Our favourite car videos of 2017

Holden on to what matters – a family portrait

Wheels has recorded more of Holden’s history than any other motoring publication on the planet. It’s only right then, that we did something unprecedented to mark the end of Holden’s local manufacturing.

On a suitably cloudy day, more than 50 Aussie-made Holdens and their owners gathered together at the Lion’s 60-year-old Lang Lang proving ground in south-eastern Victoria. It’s unlikely Holden fans will ever see anything like this again.

Ferrari and Shell: did they create the greatest car ad ever?

Entertaining ads for car people are hard to come by. Usually, we are bombarded with the same, derivative, clichéd tropes. Rarely does something come along to truly stir the soul and get our oily veins pumping like this effort from Ferrari and Shell, with a two-minute tribute to Maranello’s finest racing cars.

The clip involves five F1 cars from Ferrari tearing their way through crawling city landscapes around the world. It’s a visceral ride which puts the viewer in the thick of the action.

Watch a Ferrari 250 GTO getting binned at Goodwood

This year’s Goodwood Revival was filled to the brim with top-notch classic racing amidst a joyous atmosphere that celebrated all things stylishly retro and classy motoring.

One of the nasty side effects of classic motorsport however, is that you tend to bend some very expensive cars, such as a Ferrari 250 GTO that was estimated to be worth upwards of $50 million.

Owned by Anthony Bamford, and driven by Andrew Newall and Frank Tippler, the 1964 250 GTO ended up in the barriers during practice for the RAC TT race after evasive action to dodge the 250LM driven by Chris Harris.

Two legends went rallying in McLaren 570 GTs

This video, aptly titled “Off-Road McLaren 570 GTs” was uploaded by Mike Tornabene. For the confused, the video does exactly what it says on the box.

We won’t give you a blow-by-blow recap, but we offer this – multiple indulgent slow-motion shots of McLarens affixed with light-bars powersliding on the dirt. Job done we reckon.

Mazda 3 celebrates 40 years Down Under

The arrival of the Mazda 323 to our shores in 1977 marked the beginning of a storied history for Mazda small cars here in Australia.

You might have been driven around in one as a child. You may have learned to drive in one or had one as your first car. Maybe there’s one parked in your driveway right now.

This great video shows some of the key models from the past four decades and you can read the accompanying story here.

Five minutes with Daniel Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo is one of Australia’s most famous exports, with the perpetually-grinning F1 driver being hot property both on and off the track.

We cornered Ricciardo to throw some curly questions his way and his answers are entertaining, to say the least. From his first cars to what’s presently in his driveway, to revelations about some of the crazier things superfans have asked him to do, Ricciardo gives us a peek into his life.

The greatest lap in Formula One history

Ayrton Senna has his name etched alongside four different records in the Formula One history books.

However, there is one achievement by the Brazilian which you won’t see officially recognised, and that is the greatest single opening lap of an F1 Grand Prix.

While that may be a subjective call, it is widely accepted that Senna’s efforts in the first lap of the British Grand Prix at Donington in 1993 is the best history has seen.

Read the full story here.