For being the land “down” under, Australia has always been one of the “top” countries for its performance cars. If you ask the folks that live down there, they will tell you that it is because they will not accept anything less than high quality, high powered cars. This is obvious when you look back through the history of Australian cars. They get the 347-Powered Fords, LS1-Powered Holden Interceptors, and of course the infamous Twin Turbo AWD Nissan Skyline GTR.

But one of the Australian greats has always been the Ford Falcon XB GT 351 Cleveland.

The Falcon GT made its real headlines over here in the states when it was introduced in the 1979 movie classic, The Road Warrior. The police Interceptors in the movie were each made of one of these beasts, while the real star of the movie, a supercharged black Falcon GT, showed North America just what the Falcon was capable of.

While the movie version was nothing like the original, the actual XB GT’s were ahead of their time, They featured hydraulic clutches, 4-wheel disc brakes, and variable assist power steering. The 351 Cleveland engine featured a 11:1 compression ratio, 4-barrel carburetor, dual exhaust, and was capable of 300 horsepower and 380 lbs of torque.

Well, the Australian Ford devision has done it again some 40 years later, with their all new Ford Falcon GT. While the engine has trimmed a few cubic inches from its waist to reach a much leaner 5.4 liters, the 290 cubic inches was still capable of 390 horsepower and 381 lbs torque for 2007. For 2008, Ford has introduced an extra 25 horsepower and 24 lbs torque on their 41 anniversary editions.

While the 2007 40^th anniversary edition looked nothing like the original, other than its rear-wheel drive, dual exhaust, and of course a glossy coat of midnight black paint. The 2008 GT has received a hood scoop,racing stripes, and spoilers to flaunt its new found horsepower and torque.

2008 is also going to see the 4.0 six cylinder engine that U.S. Mustang owners have probably become quite familiar with. While us North Americans automatically will think of the respectable 210 horsepower and 240 torque version, we mustn’t forget that an Australian rarely drives any car that is under 300 horsepower. With this in mind, the six is going to be turbocharged to achieve a wondrous 405 horsepower from its 245 cubic inch V-6 engine.

Yup, see I told you… Australians get all of the FUN!

The new generation of the series Knight Rider premiered last night and for some, KITT (Knight Industries Three Thousand) was the star actor of the show. This would not be the first time that a car has taken center stage of a show. Just think about Batman, The Dukes of Hazzard, Starsky and Hutch, etc.

Not that Justin Bruening, Val Kilmer (voice of KITT), and Deanna Russo are yesterdays diapers, but the 2008 black Shelby King Cobra Mustang that KITT takes shape of has been the brunt of both much excitement and/or disappointment.

The world has always been filled with the Camaro folks and Mustang people, so it should come as no surprise that while some people love the new Mustang body style, others say that it is just too old school to be considered an ultra technically advanced vehicle of the future.

Several months ago, one such speculation for the new KITT car was a 2008 Koenigsegg CCX.

Jalopnik claimed it as “a near-perfect choice, with its blazing speed and high-tech good looks (and extreme blackness).”

The original KITT driven by Michael Knight (a.k.a. David Hasselhoff) was of course a 1982 Pontiac Trans Am with a “televised” turbine engine capable of 300 mph.

In 2008 the new KITT is a Ford Shelby Cobra GT500KR with a supercharged 5.4 liter V-8 (540 horsepower) engine capable of well under 300 mph, but who’s counting. We’re sure they’ll think of some way to get KITT up there. He can’t be outdone by some 25 dinosaur ages of Pontiac technology.

Will the new Knight Rider and his King Cobra KITT be able to survive to four seasons as the original show (1982-1986), or will they be opening cans of Spam on the unemployment line before Spring?

Time and a few more episodes will tell…