Jun 17 0

PSRA 2013 Wrap up

PSRA Performance Motorshow 8th – 10th June 2013

2010 marked the last “Just Car Autosalon” car show. The end of an era in some ways. This might seem silly to some, but I remember and associate Autosalon with the first Fast and Furious film in 2001. In some ways it was the beginning of the Jap import scene in Aus and the boy racer bolt ons! (at least in my mind). Big spoilers were in, 18″ wheels were huge and your car wasn’t cool without some kind of elaborate graphic on the side.

Fortunately the Melbourne car scene quickly out grew restless of the “backwards turned baseball cap” of 2001 and was gradually replaced with classy a style and subtle modifications. Fast cars became less visually “loud” because no one wanted to be cop bait. Mega sound systems were replaced by iPod docs, bluetooth hands free and additional monitors in the boot were removed / like so many spoilers on VT Commodores!

In some ways Melbourne needed a break from the modified car show scene to return to its roots and develop a more mature style.

Cars on show outside

Inside the pavilion

The PSRA Performance Motorshow arrived just at the right time and it was great to see the new trends. Classics are having a huge comeback! Everybody loves a Aussie Muscle Car, so the place was packed with V8’s.

Another trend to report is the Vinyl wrapping. Car owners are becoming conscious of a few things, most noticeably repainting their cars to get attention. Vinyl preserves the existing colour and allows for a relatively cheap colour change without affecting resale later down the line because nobody wants your matt pink Holden.

Matt blue.. any takers?

Metal finish on this BMW

Tuning shops are doing some great work with supercharger kits for the newly released Toyota 86 upping the power just enough to make it a weapon, but ensuring the longevity.

Very tidy supercharger setup on this 86

186 RWKW - that's a massive improvement.

183.9KW – that’s a massive improvement.

Wheels are bigger and wider still! although I don’t really understand this new trend of having a wheel that’s wider than the tyre.. To me that’s asking you to damage it when parallel parking.

Our good mates at Martini Racing were there with merchandise and a very cool racing simulator setup letting the public compete for glory on their racing board.