Tim Blair: The greatest car heists

AROUND 180 hot V8s are currently loose in Australia. They're hot in all senses of the word.

toyota 86

AROUND 180 hot V8s are currently loose in Australia. They're hot in all senses of the word.

Besides generating north of 350 horsepower, these babies were stolen from Holden's Elizabeth plant in South Australia.The V8s originated at General Motors' Canadian operation and were destined to be inserted into local sedans and utes before bandits intervened. Some of the high-performance engines have allegedly turned up in desert buggies and other off-road competition vehicles, so at least they're not gathering dust. Mud yes, dust no.

In total, the great Adelaide V8 heist is said to be worth about $2.5 million, making it one of Australia's biggest automotive crimes.

In 1973, also in Adelaide, racing driver Allan Moffat's competition Ford Falcon GTHO was kept overnight at a suburban dealership prior to racing on Sunday. The car never made it to the track. Local Ford enthusiasts broke into the dealership and drove off in the 5.8-litre monster, finally abandoning it in scrubland outside the city where it was found several days later. A note left inside apologised for the slight suspension and bodywork damage, but thoughtfully added that the racing sedan was "beaut".

Rolls-Royce contacted its lawyers in 2009 after Chinese manufacturer Geely unveiled the stately Geely GE, almost every exterior panel of which closely resembled the Rolls-Royce Phantom. The Geely even had its own version of a Rolls-style flying lady hood ornament. Geely subsequently redesigned the GE to look a little less Rolls-ish.

The most expensive fine in motor racing history was handed down against McLaren in 2007 after the sport's ruling body found that staffers at the Formula One team had come upon technical details from rival Ferrari by improper means.

McLaren's fine? A trifling $US100 million. Yet the British firm rebounded to win the world championship in 2008.

86 WANTS MAKEOVER

CAN'T complain about the price. At about $30,000, Toyota's GT86 coupe is stunning value. Can't complain about the performance, which provides sharpish acceleration combined with what is reportedly brilliant handling. Can't complain about the ad campaign which is one of the more watchable of the past several years.

But, you know, the GT86 doesn't really look like much. It's on the bland and featureless side. A $3000 aero kit now available for the 86 in Australia probably overcompensates, adding a monster rear wing to the GT86's basic roundish form.

The market is wide open for a local design firm to come up with a less screaming way to enhance the coupe's appearance.

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Eccentric Uncle Tim's buy of the week

PURISTS may dispute whether the X-Type is a genuine Jaguar, what with a substantial amount of its mechanicals being sourced from then-parent company Ford. But it is still called a Jaguar, and therefore remains attractive to people who enjoy saying that they own a Jaguar.In fact, there are more reasons besides brand snobbery to favour this compact sedan, not least of which is the fact that you can buy attractive examples for below $15,000. One such car (a one-owner deal) is available in Adelaide, featuring leather interior.

(X-Type owner tip: when revealing the model Jag you've bought, emphasise the word "type". If you're lucky, people might mishear and assume it's an E.)

carsguide.com.au.