18 january 2018 motormag.com.au
The Vent
JANUARY 2018
Purge your rage
Send us your rant. Or something nice. Go on, it feelsgood
LETTER OF THE MONTH
REMEMBER THE HEMI
I THINK we can all agree the Barra is
“Australia’s greatest ever engine” (MOTOR
Annual 2017), but I also think credit is due for
the Chrysler Hemi six. I imagine this isn’t the
first letter from a grumpy old Mopar bloke, so
I’ll keep mine brief.
The Hemi Six found itself deep within the
planning department of Chrysler Australia in
Lonsdale, South Australia, within weeks of its
initial blueprint presentation in Detroit where
it wasproposedasanewtruckpowerplant.
Our local engineers then embarked upon a
five-year program to power Aussie passenger
cars with a lightweight, efficient, and torquey
family of engines to cater for all applications.
The result was a success.
Every Con, Nick and Harry drove a Hemi.
They quickly gained a reputation for tough
reliability and power.
At the time, Chrysler’s advertising
promoted the “made solely in Australia” Hemi
as the “most advanced six cylinder in the
world”, a boast generally conceded by the
motoring journos of the time. These days, the
Hemis never lose any beer and bikie engine
blasting competition; the only way to kill ’em
is by loosening some rod bolts!
Available in 3.5-, 4.0-, and 4.3-litre
iterations, the culmination, of course, was
the E49 package at 302bhp (225kW) which
propelled a Valiant Charger through the
quarter in 14.4 seconds in 1972 – the quickest
Aussie-built car for 25 years. Moreover, this
265ci (4.3-litre) six was naturally aspirated
like all factory Hemis. Anyone involved in
the street/drag racing scene will tell you
aftermarket turbo, stock long-block Hemis
pushed Valiants into the 11-second bracket.
So, due credit where it’s due. Next time
please mention other great Aussie built and
designed six, the Chrysler Hemi. And many
thanks for the great monthly read.
Adam Maclagan,via email
MOTOR
reserves the right to edit letters for brevity, accuracy, and consistency.
Win This!
➥SIMULATED FEEL
A simulator is not going to replicate real-world
track time. Ask a Ferrari driver if he would
rather rack up clicks on the Fiorano test track
or be in the simulator before an F1 season.
I’d bet Kimi, Vettel and Alonso all fobbed off
the simulator, but had to use it for knowledge
and practice. The most important part you
cannot factor in are senses.
Nothing beats track time or being behind
the wheel of a machine. But future drivers are
sharpening skills on all fronts.
Joshua Perera, via Facebook
POSTER CHILD
Reading your story in the December issue
about the Testarossa, Countach and 911
Turbo had me thinking I had hitched a ride
in a time-travelling Delorean that had been
boosted by 1.21 gigawatts.
It got me reminiscing about my younger
days and wondering about today’s youth.
Back in the ’80s I had several posters of
Lamborghini Countachs on my bedroom
walls (amongst the Madonna posters). And
I was one of the kids in school that also had
a picture of a Countach on the front of one
school folder and a Testarossa on another
folder. I was so cool – or so I thought.
I used to look at my car posters on my
walls and on my folders in class and used
those images as inspiration that, if I studied
hard and got a good job, I too could maybe
have a Lamborghini or Ferrari one day. What
do the kids of today use as inspiration to
study hard and keep out of strife? It doesn’t
seem like it’s car posters.
As for me, well, I did work hard and study
hard. But it didn’t get me a Lamborghini,
Ferrari or Madonna for that matter. Oh well,
there’s always the next life, right?
Nektis Parissis, via Facebook
COME AND GONE
Well done Mr Morley! You nailed it in the
December issue of MOTOR. The Holden
Commodore-badged Opel Insignia is
effectively in run-out mode before it arrives
in the showrooms!
As we now know, PSA will be rushing
to replace GM platforms at Opel with an
intention to do so ‘by 2024’. So should one
be tempted to buy a ZB Commodore next
year? By the time it comes to trading it in
the market will be fully aware it is to be
soon discontinued. Now there’s a challenge
for Holden and its dealers. Especially when
considering the glacial pace with which GM
undertake product planning. Or is it?
Both the USA and China manufacture
the Insignia twin, the Buick Regal and the
Americans are also slotting in the V6. Surely
some swift (by GM standards) negotiations
could prepare an alternative source of
Commodores in good time for the inevitable
NULON
PRIZE PACK
Our Letter of the Month winner will be the envy of
his friends and family with this Nulon prize pack.
The kit includes a cap, T-shirt and hoodie for the
wardrobe and coolant, octane booster and full
synthetic racing oil for the garage.