Doctor Stuart Saunders  MAB SpecialThe car featured here is a rare 1908 aeroplane engined monster found 20 years ago in a paddock near Wagga Wagga, by Dr Stuart Saunders of the Australian Capital Territory.  The initials MAB were stamped on the remains of its radiator and on many of the bearings, bushes and castings.“There was very little left of the engine and so a 1918 Packard-Liberty V12 aero engine was installed to build a facsimile of a pre-1910 racing car. The liberty has a capacity of 27 litres,” Dr Saunders said. “Most of the racing cars of the period were chain drive and some had engines of 20 litres or more."The MAB was restored by the mid-1980s and has done thousands of miles since then, and I believe it has been seen in rallies and demonstrations in the UK and Europe.“Apart from twisted drive-shafts in the early years, the car has been very reliable.”  Dr Saunders said.This photograph was taken by Bill Hunter for Motormarques at Winton, Victoria (Au) in 2006.

General Motors' UK unit Vauxhall is reviving a famous nameplate - Viva - from next spring, using it on a Korean-built entry level hatchback. Vauxhall built the Viva in three series - HA, HB and HC - from 1964 to 1979 and it was also assembled overseas, proving popular in markets like New Zealand. It also formed the basis of the Holden Torana line in Australia. In Europe, it was eventually replaced by Opel's Astra once GM Germany and UK product lines were fully aligned. The Viva name has since been used for a Chevrolet version of an Astra saloon sold by Russian joint venture GM-AvtoVAZ from 2004-2008 and also in Australia by Holden which rebadged the Daewoo Lacetti for a time in the mid-2000s.