Cruze hatchbacks to roll off the production line in Elizabeth, South Australia. The Cruze was sold in the UK as a Chevrolet – but this Australian-built and delivered import is powered by a more powerful 1.4-litre turbo petrol engine that was never made available on examples sold in Britai...