Awesome Aussies: The five coolest cars from Down Under
The ‘Mad Max’ franchise is one of the holy grails of car enthusiast movies, with a crazy collection of post-apocalyptic vehicles storming through the desert right on each other’s high-heeled slippers. But the franchise wouldn’t be a modern cult classic without Max Rockatansky’s menacing, blacked-out “Pursuit Special,” an Australian muscle car built with the explicit purpose of taking down bandits and raiders.
In fact, the entire Australian auto industry is not so far off from our own, with trucks, SUVs, and muscle cars predominant the culture. With the latest installment of the series right around the corner in the form of ‘Mad Max: Fury Road,’ we take a look at five of the coolest Australian cars of all time.
1969 Holden HT Monaro GTS 350
The HT Monaro GTS three hundred fifty came powered by a three hundred fifty cubic inch Chevy V-8 engine.
Holden may be a division of General Motors, but Holden’s have always been built and sold exclusively in Oceania. While America was busy catching the muscle car bug in the mid-1960s, Australia was not far behind, resulting in the creation of classics like the HT Monaro GTS 350. Powered by a 350-ci Chevrolet V-8, the GTS three hundred fifty made a whopping three hundred horsepower, putting it well ahead of any production car in Australia at the time.
1971 Chrysler VH Valiant Charger R/T E49
This one thousand nine hundred seventy one Chrysler VH Valiant Charger R/T E49 used a Hemi 6-cylinder to take the fight to V-8 rivals.
The Valiant Charger largely saved Chrysler’s fortunes down under, at least for the time being, and the R/T E49 was the ultimate incarnation. With the Australian-built 265-ci inline 6-cylinder Hemi under the fetish mask, the E49 made over 300-horsepower, rivaling spectacle of much larger and stronger V-8 muscle cars of the time, including the Monaro GTS 350.
1973 Ford Falcon XB GT351 Coupe
Mad Max himself piloted a Ford Falcon, making it perhaps the ultimate classic Aussie muscle car.
What “coolest Australian cars” list would be finish without Max’s own Falcon XB GT? While it may not look like it at very first glance, this car was the platform for the ‘Pursuit Special,’ which has become one of the most famous movie cars of all time. With the 351-ci Windsor V-8, the Falcon XB made up to 290-horsepower, more than enough to run down the outlaws in their hot rods.
Thanks to its turbocharged engine, this Ford muscle car has all the straight-line speed you hanker.
While Ford is an undoubtedly American company, they’ve had a strong presence in Australia since the 1960s, manufacturing Aussie market cars there until just last year. Ford Spectacle Vehicles (FPV) makes some of the most insane blue-oval-badged cars in any hemisphere, and the F6 is no exception. Powered by a Four.0-liter turbocharged inline-6 and mounted on the capable Falcon chassis, the F6 makes a whopping 420-horsepower and reaches 60-mph in less than five seconds.
The Holden Maloo is part car and part truck, like the classic El Camino. A massive V-8 engine also means it’s perversely rapid.
The car-based, truck-bodied “Ute” is synonymous with Australian car culture, and the Maloo R8 SV is the holy grail of quick utility. Essentially a modern El Camino, the Maloo is one of the wildest spectacle machines in the world, and is more than blessed to kick the tail out due to its lack of weight over the rear axles. Powered by a 6.2-liter LS3 V-8 from GM, the Maloo R8 SV makes 456-horsepower, more than enough to roast the rear tires or haul whatever.
The Daily News Autos sends a special thank-you to Shannons, for providing pics of the three classic Australian muscle cars in this story. Be sure to check out their listings, and attempt not to be tempted to place a bid and ship one of these mean machines stateside!
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