Ford’s XD-F models have undergone a massive surge in popularity in street machining circles in recent years, at Dave Waddington’s QUIK E XE FAIRMONT ESP stands as a sterling example as to why.

With its two-tone paint, Scheel seats and a thumping Clevo under (and indeed through) the hood, QUIK E retains all of what made ESPs so rad in the 80s, cranked up to 11. A set of tubs, fat rubber, slammed stance and howling 8/71 Weiand pump all give the thing ample presence. 

Missing a cylinder or four by comparison but no less cool, Mathew Hughes’s jaw-dropping TA22 was a real highlight of the Summernats 38 Elite Hall. But don’t go thinking the Celica is a chequebook build; Matt threw the BEAMS-powered stunner together at home in the shed, and on a budget.

Heading across the ditch, we suss out New Zealand’s wildest hot rod party – Muscle Car Madness. This was the event’s 32nd running, and the last under the stewardship of Kiwi car scene legend Craig Stare. The weather was wild, but so were the cars!

Everyone loves an HQ Monaro, and Justin Hunt’s example is an absolute gem, slammed on the deck over a fat set of Welds and powered by a BK Race Engines-built 422ci small-block that’s good for an ultra-impressive 777hp on 98 octane pump fuel, all motor. Imagine how that sounds at 7600rpm!

A ’57 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe will never not be cool, and Mike Crooks’s has only been made cooler by the team at Pat’s Pro Resto’s, who treated the thing to a ground-up reconstruction. Flawless paint and panel, a knockout stance, tickled LS3 and six-speed auto and an Art Morrison chassis are some of the many highlights.

Everyone’s favourite country show, the Kandos Street Machine and Hot Rod Show, went off like a frog in a sock again in 2026. What made it even cooler than usual is that Kandos was a Pro Burnouts qualifier for the first time, and the big dogs showed out as a result.

Nathan Lambert has had a long-term relationship with his stunning little LJ coupe, culminating in a fearsome little street car with handsome looks to match the shove from its 600hp small-block.

We were impressed with Mitch Rogers’s XT Fairmont at Street Machine drag challenge, with it’s pseudo-factory aesthetic and tough turbo Clevor powerplant. Early on in its development it’s knocking on the eight-second zone. 

A stick-shifted, 632ci nitrous-huffing big-block in a street-legal VL Calais? All things are possible in the land of the long white cloud, so Brad Anderson went right ahead and did it. 

The legends at Race Cast Engineering have stepped up their V12 LS program, having just put the finishing touches on a 900hp aspirated package right here in Australia, for a customer in the US. We take a detailed look at what makes it tick.

Bill’s Toy is one of the most instantly recognisable Aussie street machines from the formative years of our sport. Young fella Luke Fabian basically grew up in the car, and has a strong emotional attachment to it as a result. 

It takes a special kind of person to take a swing at Drag Challenge in a full-effort aspirated car. Paul Wood is one such bloke, and his 632ci, low eight-second LJ Torana is one such car!

Chances are you or someone you know owned a Mini. Here’s what happens when you leave no stone unturned in turning Mr Bean’s chariot into a dead set rocketship. 

You’ll find all this and a whole bunch more in the April 2026 issue of Street Machine, on sale now!