06 LIFESTYLE
SATURDAY AUGUST 6 2016 CARSGUIDE
COVER STORY
Hypercar,
super-easy
COYOTE SIMPLY A MUST HAVE
WHEN Bob O’Brien found out they
were building Mustangs in Australia,
it took him very little time to buy
one.
The 2016 Mustang GT. 5.0 Litre
Coyote Quad Cam V8 arrived from
down south a week ago after a 15month wait and already Mr O’Brien
has spent more than $10,000 on upgrades.
“I’ve changed the exhaust,
changed the wheels, redid the suspension as in lowered it,” he said.
“When they’re new they’re all
right but they don’t burble from the
exhaust like it does now. It’s just
beautiful.”
Mr O’Brien, who owns Car Concepts, does upgrades to the cars,
and said the best thing was nothing
he did voided the warranty, excluding adding superchargers.
“I’m staking a claim as the Mustang specialist of Darwin,” Mr
O’Brien said.
Even when he’s not in the driver’s seat, he said he loved the car.
“I get a kick out of just walking
outside and looking at it,” Mr O’Brien
said. “I just think it looks so sexy.”
While he loves the new car, he
said he wouldn’t be driving it everywhere.
“It’s only done 120kph so we’re
still getting to know each other,” he
said. “It’s taken a few drives to get
comfortable with it.”
“And I’ve got my ute to go to
Woolies in.”.
Honda’s born-again head-turner takes on
European rivals with blistering hybrid
performance
“It’s what you need”
FOR SALE
THERE might be better ways to
celebrate a birthday than
driving the Honda NSX but I
can’t think of one.
I’m still cooling down from
hot laps and rampaging road
time with a car that’s a brilliant
engineering achievement,
super quick but also super
composed, beautifully made
and with the supercar
credentials to take the fight to
Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren
and the Audi R8.
Now, if only Honda
Australia had managed to do
better than a $420,000 bottom
— the wrong word entirely —
line.
So far, only four people have
paid deposits for an NSX in
Australia. That number will
definitely grow but some are
already questioning whether
the car is just a toy for tech
heads, an Apple-style
automotive icon for dotcom
millionaires in the US.
Those same questions came
to mind on first sighting the
born-again NSX, alongside the
original Japanese supercar
from the early 1990s. By the
PAUL GOVER
CHIEF REPORTER
[email protected]
time I’d finished driving and
was blowing out the candle on
my birthday cake I was
convinced.
The worst thing about the
NSX is its Honda badge. Not far
ahead of the price ...
It means the NSX is a
“challenger” to the supercar
establishment, even though its
mechanical package puts it into
the hypercar class.
It combines a 3.5-litre V6
twin-turbo and three electric
motors — one on the
crankshaft to eliminate turbo
lag and one turning each front
wheel for all-wheel drive
acceleration and cornering
balance — that make it
stonkingly quick.
Total outputs are 427kW/
646Nm, the top speed is
308km/h and the 0-100km/h
sprint takes just 2.9 seconds.
The car has a twin-clutch
gearbox and a surprisingly
hefty 1776kg to move.
But the impressive thing is
the integration — all the
components communicate with
each other, meaning the NSX is
not only super-fast but also
super-easy to drive. There is
even a rear camera for parking.
The price is high for
Australia, only fractionally
lower than the starting price for
a Ferrari 488 or Lamborghini
Huracan LP610-4 and more
than double a Nissan GT-R.
However, it comes fully loaded
with carbon-ceramic brakes,
carbon-fibre exterior pack
including the roof and carbon
fibre interior kit that sits well
alongside the leather-trimmed
dash and seats.
Honda was so committed to
getting the NSX right that it
binned the original comeback
plan and car, which had a frontmounted V10, and went again
with the petrol-electric
PLACE YOUR MUSTANG
ORDER NOW & TAKE
DELIVERY IN 4 WEEKS!
Our Herrod T Spek Development FG 6
cyl Auto Falcon Ute 2012:
Low klm - 24,500k.
Fully optioned including Herrod Performance Upgrades.
Ford F G Mk 11 n/a 6 - 6 speed auto Ute.
Suit new car buyer, only done 24,500k.
New price was about 33k, ours has 24k in
mods and extras. Dyno: 187 rwk, about
the same as a BA/BF GT stock.
PHONE 8942 1911 - Bob
$30,000
674-676 Stuart Highway Berrimah, LMVD 417 | Call Darren to book your appointment 0475 986 351
NTNE01Z01CG - V1