NEWS

In the Motorcycle Restorations section of the HV website is the story of the ultra-rare BSA B18 model. The surviving, preservation-resto example in Australia is now on the market.

If you weren’t lucky enough to score tickets to the 2026 Goodwood Revival, the next best thing is checking out the stories, results and videos on the Revival website. Of particular interest to Australians was the Jack Brabham tribute event.

The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance celebrated its 75th Anniversary in August 2026 and also reached a major milestone, surpassing US$50 million in total charitable donations.

The sights, smells and sounds of the Golden Era of Australian Motorsport are coming to Pheasant Wood Circuit, Marulan, NSW in August, 2026.

The 90,000th Australian-manufactured Kenworth truck was officially delivered, during a celebration at Paccar’s Bayswater production facility in Melbourne. 

Vespa celebrated its 80th-Anniversary milestone with a massive, four-day global gathering in Rome from 25th June to 28th June, 2026. The event highlighted Vespa’s legacy as a universal symbol of freedom, culture and Italian design, since its first patent in 1946. 

This book is aimed at people who are at the beginning of car collecting and sets out clearly the different classes that are available, with recommendations about models and suggested prices. Although based on the current USA scene, the collector car market is global these days and pricing tends to follow international trends.

Australian Auto Aftermarket (AAA) Expo visitors were taken on a trip down the automotive workshop memory lane with Bendix and Trico during the record breaking 2026 AAA Expo held in Melbourne from 14-16 May.

The Atlantic has published some photos of historic sidecar racing. We reckon they’re worth a look.

A custom-built 1947 Chevrolet Maple Leaf truck, brought back to life with modern engineering, is the latest vehicle to be restored and raffled to raise funds for Motor Neurone Disease (MND) research.

Probably the best known highway in the world – USA’s Route 66 – was completed in November 1926 and celebrates its centenary in what is also the USA’s 250th independence anniversary year.

The Formula 73 is inspired by the 750 Super Sport Desmo, which has its roots in the 750 Imola Desmo that won the 1972 Imola 200. 

The car in which Australia’s Sir Jack Brabham became the only driver-constructor to win the Formula One World Championship is to be inducted into the Australian Motorsport Hall of Fame – the first time a car, instead of a person, has been granted the highest honour in Australian motorsport.

One of the American racing and hot rod movement’s early pioneers, Ed Iskenderian, has died at the ripe old age of 104, but the company he founded soldiers on, steered by his sons, Ron and Richard

We don’t sell vehicles on the HV website, but we’re happy to act as a conduit between potential sellers and buyers.

Each day of the Goodwood Revival traditionally begins with the charismatic Track Opening Parade that will be led in 2026 by hundreds of classic Vespas.

We recently stopped at the original Ettamoggah Pub, just north of Albury and came across this somewhat neglected Dennis fire engine. Once one of the showpieces at this Table Top institution, the old engine needed some TLC.

At Historic Vehicles we’ve got to know several  Australian racing car drivers, over many years, but only a very few stand out as top racers, while also being good blokes. Colin Bond is one such star, whose modesty kept his light mostly hidden behind the hay bales.

This book records one English journalist’s work history, from roving reporter in Cambridge and Coventry, and eventually becoming the PR chief at Land Rover.

Sydney-based restorers, Modern Classic Cars, is raffling a restored and heavily reworked, 295bhp 1971 Morris Mini, to raise funds for the foundation’s apprenticeship program. 

Australia’s leading RV manufacturer, Jayco, released a 50th Anniversary Volkswagen camper van, based on the 2025 Crafter van. Its release also coincided with the 75th Anniversary of the birth of Type 2 VW ‘Kombi’ van.

The list of vehicles in the Historic Auctioneers catalogue for 20th September, 2025, was as impressive as usual, but one particular vehicle stood out for us: an Invicta S-Type Low Chassis Tourer Continuation model.

Collecting Cars is offering at auction the iconic 4WD wagon that once belonged to the late Steve Irwin, the world-famous Australian conservationist and zookeeper.

This annual event has been held since 1950 and is recognised as one of the greatest historic vehicles shows on earth. A win – even a place – at the USA’s Pebble Beach is the goal of many well-heeled, classic-car fanatics.

In August, 2025, Ford USA’s vice chair, John Lawler, stated the ‘bleedin’ obvious’ when he said that most modern car buyers: “don’t think about the powertrain the way they did 30 years ago, where it defined what a vehicle was”. 

Against a background of Trump’s obvious contempt for NATO and the EU, General Motors and Ford are wooing car enthusiasts with European-based racing endeavours. GM’s Cadillacs are chasing Le Mans glory and its brand-new F1 team is making its debut in 2026, while Ford is back in F1, powering Red Bulls.

Not everyone signs up to our free bi-monthly newsletters, so we’ve added the latest one to our News pages. This way those who don’t want to give out their email address – or who aren’t computer-literate – can keep in touch with the latest info.

This event is always one of the best bike shows in Australia. We covered the 2024 event and were mightily impressed. It’s on Friday, August 22nd and Saturday 23rd.

Honda is planning the 2026 release of parts for selected discounted car models, to aid maintenance and restorations.

One of our Historic Vehicles regulars needs shed space and this very clean Inter’ KB-5 has to go. We think the haggling starts around thirty grand.

in July 1965, in the Mercedes-Benz truck plant at Wörth am Rhein, the first complete truck to roll off the production line was a green Mercedes-Benz LP 608. 

Kimberly-Clark Professional, a leading innovator in dry-wipe cleaning products, suggests replacing rags in automotive workshops with industrial-strength, dry-wipe products, from its brand Wypall. 

The Variety Victoria Bash is set to tackle Outback terrain from Hamilton in Western Victoria through to Darwin, from 8th-17th August, 2025.

Coinciding with the introduction of the 2025 model line-up, Isuzu Australia Limited (IAL) has launched an historic and contemporary merchandise range.

In October 2025 the LandCruiser Club of Western Australia is hosting a 40 Series Classic Weekend. Should be fun!

Collecting Cars’ sales results in June 2025 showed the collector car markets in Australia and New Zealand remain strong.

The 35th Outback Car Trek raised in excess of $1.58 million for the Royal Flying Doctor Service, thanks to the 240 trekkers who drove from Bathurst to Cairns on 30th May to 8th June 2025.

Honda is celebrating the 60th anniversary of its first victory in the FIA Formula One World Championship (F1) this year.

Run in conjunction with the Brisbane Truck Show, the 2025 Heritage Truck Show attracted more than double the visitors of the last such event.

The countdown to the 2025 Goodwood Revival is already underway and tickets for the September event are selling fast. For those attending, there’s a lot happening and for those who can’t, we’ll have reporting on the event in October 2025.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum sold its most valuable cars, in partnership with auction house RM Sotheby’s, to raise more than US$100 million.

Reg Hunt, motor dealer, racing driver, collector and property investor is the subject of a testimonial being presented by Automotive Historians Australia.

Can’t find a used BMW R90S, but want that aura? Check out the new retro-styled R12S.

If you haven’t seen the video that has some Jaguar afficionados in uproar around the world, here it is:

Most of us attend vehicle club drive days and the occasional all-day show. Having portable power at hand allows you to run a food/drinks fridge while your vehicle is stationary.

Since 1967, Rudi Klein, a renowned figure in the world of collecting, quietly amassed a remarkable collection of automotive treasures in a modest junkyard in Southern Los Angeles.

A rare South Australian number plate sold for $2.3 million in an August online auction. The previous top SA number plate sale was for just under $600,000.

Gavin Farmer has produced another book on the Australian car manufacturing industry; this one covering the exciting and tumultuous 1970s.

With great sadness we have to report that the specialist automotive seat maker, Recaro Automotive, filed for bankruptcy in a German court in late July, 2024. At the same time, BBS Wheels went into administration.

One of the most important functions of the UK’s Michael Sedgwick Memorial Trust is to provide assistance — financial and advisory — in publishing automotive books that might otherwise never see light of day. Three such books have been published in the first half of 2024.

In its July 2024 edition of the Drive Lite Historic and Classic Vehicle Schemes (HVS) and (CVS) Transport for NSW has updated information on club number plates and the issues around wearing seatbelts.

The final Jaguar F-type sports car made at the brand’s manufacturing facility in Castle Bromwich will join the Jaguar Heritage collection: 50 years to the day since the last Jaguar E-type drove off the production line.

Collecting Cars, a leading global online platform for the sale of classic, performance and collectible cars, will conduct its first catalogued heritage number plate sale in Australia this month.

On June 2nd the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, opened the procession to celebrate the Festa della Repubblica, aboard the 1961 Presidential Lancia Flaminia.

Two Alfa Romeo vintage 1900 sports racing cars were entered the 2024 Mille Miglia event. The 2024 Mille Miglia, dubbed ‘the most beautiful race in the world’, was scheduled for June 11 to 15.

BMW Group Classic offers owners of historic BMWs the opportunity to restore and maintain their vehicles, ensuring they remain roadworthy and timeless. The Group Classic initiative has already proved successful in other countries.

This small-book review is different from most that we do, because it’s about antique people, not antique vehicles!

Ayrton Senna died 30 years ago, on 1st May 1994. Anniversary celebrations of his spectacular life were planned around the world, including the track at Imola, in Italy, where he died and at Monaco.

Collecting Cars, the global online platform for the sale of classic, performance and collectible cars, is conducting its next Australian Coffee Run event in Melbourne and hopes it could help set a new world record.

The collective owners of Australia’s historic vehicles spend some $9.9 billion each year on their passion, according to a new Australian Motor Heritage Foundation (AMHF) survey.

If you love cars and history, you won’t want to miss the National Motoring Heritage Day in Berry NSW on Sunday 19th May 2024.

The Shoalhaven Classic Motorcycle Club is hosting the Berry Charity Bike Show in May 2024.

Collecting Cars, the global online sales platform for classic, performance and collectible cars, has just listed what is probably Australia’s most famous ex-company car.

London Concours has announced that this June’s show will feature a celebration of that most evocative automotive ingredient: the V12 engine.

NTI’s resto-mod 1946 Ford ‘Jailbar’ truck, Bonnie is being raffled to raise funds for medical research.

Australia’s prominent motoring festival, Motors & Masterpieces, launches at the Melbourne Showgrounds on 22-24 November, with 10 themes for the celebration now confirmed.

In NSW, on June 21st – 23rd, 1924, the first Motorcycle Grand Prix was held in Goulburn.  The Centenary event will be held over three days, from June 21 to June 23, 2024.

In the March 2024 edition of DRIVE Lite – Vehicle Safety Compliance Certificate Scheme (VSCCS) – publication, Transport for NSW urged owners of modified vehicles to carry their modifications certificates in their vehicles.

‘Unique’ is an over-used word, but, in the case of John Surtees, it’s entirely appropriate. He is still the only person in history to have won F1-level world championships on two and four wheels.

After being missing in action for decades and never offered for public auction before, the heritage ‘NSW 1’ number plate has been listed for auction, with bidding already surpassing $10 million.

A researcher from the Queensland Brain Institute, working to find a treatment for Motor Neurone Disease (MND), is receiving a grant funded by NTI’s vintage truck raffle.

RM Sotheby’s has sold a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, chassis 3765, for a whopping US$51.7 million.

Nearly 50,000 motorcyclists, tourists and enthusiasts attended the Italian Bike Week festival held in Italy in mid-September 2023.  

Building motorcycles wasn’t BMW’s original core business, but post Word War I restrictions forced a change of direction. BMW-brand motorcyclists around the world can be grateful for that change.

Although various state and territory MG car clubs are already running 100-year anniversary events, the National Meeting is set for March/April 2024.

For the second year running, Autobarn is hosting Australia’s biggest Show ‘n’ Shine event, the Autobarn Wax On Show Off competition, during October and November 2023.

This history of cars manufactured and assembled in Australia during the 1960s, by Gavin Farmer, follows his Cars of the 50s book that we reviewed in 2022.

Iveco has donated the last locally manufactured ACCO to the National Road Transport Museum in Alice Springs. The donation means that the truck will be on regular display at the Museum. 

A Mercedes-Benz 540 K Special Roadster won the prestigious ‘Best of Show’ title at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on Sunday, 20th August, 2023. 

Italy’s Cruisin’ Rodeo celebrated its 20th birthday in July 2023, with a huge meeting of American cars, coinciding with the US Car Reunion in Lignano Sabbiadoro,  in the stars and stripes setting of the Driver Como.

One of Historic Vehicles website followers has sent us this priceless gem from the 1920s. ‘Jonno’ S doesn’t know what publication it came from, but the masthead on the letters page may give someone out there a clue.

This 1988 Holden HSV VL SS Group A Walkinshaw is on the Collecting Cars online auction platform, giving collectors and enthusiasts an opportunity to own a rare piece of Australian motoring history.

A stunning, restored 1968 Holden 327 ‘Bathurst’ Monaro four-speed manual coupe heads a bevy of important high performance cars in Shannons timed online Winter auction from August 15-22.

All unrestricted NSW licence holders – including professional drivers – are eligible for a demerit point reduction trial that aims to reward responsible driving behaviour.  The initiative blends the traditional ‘stick’ approach with a ‘carrot’.

The Lachlan Valley Branch of the Dinosaur Drivers Register hosted the Pre-1931 Autumn Tour in Central West NSW last month. Around 20 car clubs were represented at the event. 

The 2023 edition of the 1000 Miglia started on June 13.  At 12:30pm, the first of the 417 cars in the race  – 15 of which on the Special List) – a 1927 OM 665 Superba led the way to Brescia Castle, where the first block of Time Trials took place. 

The flagship race of the FIA WEC World Endurance Championship, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, is one of the world’s oldest motor races and is followed around the globe.  The first 24-hour race was held in 1923, 100 years ago.

It was fitting that the movie, Beyond Thunderdome, featured Tina Turner driving one of the outlandish cars used in the Mad Max series. She was a car nut from way back.

At Historic Vehicles we’ve come across some beautifully worked models over the years, but we’ve never seen anything better than these scratch-built examples. They were made by retired truckie, Mel Blunden, who lives in Mole Creek, Tasmania.

The Isle of Man Post Office has released a collection of eight stamps entitled Celebrating 100 Years of the Manx Grand Prix. The collection was issued on 15th May, 2023 and features some of the riders who have raced on the world-famous 37¾-mile Isle of Man Mountain Course since 1923

This year marks 50 years since UD Trucks reached Australian shores, some 35 years after UD’s founding father, Kenzo Adachi, started the brand in Japan.