2022 Mequiars MotorEx

After a few years of postponement due to this little thing called a pandemic, it was great to get our feet back in Melbourne for MotorEx, and we were blown away by the quality of vehicles that were on display at the event. These are just some of our favourites from the weekend.

Peter Sauer’s HG Brougham

Peter Sauer’s new HG Brougham was unveiled at the show and immediately caught our eye, and that of the judges. It looks fantastic with its Glasurit Tennyson Turquoise pant, factory-style gold pinstripe and vinyl roof, it has plenty of “go” to match the “show”. It’ll need it too because this big banger is built for Drag Challenge competition. 

The HG is powered by a Dart-based, 565ci big block chevy, with Brodix BB3 heads and all the good internals. 88mm Garrett Pro Mod turbos push the boost into a custom inlet manifold and water to air intercooler.

Justin from Horsepower Solutions in Queensland is in charge of providing tunes for the Haltech Elite 2500T. It won Best Engineering at Motorex 2022 and deservedly so, too. 

Paul Tinning’s XP Falcon

Another Haltech-equipped beast to take home some tinware was Paul Tinning’s XP Falcon, which won the very special Laurie Starling Engineering Excellence award.

The Pro-Touring spec Falcon has been in the build since 2016, and as they say, good things come to those who wait. Nestled menacingly beneath the one-piece, slide-forward bonnet and nosecone is a twin-turbo Dodge Viper V10, with the whole car being controlled by a Haltech NEXUS R5. 

The interior is a work of art, featuring an iC-7 dash and Haltech CAN Keypad mounted ingeniously within the diamond-stitched leather-clad driver’s seat. 

Meguiar’s MotorEx is the largest and most prestigious car show of its kind in Australia.

Held in Melbourne and covering over 40,000 square metres, the show features 700-plus vehicles with a collective value of over $50 million dollars along with the country’s best automotive businesses showcasing the industry’s newest and most exciting products.

The Castlemaine Rod Shop’s V12 Torana.

As always, one of the crowd favourites at MotorEx was Castlemaine Rod Shop’s Ferrari-powered Torana. It’s already looking great despite still being a work-in-progress. Can’t wait to hear it roar!

EVIL LJ

This blue beast lives up to its name, with a blown 430ci Dart-blocked LS under the hood. The Jo Blow EFI system uses a Haltech Elite 2500 for fuel delivery and ignition, with the whole set-up being good for around 1400HP.

Richard Swindel-Hurst’s Barra Landcruiser

It wasn’t all elite-level show cars at MotorEx, though. There was plenty for all car lovers, including the not-so-ordinary Land Cruiser. What looks like a pumped and lifted FJ45, is in fact a modified 45 body, sitting on an 80 series chassis. 

Powered by an all-Aussie Ford Barra Turbo, the Cruiser is definitely going to have the low-down grunt needed for some serious bush bashing. 

Owner, Richard Swindel-Hurst tells us he’s so happy with his Haltech iC-7 that he’s going to upgrade the stock ECU to a Haltech unit in the near future. You can follow the build on his Youtube channel: Designed and Built. 

Danko Knezevic’s C7 Corvette

We were over the moon to see Danko Knezevic’s brand new, Adicted Performance-prepped, C7 Corvette n the metal… er… carbon fibre on the GJ Drivelines stand. Details are scarce, but with its twin-turbo Hemi powerplant and Haltech NEXUS R5 in control, we’re sure this car will shake up 315 radial racing in Australia. 

SexSpec is back baby!

Plenty of the late 1990s and early 2000s Auto Salon vibe at this year’s MotorEx with chameleon paints, airbrushing, scissor doors, monster tachos and giant chromies. We’ll leave it to you to decide whether that’s a good or a bad thing…

Judith Menso’s LX Torana

Judith Menso’s lovely lilac LX Torana hatch was on display in the Superstars Hall. Featuring a Haltech Elite 2000-controlled, Whipple-blown Holden V8, this hatch has been Judith’s pride and joy since she bought it as a six-banger way back in 1992. 

Since then it has been through a number of different looks, but this most recent elite-level makeover is by far the best yet. 

Mini Muscle Cars

No, this isn’t an ultra-rare Ford Falcon coupe. It is in fact an even rarer one-of-one Mini Muscle Car! This, along with its sister Holden Monaro Mini Muscle Car, was on display at MotorEx. Both cars run a fuel-injected Rover V8 with Haltech engine management. These two prototypes will soon be joined by another five race-ready chassis and then we’ll see a whole race series of these little beasts hit the track.

Hackshop Garage

If you only watch one Youtube channel all year, it should be the Haltech Youtube channel, but if you have time to watch more, definitely think about checking out the guys from Hackshop Garage. Their Haltech-equipped EL Falcon was on display at MotorEx looking like it hadn’t just completed 1000km of Drag Challenge Weekend.

Greg Bowden’s Barra Cortina

Yes, you can fit a Barra into a Cortina, and then race it! If you don’t believe us watch our video on this tarmac weapon here.

Hot off the back of setting PB after PB at Drag Challenge Weekend, Jason Waye’s Barra-Powered Fox Body Mustang took pride of place on the Muscle Garage/Tuff Mounts stand.

Shaun Cole’s VL

Shaun’s VL has been steadily worked on since it won the six-cylinder class at Haltech Horsepower Heroes at Summernats 31 in 2018. Now sporting an i-C7 dash, it is one of the neatest street VLs in the country.

Moits Motorcars ’68 Camaro

MotorEx was the first public outing for the Haltech-equipped Moits Customs 4 Cancer Camaro, and this thing really has to be seen to be believed. The car will be auctioned to raise funds for Cancer Council Australia and someone is going to walk away with one amazing vehicle.

Some more automotive eye candy for y’all…