MUSCLE NEWS
Joe Kenwright, the man with more scoops than 31 Baskin-Robbins, has news on Chrysler’s next generation 300C. He also highlights the new breed of Mopar devotees. There’s an update on limited edition Holden models and big claims about new Territory. James Cockington reports on the resurfacing of the Bathurst classic’s first V8 race leader. And Chrysler Oz goes racing again.
MUSCLE MAIL
This issue readers: list Australia’s great driver/engineers; give a first hand account of the day Bob Jane took flight at Catalina and jumped the fence; present their not-so-happy snaps of a Falcon that was reshaped as a Volvo 850; cure the Bathurst 12 Hour’s ills; and talk up the importance of the touring car tiddlers.
MUSCLE TORQUE: JOHN BOWE
Everyone loves the Touring Car Masters, but none more than John Bowe. Our man JB outlines why the retro racing series continues to go gangbusters; why ‘Sally’ is galloping so sweetly; and when he is going to shave his beard off. Truth be known, we made the bit about his beard up.
MUSCLE TORQUE: PAUL STUBBER
Paul Stubber recalls his first race at Mt Panorama, back in 1992. The crowd may have booed Jim Richards and Mark Skaife that weekend, but they cheered Stubber’s EH. We still can’t believe he journeyed from WA to Bathurst knowing he had a single four-lap race. Crazy stuff.
TCM
AMC has revamped its Touring Car Masters coverage for this edition. In addition to our usual round report, we examine why the Holdens just aren’t winning races. We also profile one of the TCM’s unsung guns, who represents Holden’s best chance of victory. This Victorian has done some really cool things over four decades in the sport including winning Calder rallycross events.
MAD MAX
We speak to the men who designed, built and drove Australia’s most famous muscle car, the XB Falcon GT-based Mad Max interceptor. For the first time it receives the full AMC treatment. We track the car’s movie career, explode some myths and pay homage via the ultimate replica.
PHILLIP ISLAND CLASSIC
We sent Bruce Moxon to ‘The Island’ to a) report on the Australia’s premier Historics meeting and b) give his missus some peace. Plenty of muscle cars on show at PI.
ESSENTIAL MUSCLE – BUYER’S GUIDE
Happy 40th birthday Holden Statesman. Perhaps that should be the GM Statesman? Either way, Joe Kenright outlines where it all started for the ducks guts in lux, back in 1971. The elder Statesman is a car that played a part in making low volume Australian muscle cars viable. This yarn includes the story of where the name stemmed from.
MEMORABLE MUSCLE RACER
How many of you can list Frank Matich’s key achievements? One man who can is Matich A50 F5000 owner Aaron Lewis. The Historic racing competitor compiled a two-part profile of arguably Australia’s greatest yet most often overlooked racer. This is part one. Did you know Frank’s name appears in the credits? Now you do.
BACK IN THE DAY
The peak of the muscle car wars was the 1971 Hardie Ferodo 500 when Ford Falcon GT-HO Phase III took on Chrysler Charger R/T E38 and Torana LC GTR XU1 and won. We’ve delved into Chevron’s vast photographic library and found pics that have never been published before.
CLASSIC SPEEDWAY
Adelaide International Raceway played host to some brutal encounters in the early to mid 1970s when dirt speedway cars took to the paved oval and suddenly doubled their speed! Crazy stuff. Makes a good read, though, as told by James Cockington.
MINI MUSCLE
The vast array of Mad Max models on the market gives you an idea just how big a deal the 1979 flick and its sequels where. Can’t afford to build your own full-size replica? Then consider owning one of these.
OUT OF ACTION
In the immortal words of Steve Irwin: “Crikey, check out this little beauty! It’s been hidden away in its home, hibernating for over 30 years. Let’s just wake him up and see what he’ll do. Strewth, it’s a Monaro GTS!” An amazing ‘back in action’ story.
MIA
We go in search of Mad Max’s first XB Interceptor, one of the three yellow four-door Falcons used in the original movie. We know what happened to the other Falcon-based Interceptors, but there’s still one Missing In Action.
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