REPORT - 2016 FPM Expo

According to event organisers, AP-E, the three-day expo (8, 9, 10 April), held at Melbourne's historic Royal Exhibition Building, scored a big thumbs up from attendees. And while crowds weren't big, there was enthusiasm for the show.

 

While high-performance road and race cars made up the bulk of the machines on display, there was a selection of racing boats and performance motorcycles, too.

 

The welcome inclusion of karts saw an impressive display of new and old karting technology on show in the National Karting Expo, held in conjunction with the main show, in the upstairs section of the Royal Exhibition Building.

 

Event organiser Blair Warren said patrons left no doubt of their appetite for combining boats, bikes and karts with an eclectic array of road and race cars.

 

"At no other show would you see a 300km/h ocean racing boat on the same floor as hot Holdens and Fords and classic Italian supercars," he said.

 

"For many people, the real treat was to see road and race versions of the same car together, ranging from Alfas to A9X Toranas, and everything in between.

 

"We also had matching classic and new Mustangs, a beautiful pair or road and race Monaros, and a truly impressive array of GT Falcons from the first to the last."

 

Special guests at the event included Allan Moffat and Fred Gibson, with well-known names from other fields of motoring and motorsport also on hand, as well as the display vehicle owners and builders.

 

At the expo, JUST CARS had a brief chat with Paul Halstead, creator of the 'Giocattolo' V8-engined Alfas and 'HAL' Monaro, the latter of which was on display. Some underbonnet changes have been made to the heavily-customised Monaro since its debut in 2009, while Halstead also gave JUST CARS a sneak peek at a current project he's working on - a radical "twin-engined" supercar!

 

"It was great to see renowned race drivers and budding kart champions mixing with show patrons and club members in the spirit of a shared passion," Warren said.

 

Future Show
AP-E are committed to making the FPM Expo a regular thing, but it will be held on a biennial basis, with the next event to take place in two years' time.

"When a show can be this exciting in its very first year, there's no telling what amazing machines and people we can expect to turn up in 2018," Warren said.