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Cars, Bikes & Boats

Today

Rare cars arrive in Sydney as Concours season opens

A teardrop-style Alfa Romeo and a Porsche Can-Am racer are some of more than 40 collectible cars being exhibited this month.

  • Tony Davis

This Month

Would you drive a car without a rear window?

The design team behind the Polestar 4 says its rear-facing camera provides a wider, unobstructed view. Does our test driver agree?

  • Tony Davis

Can this EV newcomer tempt premium buyers to make the switch?

Chinese brand launches all-wheel drive with fresh styling and some Tesla-inspired tech.

  • Tony Davis

January

An Aston Martin you can customise to your heart’s desire

If the muscular, well-proportioned lines and bold colours you choose for the newest coupe don’t grab your neighbour’s attention, the noise of the engine certainly will.

  • Tony Davis
Australia SailGP team sails during training.

Tom Slingsby sets his sights on home victory at Sydney SailGP

The 2024-25 season will be a gruelling test for the 12 national teams competing, up from 10 in Sydney last year, and the 450 people who circle the globe with them.

  • Tony Davis
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As tough as it gets, and more stylish than your average off-roader too

If there’s ever a second ‘Day of the Triffids’, the Defender 130 V8 will be up to the task. In the meantime, it’s a sleek, comfortable and good-looking ride.

  • Tony Davis
Mercedes-Benz CLE300 4Matic.

Mercedes-Benz trims down range with new premium coupe

In a market dominated by SUVs, the German carmaker has rolled out a luxury low-slung coupe.

  • Tony Davis

MG shows off its first electric convertible – and it costs just $115k

The fit and finish of the Cyberster, the quality of materials and the level of appointments all befit an upmarket sports car. But can the driving experience match up?

  • Tony Davis
Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray.

Want to turn heads? This hybrid sports machine is for you

Few vehicles on the road are as extrovert, or garner as much attention as Chevrolet’s first all-wheel Corvette, the fastest-accelerating model yet.

  • Tony Davis
Sea-Doo GTR X 300 RS.

Swap the open road for the sea on this powerful watercraft

It’s a strange experience driving so fast on an ever-changing surface, and with so many variables at play there’s rarely a shortage of adrenalin.

  • Tony Davis
Smart #3 Brabus.

The Smart car is back, but not as you know it

The German-designed cars, now built in China, are fun and funky, yet still manage to carry a strong Mercedes-Benz flavour.

  • Tony Davis
Words

Rolls-Royce smooths ride for what might be last petrol Ghost

Nobody wants a standard Rolls-Royce, and the company is only too happy to oblige with an almost unlimited list of options on the Ghost Series II.

  • Tony Davis

December 2024

Sailor Nick Smith died on board the yacht Bowline.

Two deaths and a remarkable survival in Sydney to Hobart yacht race

Two men died in similar circumstances while another was forced to unclip himself from a safety line and drifted more than a kilometre in cold water.

  • James Hall
Riviera’s Stephen Milne said demand for big, luxury boats has continued to rise.

For the rich, working from home has morphed into working from boat

Boomers and those without a mortgage are spending up to $8 million, but they want space to work and technology that won’t make them look like a novice.

  • James Hall
The Bowline Yacht, which was hit by tragedy.

Two dead as wild weather hits Sydney to Hobart yacht race

One sailor each on Flying Fish Arctos and Bowline were killed after being struck by the boom, a large horizontal pole at the bottom of the sail.

  • Jasper Bruce
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7 great gift ideas for drive enthusiasts

Our motoring writer’s line-up this year ranges from top-of-the range machines to fun merch.

  • Tony Davis

This year’s highs and lows in motoring

We farewelled the Audi TT – and a car driven only by maths professors and architects – but there were good times too.

  • Tony Davis
The weight for the new two-seater coupe is a comparatively low 1399 kg.

The only car you’ll ever need (if you have a spare $3.8m)

McLaren’s fastest road car ever, the new W1, also has a reasonable amount of luggage space. Everything you’d want in a car, surely?

  • Tony Davis
Jaguar has released Type 00.

Jaguar unveils its radical new look

Nobody has talked this much about Jaguar since it launched the spectacular E-Type coupe in the early 1960s. The put up or shut up moment has arrived with the release of the Type 00.

  • Tony Davis

November 2024

A big electric SUV with sporty intent

The Lotus Eletre is mechanically similar to the Emeya sedan and shares many interior parts and much of the tech.

  • Tony Davis

More classic muscle car than tech warrior

The Audi RS4 Avant may have the least fashionable body type in the modern automotive world, but it’s still damn stylish.

  • Tony Davis

Benz hits the Goldilocks spot with its new AMG SUV

The middle child in the GLC car family delivers an experience that’s just right.

  • Tony Davis
The DiM250 DYNAMIC Driving Simulator at the Goodyear Simulation Centre in Luxembourg.

This multimillion-dollar simulator is fully sick, in the best way

Machines such as the DiM250 Dynamic Driving Simulator are increasingly where engineers find the hundreds or even thousands of a second that can deliver pole position.

  • Tony Davis
The Ferrari 12Cilindri is the perfect grand tourer for a place with no speed limits.

This Ferrari is tough to pronounce, but impressive to drive

The 12Cilindri, a 6.5-litre V12 engine coupe, is one of the few road-going V12s left, and it’s arriving here early next year.

  • Tony Davis

Annoyed by all those driver alerts? Volvo’s working on it

Too many warnings can actually be a turn-off. The brand known for safety is looking at ways to reduce those ‘beeping’ beeps.

  • Tony Davis

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/cars-bikes-and-boats