There’s a big difference between reading about a tyre and actually trying to behave like a responsible adult while it’s actively encouraging you not to. So when Bridgestone dropped us into Norwell Motorplex to sample the new Potenza Adrenalin RE005, the plan was simple: test the product.

That plan lasted about five minutes. I was on double duty camera in one hand, camera in the other, basically running a one-man documentary operation while our special guest Kumar was handed the far more dangerous assignment of driving the cars properly.

A job he accepted with the kind of enthusiasm that should probably be monitored. From there, the day moved into a more structured rhythm, but the underlying theme stayed the same: the more you pushed the RE005, the more it seemed to settle into its work. One of the first things you notice is how quickly it comes online.

There’s no real sense of waiting for it to wake up. You roll out, turn in, and the grip is already there. It doesn’t build confidence gradually it just gives you enough immediately that you start trusting it almost straight away. The steering response is particularly direct. Not nervous, not twitchy just immediate.

You make an input and the car reacts without delay, which makes everything feel more precise than you expect from a road-focused tyre. What’s more interesting is what happens after a few laps. Instead of dropping off or feeling like it’s reached its limit, the RE005 actually feels more consistent as it warms up.

The behaviour becomes more settled, especially through longer corners where stability starts to matter more than initial bite. There’s a calmness to it under load. You’re not constantly managing the tyre or waiting for it to break away it just holds a line and does its job, even when the pace builds.

The wet skid pan in a single shared BMW M240i was basically controlled chaos big circles, low grip, and that familiar moment where everyone pretends they’re testing stability systems while actually just seeing how sideways they can get before lunch. This is where tyres usually reveal their true personality.

Some panic. Some give up entirely. Some just seem to make things up as they go along. The RE005 just hangs in there. Calm, progressive, and surprisingly composed. You can lean on it, slide it, catch it mid-correction, and it stays with you without ever feeling like it s about to step out of line.

It’s predictable in a way that actually encourages you to explore the limit a bit more each lap. Next up was a half-track slalom in the Toyota 86. Hard braking at the end. Quick direction changes. The kind of exercise that doesn’t really leave much room for excuses.

And then because someone clearly enjoys adding pressure we ran the exact same setup back-to-back against a set of Michelin Pilot Sport 5. Same cars. Same cones. Same slightly questionable decision-making process. The RE005 felt tight through the slalom, almost eager like it was anticipating your next input and cleaning things up before they ever became a problem.

Under braking it stayed composed, with none of that vague I hope this works out feeling. Just firm, straight-down stopping and no real drama. After lunch, which mostly involved sitting quietly and reflecting on the fact we’d already done enough to void several warranties, we went back out.

Full track. Proper laps. Real pace. This is where tyres usually start telling the truth about themselves. The first lap is a handshake. The fifth lap is a confession. And the RE005 didn’t really flinch. No sudden drop-off, no greasy slide into disappointment.

Just consistent, repeatable grip lap after lap. It didn’t feel like it was hanging on it felt like it was in it’s working window and perfectly happy to stay there. Then came the point where everyone stops pretending this is testing and admits it’s just racing. A full grid of Toyota 86s lined up for a mock race at Norwell Motorplex.

It was less controlled experiment and more lightly supervised chaos with tyres attached. And while I was back on the sidelines trying to capture something coherent out of the madness, Kumar managed to secure the ultimate position: passenger seat in the middle of a rolling battle royale.

Honestly, the man didn’t deserve it—but there he was, grinning like he’d hacked the system.
Also worth pointing out, the RE005 isn’t some niche fitment experiment either. It runs from 195/55R15 all the way through to 275/30R20, so it covers everything from hot hatch territory to proper performance machinery—and yes, it even fits those damn EVs too.

Across its 50 available sizes (15-inch to 20-inch fitments), the intent is clearly broad application without losing its performance focus. By the end of it all, the RE005 had made its point. It doesn’t ease you in.

It doesn’t politely ask for commitment. It just delivers grip from the first metre, builds more as things heat up, and then sits there in this slightly composed state while you try your best to unsettle it. Which, at Norwell Motorplex, is really saying something.

There was a handful of Porches like this duo in white, a beautiful 911 and a road ready-racer GT3.

Hands down my favorite V8 powered saloon car. The Mercedes C63. The 6.2L engine creates the most euphoric noise simply by mixing petrol and air! Amazing!!

Between spats of rain when the heavens finally closed up the sun came shining down resulting in some quick costume changes for some.

Despite being on the ‘plumpier’ side compared to the old model, tipping the scales at almost two tonne. The new BMW M5 can get up to 100kph from stand still in just over 4 seconds… The M5 is definitely punching above it’s weight!!

I think I saw a bunny wabbit!! A MK1 Golf aka the Volkswagen Rabbit in the US. The original Golf has always been a charmer, before these guys “Hot Hatches” didn’t exist.

Aside from VW’s as far as the eye could see there was a healthy amount of BMW’s filling out the lines at the show. This E30 was picture perfect sitting atop it’s mesh wheels.

The Z4 M is one of the most underrated roadsters of the modern area. With a punchy straight 6 engine and great handling just add some iconic Japanese wheels and it’s winning combo in our books!

At every show there’s that one car, that one you wait just a little bit longer for people to move out of the way to make sure you get the photo…

This was ‘The car’… This stunning E92 BMW was menacing from every angle.

There’s no denying the wheels are the hero here. 3 piece Work Meisters in satin black.

The fitment is spot on, the owner is brave to be driving around like this in Melbourne for quite a few reasons!

All the cool kids rock up late these days and nothing says cooler than a fresh yellow sticker from the boys in blue. The owner of this Golf also scored some airtime on the “highway patrol – TV Show” so keep your eyes out for that episode when it airs.

It’s easy to see why it got so much attention from side on… Absolutely slammed on a set of Porsche wheels, check out that dish!!

More AMG goodness, this time a coupe. We miss hood emblems, stupid inconsiderate pedestrians ruining it for everyone!!

Another comfortable German four door packing a V8 under the hood and mated to Audi’s renowned 4WD system makes this one quite capable in corners and off the line!

Speaking of 4WD… Not many can come close to the mighty Nissan GTR. The Victorian chapter of Skylines Australia had a huge display of Japan’s greatest export on show.

Round taillights as far as the eye can see…

There was plenty of R35’s on display and amongst such a large group it didn’t take much to stand out, just some wheels and a nice drop in the ride height and this grey number was looking great!

One of the most Iconic colours for the R34’s. Bayside Blue is always a favorite of ours.

We were pleased to find two GTR’s wearing blue at the show, if they were girls at a party they would NOT be friends right now.

This track spec R33 GTR was looking nice thrown into the mix, definitely not the most popular GTR model but this one was very aggressive! It just looked like it was itching to get out onto the track!!

The V35… Some love to argue it’s not a “real” Skyline at all. Others simply see it for what it is… A sleek and sporty luxury coupe. They were a big hit in the US.

The bad weather meant many entrants were running late, cars kept flowing in all morning.

Everyone’s favorite. A Ford Mustang. The blue was great colour on the classic body and with a bigger chin than a man from a Bonds commercial too!

Now to a local hero… The Holden SL/R 5000 Torana. With hulking wheel arches from factory and the green hue it certainly was looking angry!

Remember when I said this was the most eclectic car show around? Down the front we found a giant Dodge ‘truck’, wrapped commodore and wrapped Monaro.

The ‘loud’ looks of the other wrapped cars were dulled by this gleaming Mercedes coupe. The gold wrap had a mirror finish, we were just happy the sun was tucked away behind the clouds!!

In between checking out all the cars there was often the distracting sound of some cars blasting around Sandown circuit, this was the perfect backdrop for the car show.

We don’t know why this guys been hiding from all the Classic Japan shows… A pristine Mitsubishi Galant GTO is a rare sight to be had!

Onto some more classic rides from the land of the rising sun. There were a handful of beautiful Z’s on show.

This was our favorite 270ZX of the bunch, super clean, wheel flares and dished wheels. Perfect!

There was even some quality cars for the little guys at the show! Any kid rolling around in the driveway in one of these bad boys is sure to be the envy of all the other kids in the street.

It seems there were also a few nice cars out in the car park.

We found Daniel’s MX5 adorning a few extra additions.

The new spoiler is a killer piece to finish off the look of the car.

Now we’ve all seen manga art used on a car but we’ve never seen a panel this big done entirely in manga comics.

While it’s pretty extreme it is nice to see some quality artwork up close.

One of the more ‘wild’ looking 86’s at the show, this one paying homage to Toyota Racing Developments ‘TRD’.

Hybrid and electric cars are for rain forest loving hippies right? Wrong!! Tesla has been changing people’s perception of electric powered cars since 2008. Thanks to some ingenious engineering, some 600 newton meters of torque and over 300KW of power.
While range is still the biggest issue for these types of cars speed certainly isn’t a problem anymore.

Easily one of the most curious cars at the show… The English sports car known as the Ultima GTR.

It’s offered both as a fully built road ready car and funnily enough as a (do it your self) kit car. The car is however far more advanced than it’s diy origins let on.

Utilising a tubular steel space frame with a fiberglass body it’s light, really light!! Weighing in a smidge under a 1,000KG.

Inside is one of the simplest interiors we’ve ever come across. No distractions here just some pedals, a shifter and a steering wheel. Surrounded by a generous splash of Alacantra and this is somewhere we simply refer to as our “happy” place.

The engine found in the “turnkey” version (factory built) is a small block V8 sourced from Chevrolet mated to ether a Porsche gear box or Getrag Transaxle unit. Recent builds have been putting out over 500kw… That makes for 0-100kph in about 2.6 seconds!!!!

Now the exotics. Custom Cars & Coffee really has it all. There were Lamborghini’s, Ferrari’s, and Maserati’s for all to see.

Lamborghini’s have always been the pin up poster car of choice for young enthusiasts but it wasn’t until the Murcielago came along in 2001 that Lamborghini really took the mass produced super car fight to Ferrari. Paving the way for the Gallardo which sold more in total than all previous Lamborghini’s combined! The Murcielago was however the more extreme of the two featuring the companies biggest V12 engine to date.

The Murcielago really is one of the most striking cars in person and easily one of the widest at over two meters wide!!

What would an Italian super car be with out scissors doors?! It really adds to the theater of the angry Italian bull.

The heart of the beast. A 6.5L monster of a V12. One of the last we’ll ever see thanks to stricter emission laws.

Lastly another V12 terror from the land of pizza. The Ferrari Testarossa. One of the most Iconic supercars of the 80’s and also known for it’s ridiculously large side mirrors.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time at Custom Cars & Coffee and can only imagine what the turnout would have been like if the weather was on the dryer side.
This is hands down the best mix of cars we’ve seen on home soil and really captures the feeling we get seeing all the photos from some of the coffee meets from Irvine, California.
We’re look forward to the next big event these guys conjure up, to keep up to date follow their Facebook page here. Customcarsandcoffeemelbourne
In the mean time if you have a craving for early mornings, roasted beans and gorgeous cars then check out the regular monthly meets held by Road Track Rally – Cars & Coffee
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.

Martini had thought of everything, with a full blown race simulator at the head of their stall! Kids were forming lines just to have a go on the Redline Race Simulator. Martini had a great show of Ferrari’s with both old and new on display and they even threw some of them on the live dyno!

I soon found out where all the modern Corvettes have been hiding. You don’t see many on the streets and it seems a lot have been brought over here, modified and then tracked. This is one car that I wish the V8 Supercars would let into their competition. But we all know why they wouldn’t let the z06 Corvette in… remember what happened when they let the “Nissan R32 GTR” have a go!?


Our Friends at Road Track Rally brought down their time attack Mitsubishi Evo along with a few other special cars of theirs, to exhibit the full range of tuning and services they can provide.

This vintage speedway car caught my eye because I have been meaning to go to a speedway event for quite some time. I think it was the inspiration that I need to finally do so.

A true Hot Rod with flames and all! The performance industry covers a massive range of cars big and small, this being one of the more unique types of performance vehicles among today’s ever growing range of performance cars.

There is something about the new Camaro shape that I like, yes I know it carries a Chev badge, but it has such personality and prowess that it simply cannot be ignored.

This 86 was sporting a custom supercharger that tucked into the engine bay like meat into a pie.


The Honda S2000 is one hell of a car and is the choice of many famous tuners! You might find yourself asking why? Because the car held the record for the highest horsepower per liter for any NA piston road production car for 10 straight years. With a full Amuse kit this S2000 looked amazing! It is the first time I have ever seen one fully kitted up like this and I really like it!

Formula 5000 is madness and Jay Bondini is one mad bloke because he owns 2 of them! This is one beautiful Lola T332 and it has had plenty of great owners in its past. I’m so glad to see something like this on display here in Melbourne.

Now onto one of my favourite cars of this year; the 370Z. Blingwork Auto had a wicked display of cars, their 370z, with its sexy kit slowly seduced me every time I walked past.


A large range of engines were on display alongside the many other cars. Plenty of these engines were worked and are in development for upcoming projects.


Our friend Greg from Pirelli was kind enough to let me get up close and personal with their GT3 Z06.R Corvette. It has raced at the Bathurst 12 hour, Australian GT series and Victorian state series.


Up close you can see that this is not a normal road going car! Trofeo Motorsport and Pirelli have put a lot work into this Z06 and the 2013 Australian GT series. Pirelli is the control tyre for this season and everybody knows that it is the best tyre for the job. With some good results this season, Trofeo Motorsport can’t wait to get back on the track and hey will have their chance come July at Sydney Motorsport Park and GSS will be watching the results closely.

This crazy drag Camaro was big in every way, big power, big wheels, big money and it really did stop people in their tracks.

There were so many nice cars on display at this show that it was hard to know which way to look. I did find one way to look though; straight at this super clean M-series BMW!

Is this what brand new cars looked like in the 70’s? If so, I want one! Just to cruise around in and make loud noises!

How do you make one of the prettiest Skyline’s ever created look even more attractive? Wrap it in carbon and put it to work on the track.

When a car is so immaculate underneath, it needs mirrors to display this fact. Is it still a real functioning car? Or a trophy? Don’t get me wrong, I like the EH but this is taking things a little too far.

I dig concave as much as negative offset. When you add fancy colours in the mix, then things get out of control!

As well as engines and cars on display there were large setups of full exhaust systems laid out around the show.

Power and fabrication! This car show had it all! Just look at this engine bay! You can see the countless hours spent getting every detail just right.

Do you like wheels? We do! The range on display blew our minds. This is just a small selection of wheels that where on display at the show.

If you know your European engines, then you should be able to identify this one! I cannot because VW engines scare me…

This is one of two GT3 Audi R8’s on show, both of these cars looked marvelous sitting near one another.


With such a big show, organised in such a little time frame it is truly astonishing to see what can be accomplished when someone sets out to achieve a dream. Australia’s first ever International Performance Motor Show really did impress and our hats are off to the organisers! We hope that in 2014 they invite us or groups like us, so we can display modified street and drift cars to show exactly what the scene is capable of.
Thanks for looking,
Grant

BMW Car Club of Victoria end of the month car club showcase at Federation square, with not only old BMW’s but new and well modified ones as well.
The city is the perfect backdrop for this type of event and always a great spectacle for passer by.


In Monte Carlo Blue, this M3 is one fine example of how BMW continually keep their designs fresh and relevant for today’s younger audience.

E30 Racer, complete with sponsorship, a rare thing these days especially for independent race teams, as most company’s do not want to sponsor race teams in this economic climate.

Such a clean and straight body, anyone could be forgiven for thinking this has just rolled out of a showroom.

The only (New Class 2002) BMW in attendance, reminds me of cool old-school 70’s movies.

You can see this car has seen its fair share of action with some cool battle scars to match.

A lot of time and effort goes into keeping these vehicles in top notch condition, these owners are not afraid to get dirty while making their car clean!

The extended bonnet look is a fashion i believe will come back in the near future.

Among the crowd a little m3 e30 stuck out and i had to get a closer look.

I have always wanted an E30, they are a great size and just so classic. It is good to see the P platters are snapping these up, and i hope to see more of these on the drift circuit soon.

The number plate says it all, this is a serious sports saloon.

Low on a nice set of wheels and unmolested, the way a BMW should be modified.

One of my favorites of this show was the older M5’s, large and classy with a style of their own.

Awesome Fitment on this classic M5, a bit of subtle stretch and stance goes a long way.

Why don’t all engine rocker covers look this good.

The club used the space well and were even allowed to use another space 50 meters away just near the main stairs.

Can you tell this car has seen some action in its time on the track.

So clean, love the white walls and the colour of this old beauty.

Wow this tow ring has been used! normally kids just put them on their cars for show!

A very rare car these days, last time i saw one of these i was 12 and it was at the motorshow.

Crazy supercharger! and in typical BMW fashion it wasn’t mounted that way you would normally see one, the fact they managed to squeeze all of this good gear in this engine bay is a true engineering feet.

Not only was it one of the standout cars but it had clean and flush fitment.

Engine porn!, yes i really would like to have an engine that looks like this and has the shine of a new engine.

A true Stanceworks fan! just another stunning example of how nice these cars still look is an absolute testament to the design of these vehicles.

The BMW club should be proud of the immaculate display and effort they have put in to arranging such a fine show of Victoria’s best BMW’S.
Look out for more shows at federation square at the end of every month Club showcase
Thanks for looking,
– Grant