This Impreza rally car was lucky to only just clip the orange cone on the inside of the corner and not take out the lot of them. Taking that inside line with enough power to get up the hill is a tricky one. Often people would take too much speed into this corner and occasionally drop a wheel on the exit.

That infamous Hyundai Lantra! “Yeah its three wheeling” aggressive in style and like a bull in a china shop Christopher smashes times on the track.

Exactly one year ago this Levin was at the very same event and in 2013 the car does not look any different. Although this is a front wheel drive Levin it was getting around the track very smoothly with little under steer.

There are some people on the track that are not afraid to use their handbrake on the tarmac and Christopher is one of them. Keeping up momentum on this track can be hard especially when your pushing a small four cylinder up lots of hills.

Upon arrival this Escort had a 4 wheel swap over from rally dirt tyres to a smaller diameter set of slicks. I couldn’t believe how small these wheels were; they looked like go kart wheels!

With smaller wheels on John’s Escort he had some extra pep in the acceleration department. This combined with soft suspension makes for some wicked corner speed and wheel stands!

Launching out of corners like a ballistic missile this Escort was making light work of this track. With a talented rally driver behind the wheel it was easy to see that this car was putting down some fast lap times.

This Celica hit the track later in the day and with its GT4 castrol WRC livery everyone was watching it go round.

Haunted Hills has many interesting corners. This downhill section can often catch people out because it s easy to carry too much speed into it and run off.

Another car that was at last years Christmas break up was …. Celica. It’s always a joy to see this car pumping around the track. I would like to see more of these on the track but sadly this is the only one I have ever seen on a track.

This VH Commodore was very unpredictable. Every third or forth lap it would bust out a full noise drift style lap. With smoke and wild throws into corners I’m surprised this old girl didn’t flip.

Talk about a smile! It’s not what you drive it’s how you drive it! This little ke20 had plenty of battle scars and by the looks of things had also done some serious kilometres.

The Chrysler Lancer is not your everyday Lancer. Although this looks similar to the 2000 gt lift back Celica it was made two years after the Celica and had considerably less styling than the Celica of the time.

My favorite thing about this car is the horse emblem on the steering wheel. It is so pimp! Not to mention the crazy array of sunken dials right across the dash.

It’s great to see more women on the track these days even if they are scaring the shit out of their mothers.

Surprisingly there were two ford esscorts at the track and both were pushing it all day long. Although these

It was great to see the CCRMIT club again they definitely have not lost their passion for racing. Apparently this will be the last time the CCRMIT Christmas break up will be held at the haunted hills race track and that makes me sad because it is one of those events i look forward to every year.
Thanks for reading,
Grant

After driving in circles around Kinglake on the hunt for the cafe meeting spot, I found myself a little lost. That was until I spotted a Fiat, gave chase and luckily it led me straight to the meeting point.


This is such a nimble looking car, very light and balanced. Once I laid my eyes on it I knew there would be more than one unique gem at the meet.

I really wasn’t expecting this Lancia Delta S4 in the flesh (or metal)!  Okay, it’s not the full blown twin charged legendary monster of my dreams, but it is the closest you can get. I was truly blown away.

No parking under trees for this classic!

The Fiat 124 Spider was by far the most popular car on the day, for good reason.

Just look at that face and those clean lines! This is a prime example of how many cars used to be completely original.  This is a contrast to many of today’s designs, which all seem to be cast from the same base.

From old to new, this Fiat 500 did a great job of standing out in the crowd, not to mention how it wears its colours with pride.

It’s a real shame that the days of the hood ornaments are long gone.

Forget the Model-T, check out this Fiat 501. It was amazing to see one of Fiats first major cars alongside some of their newer models.

Classic rally cars don’t get much better than this.

The set of semi slicks shows that this car is no garage trophy, and is used to being driven hard on a regular basis.

Nice and simple up front, but in the background you can see the fire extinguisher is in prime position, not half hidden under a seat.

When you see an angry scorpion you know it means business!

It’s great to see Abarth are making a comeback with the Fiat 500 and Punto.

This is the little Fiat I spotted and followed to the meet.  From a distance I thought it was a Fiat 500, but on closer inspection…

I love the little cooler hanging off the front!

Simple and functional, this interior is solid and definitely not made of cheap plastic.

One of the best things about this car is that it’s equipped with suicide doors!

These guys definitely know how to care for their cars. I don’t know what their secret is but I’d love to find out.

Nothing inside but timeless quality.

From this photo you can see how Fiats style extends between models.

This subtle racing harness almost passes for a normal seatbelt.

The may be generations apart, but on the day most of the family was there.

I have a soft spot for a mid-engine car. Despite the pain of fixing them, nothing drives like a mid-mount!

Not just a coffee and chat style meet, the event later moved to a large garage. Hoping that this wasn’t a glimpse of what lay inside, what came next was more than I anticipated.

This simple looking Clubman was one of the many interesting projects within this garage.

It may be mistaken for the fuselage of some type of aircraft, but in actual fact it’s the body of a Formula 2.

A very popular series, this 1100cc Formula 2 ran from 1955 to 1958. This shows just how light and advanced these cars were back in the day.

Everywhere you turned there was another ongoing project. This one looked like the beginning of a miniature hotrod.

One of the newest additions to the garage was this very rare and sought after Lancia Flaminia GTL Touring Coupé.

This car was in very good condition considering its age. Check out that gear stick!

What garage would be complete without its very own fuel bowsers?

Under these sheets lay many legendary cars. It was incredible to see so much history in the one place.

You don’t see many Isuzu Gemini’s racing anymore!

The collection had something for everyone as shown by this Cortina, one of three housed in the garage.

This interesting looking frame looked like it has the potential to become something truly great.

By far the youngest person at this event, I was surprised by the number of cars and the amount of knowledge in one place. It was definitely the most interesting car meet I have been to in recent times and I hope to attend many more like this.
If you would like to see more Fiat action check out the Fiat Club of Victoria
thanks for looking,
-Grant

This was by far the best turn out I’ve seen in a very long time, Melbourne pride!
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.