Maserati, Citroën and Volvo 'star cars' for Melbourne

Maserati, Citroën and Volvo will each unveil the star cars of their respective 2006 model line-ups at the Melbourne Motor Show.

Opening to the public on Thursday, February 9, the 2006 Melbourne Show will kick off the Australian motor show year following a date change due to the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

High on the list of 'must-sees' at the show will be Maserati's new GranSport Spyder. An open-top version of the GranSport Coupe, the Sypder is powered by a 400hp 4.2-litre V8. It will make its Australian debut at Melbourne well before its European launch, says the importer.

Also appearing for the first time Down Under will be the Citroën C6.

Dubbed the "safest car ever tested" by its maker, the C6 features an 'active' bonnet to reduce the severity of pedestrian injuries in addition to nine airbags, a head-up instrument display, active suspension, active headrests, a speed sensitive rear wing, lane departure warning system and front and rear peripheral radar.

Engine choices when the C6 is released Down Under in mid-2006 will include a 2.7-litre V6 turbodiesel.

Continuing the diesel theme, Citroën will also unveil a new turbodiesel variant of its C4 in Melbourne. The C4 oiler is powered by a new 1.6 HDi engine which the maker claims endows the hatch with consumption as low as 4.7lt/100km and a range of over 1200km.

Finally, Volvo will reveal its all-new C70 Convertible at Melbourne. The C70 features a folding metal roof and will arrive in Australian dealerships during the third quarter of 2006. Two performance and specification levels will be offered: the 125kW C70 2.4i and turbocharged 162kW C70 T5.

While the C70 was designed totally in-house at Volvo Car (Southern California and Gothenburg design centres), the all-new convertible will be built in Sweden at the Uddevalla plant by Pininfarina Sverige AB, a joint-venture owned (60/40 per cent) by Pininfarina and Volvo Cars.