Unique Cars Australia

THIS MONTH’S restoration profile of Peter’s stunning VJ Charger Sportsman got me thinking: Look at most modern-day car interiors, and you will usually find acres of black or grey materials on hand. Bland cloth patterns are the usual base starting point, with leather and Alcantara the fancy factory options in today’s world, if you’re lucky enough to be driving something ‘upmaket’. Contrasting coloured seat belts might be adding the bling to your modern ride too, and we all know about the latest craze with LED equipped adjustable lighting throughout the cabin … Go back a few decades and visually inspiring interiors were far more common, from tri-tone interiors to in-your-face fabrics; combinations were plentiful! At times, you wonder how an automobile manufacturer from even the ’50s could possibly have offered so…

PORSCHE DISTRIBUTOR, racing car driver, businessman, entrepreneur and team owner, Alan Hamilton, has passed away age 82. Hamilton was only nine years of age when his father, Norman, introduced Porsche to his life and Australia. It was 1951, three years after the birth of Porsche. Norman Hamilton who owned a pump manufacturing business in Australia, was in Europe investigating the latest in pump technology for Australia’s Snowy Hydro project. While travelling from Austria to Switzerland a low-slung sports car whizzed past him. Sometime later he spotted the car outside a café and went inside to find the owner. After introducing himself to Richard von Frankenberg, a German racer and Porsche test driver, Hamilton convinced von Frankenberg to let him follow him to the Porsche factory to meet his boss, Ferry…

FISH OUT OF WATER Just parked by the side of the road in country Victoria, minding its own business. (I had to go back to convince myself what I'd seen!) MARC WILLIAMS-EMAIL GRAND TOUR It’s funny what you see refueling on an interstate road trip, this XT GT looked glamourous in Polar White. JOHN MARLEY-EMAIL MMM MONARO … In my book, the two-door HQ is the ultimate Monaro, what a beast this example was in a great colour too! JIM STEFANIDIS-EMAIL THE SPEED OF SOUND Spotted this Mach 1 a few months back, your recent resto feature has sparked a new liking for this generation Pony. PHIL ANDERSON-EMAIL SEEN SOMETHING? Send to. Get your smartphones out and share what you've seen on our Facebook page or uniquecars@primecreative.com.au…

THE 1965 Le Mans 24-hour winning Ferrari 250 LM, driven by Masten Gregory and Jochen Rindt has been sold by RM Sotheby’s at its Paris auction, for $59.2 million Australian dollars. It was part of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum collection, where it has been housed for the past 54 years after being acquired from Chinetti Motors following the Daytona 24-hour race. One of 32 built, this 250 LM sealed Ferrari’s sixth consecutive 24-hour race victory at Le Mans and remains the only privateer-entered Ferrari to win the famous twice-around-the-clock enduro. It’s also the only Ferrari built during Enzo Ferrari’s reign to compete in six 24-hour races, including three times at Le Mans and three times at the 24 Hours of Daytona. The 250 LM is in highly original condition…

SPECIALIST vehicle trades are being lost due to the aging nature of the current workforce, and the low adoption rates of these bespoke trades by young people coming through. There’s also a need to attract people to the industry to secure its future, however, the cost of training for many small businesses is prohibitive. One organisation that has recognised this dilemma, with plans to reverse the trend, is The Modern Classic Car Foundation, established by David Dyer. Dyer, who operates a successful vehicle restoration business in NSW, has created an academy to train people with the skills they will need, across many trades, to ensure the future of the veteran, classic, hot rod and muscle car industries. The Modern Classic Cars Foundation will provide skills training to apprentices across various…

ONLINE VEHICLE seller Bring a Trailer recently sold one of its strangest listings: A 1:1 scale Bentley Continental GT display model, made of wood! What’s more it fetched A$473,000. This piece of automotive art of a second-generation Bentley Continental GT is said to have been created by Olivier De Schrijver and was acquired by the seller, Bentley Indianapolis, as a showroom centrepiece in 2024 from Ode’s Design of Brussels, Belgium. Two steel axles are bolted to wooden beams to form the main support structure or chassis for the model which has an exquisite, sculpted body and a highly detailed interior also made of timber. The attention to detail is staggering with the GT featuring opening doors pivoting on exposed hinges, while the windows and headlight covers are fabricated from acrylic.…