A Night At The Garage :: Garage Cafe

Grant — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 06:57:40 +0000

Friday evening I eagerly headed out to Garage Cafe in Carlton, just 2km from Melbourne’s CBD.
Garage Cafe is very unique place. Housed within an old warehouse you will find a small restaurant and bar, a few parking spots and a even a couple of pool tables!
With such a different approach to normal dining, enthusiasts have the opportunity to drive in and park, then get seated at a table only meters away from their pride and joy!
A few car clubs were heading out for the night so I was very keen to see some impressive cars and get my food on!

Arriving and finding a park can be difficult as it can get very busy in the evenings. Once I eventually found a parking spot, I was greeted by a street literally littered with desirable cars!

Just a few meters from my parking spot was this gorgeous white GT-R. I’ve only ever spotted these in black or red here in Melbourne, so it was very refreshing to see this pearlescent white R35 gleaming under the street lights.

From one extreme to another… behind the R35 was this Nissan Elgrand!
It was novel to see two very different cars, from the same manufacturer and in exactly the same colour, parked right next to eachother!
The E51 Elgrand really is the polar opposite to the GT-R, featuring every luxury under the sun, it’s like a 5 star apartment on wheels!

This 370Z made quite a bit of noise when it arrived, sporting a few areo upgrades and one very orgasmic sounding exhaust.

As I made my way to the entrance I was astounded by the amount of cars, they were literally pouring out onto the street!

Inside was pretty much packed and there were plenty of cars but even more people!
Good to see everyone was car pooling!!

Some of the cars inside were part of the EXE Crew so you know they don’t just hardpark, these cars see their fair share of the race track as well as normal road use.

If you haven’t been or you’re visiting Melbourne, Garage Cafe should be at the top of your list of places to visit.
Where else can you eat right amongst some of the best cars in town and rest your beer/coffee on an original Ronal Turbo wheel?!!

Parked by the bar was this unbelievably clean DC2 Integra Type R, complete with JDM front end and sitting on a set of standard Type R wheels. This was a beautiful ‘un-molested’ modern classic!

Also making an appearance were some of the VWGOLF.net.au boys and girls, most still showing some of the track essentials from recent track days.

I spotted this carbon vinyl VWGOLF sticker and loved it, carbon GSS stickers anyone?

Again just a view of the awesome atmosphere, you can actually play pool right next to your car!
But be careful of those stray balls…

Back outside cars were still lining up out the front.

This WRX STI and R32 GT-R made an awesome combo, both in grey and both very low to the ground!

I haven’t seen many of these newer sedans modified. These Buddyclubs were also an intresting choice, however altogether I did actually like it, a lot!

Another GT-R!!!
It was obviously my lucky night!
When the white GT-R left, it made the most spine tingling sound as it pulled away from the curb, everyone had to stop and stare as it faded into the night.

Not too far away was the ‘inbetween GT-R’s’ Skyline, badged as an Infinity.
The V35 350GT is actually a very nice car, not being a true sucsessor to the R34 it copped a bit of heat from Nissan fans when it was released.
Now with the R35 GT-R in production it seems some are returning to the Infinity with a fresh view on the overlooked coupe.

My favourite street in Melbourne!

Just before I chucked in the towel and headed home, this stunning white 370Z pulled in opposite the restaurant.

With it’s polar white exterior and dark black windows it reminded me of a Stormtrooper from Star Wars!
So if you are still reading this and you live in Melbourne or you are planning to visit sometime soon, head to http://garagecafe.com.au to see the opening times and location.
P.S. Get the chicken satay! 😉
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.

VW Cruise :: Melbourne's Euro's Come Out To Play

Grant — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 10:16:39 +0000

Recently I attended an early morning starting point for a local Volkswagen cruise through the hills, the meet point was only 10 minutes from home so I had no excuses not to rock up and take some snaps.
Except it was at 7:30 in the morning, on a Saturday… and I had a wedding to get to!! This did not deter me though.

The boys and girls from VW Golf.net.au are a dedicated bunch.
I arrived at 7:30am sharp and nearly 15 cars were there already. They were all looking very shiny, full of fuel and ready for a day of spirited driving through Melbourne’s hills and the Yarra Valley.

Being a VW Golf forum the cruise consisted of mostly, you guessed it… Golfs!!

Now I’ll admit I’m quite sheltered when it comes to Euro’s and modified cars outside of Japan, so combine that with my still sleeping mind on an early Saturday morning and I was aimlessly taking photos left, right and centre.

Shoot first, ask questions later!
I found out this is the second generation Golf, the quad headlights are a giveaway that this is the GTI model.
Another hint here is the Neuspeed badge on the front, things are not exactly standard here.

Nicely lowered on some aftermarket alloy wheels.

Aside from the VW’s there were quite a few intruders, none of which were as menacing as Todd’s Skoda wagon!

This is certainly a car I haven’t taken much notice of before, partly because I’ve never seen many on the road.

The facelift Octavia is really quite an attractive car, I would definitely consider one of these as the run about car.

While continuing around my aimless wander through the car park I kept returning to “BFLAT”.

This superb little GTI was the star of the show, sitting very low and cleaning the streets as it goes!

The car is a massive testament to keeping it simple. With the right wheels, a well placed sticker or two and of course the right ride height.
Nearly any car can be transformed into a neck breaker!

This car gets a lot of love, the inside was spotless!

The wheels are of course Ronal Turbo’s, quite a rare sight around our side of the world.

This is the latest generation Golf, the MK6 Golf R. Compared to the previous version it is little bit smaller with a much more aggressive looking set of headlights.
I absolutely love the new look, with another version due to be unveiled later this year I’m excited to see how it looks.

The second generation Audi S3, don’t let the 4 rings on the grill fool you.
At the heart of this machine is actually a Volkswagen 2.0L turbocharged engine.

Looking into the distance you could have been forgiven if you thought the sun was rising awfully quickly this early in the morning, as it got closer it was in fact a bright yellow Renault Megane RS!

As bright as the sun and nearly as hot, this little hot-hatch packs quite the punch!
With 184kw at disposal thanks to the turbocharged 4 cylinder engine, this FWD Renault would be an absolute blast to drive!!

Being unfamiliar with the euro scene, anyone care to enlighten me on these plates?

So after taking a few photos and having a quick chat, I let the boys get on with their cruise and headed home to quickly suit up and get to the wedding.
Hopefully next time there is a cruise I won’t be required to attend a wedding by another inconsiderate friend 😛
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.

VWGOLF.NET.AU – Gripshiftslide

A Night At The Garage :: Garage Cafe

VW Cruise :: Melbourne's Euro's Come Out To Play