Opinion: How Highball became Australia’s motoring Mecca

On a recent trip to South Australia I had booked a hire car for collection at the airport – yes I’m aware a motoring journalist paying to use a car is a novel concept. As I’d ticked the box requesting a small hatchback, I was hoping for something like a Hyundai i30 – a car I like very much – to be waiting for me and, thankfully, it was. So imagine my surprise when the attendant at the desk informed me that, for a small additional payment, they could upgrade me to a Mitsubishi ASX. Upgrade?

Compared in rental-company spec, the i30 has a bigger boot, more torque, more power, uses less fuel, offers substantially better ride and handling, more safety features and, subjectively, more pleasing looks than the ASX. And yet, something in the Europcar framework or perhaps general consumer mentality ranks an 11-year old SUV as more desirable than a newer and infinitely more advanced hatchback.

You can probably imagine the look I got when I explained I would gladly pay the extra cash to ensure I didn’t end up in the ASX but, either way, the encounter highlights a massive difference in perceived value of cars and exactly what many people regard as desirable.

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Thankfully, the polar opposite end of that spectrum exists. All you need to do is turn up at a pre-arranged venue early in the morning usually on a Sunday for one of the growing numbers of events that call themselves Cars and Coffee.

A group of car enthusiasts gathering in a car park to share a cappuccino is a simple concept but the results can be utterly jaw-dropping with a stunning display of machinery serving as a fascinating barometer into contemporary car culture.

And a very good example is the Highball cars and coffee kindly hosted at the Robert Bosch headquarters in Melbourne’s south east. Staggering doesn’t come close to accurately describing the popularity or prestige of this gathering which, by 8:30am on the Sunday I attended, had reached the 1000 capacity and was turning away 964s like they were Camrys.

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But the caravan of denied classics and exotics didn’t go home, instead electing to queue patiently outside or park up as close as they could. Thanks to Melbourne’s discreet army of car nuts, this usually benign industrial suburb had been transformed into a sprawling motoring Mecca. (And it must be said that the same thing happens at similar events around the country.)

Perhaps the most interesting and delightful element of the Highball gathering, however, is not the sheer number of cars in attendance, but the eclectic variety, with representatives of virtually every brand and era turning out. Not even the casino in Monaco can compete, with a vintage this or modified that for every supercar that’s just rolled out of the dealership. And while you’ll certainly find something Australian made and V8-powered the event doesn’t have any predominant theme.

But if you think you’re planning on turning up in something ‘unique’, prepare to be humbled because you’re likely to see another one regardless of what it is. Don’t believe me? Recent examples include two Autozam AZ-1s, three Alfa Romeo SZs lead by an RZ, and two BMW E36 M3-Rs of which only 15 were made! Of course there’s the odd exception which recently took the form of a Renault 5 Turbo 2, Mazda Cosmo and Lamborghini Countach, but there’s certainly no guarantee of having the stage to yourself.

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And the cars that were drawing the most attention were not, as you might expect, the most expensive, fastest or newest to show up. Yes a 991 GT2 RS will get a nod of appreciation as it rolls in, but it certainly doesn’t command more respect than the beautifully restomodded matte olive 914 which parked next to it. Dammit, I even bypassed a row of tuned Datsuns to look at a Suzuki Carry with a factory fitted tail lift! Did you see us there, too?

It’s this classless love of cars by those who understand what makes some vehicles truly special that fuels incredible Cars and Coffee events like this, and it’s the reason you’ll always find stories like Lost In Time and Icon Buyer in the pages of MOTOR. And it’s the reason I won’t repeatedly slam my head in the door of an ASX when someone implies it’s relatively premium.

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