Why Aussies love fast cars

If it's V8, supercharged, turbocharged, lightweight, dynamic, fast, good looking, good sounding and/or just fun to drive, chances are it'll sell well in Australia.

It's no secret that sales of top-spec performance models -- whether they're from Mercedes-AMG, BMW M, Audi Sport, Jaguar SVO, Renaultsport, HSV or anything that wears a GTI badge – are going through the roof Down Under.

They have been for years and the trend looks set to continue in this country, which on a per-capita basis has long demanded more of these types of performance models than any other.

Take for instance Porsche's 911 R, which just scored the highest-ever rating motoring.com.au has ever awarded. It's a $455,000 limited-edition coupe stripped back to the bare essentials in order to go fast. Really, really fast.

It's got no air-conditioning, no stereo and even the door-handles were scotched in favour of grab loops.

Even so, every single one of the 25 vehicles destined for Australia – a total of $11,375,000 worth of German machinery – were sold before the vehicle was officially announced.

When asked how many of the exceedingly expensive and rare 911 Rs could have been sold here, Porsche Cars Australia's Public Relations Manager Paul Ellis said: "We've got double what we thought we'd get, which is less than half of what we actually need."

The same situation applies to many performance vehicles in this country.

When the Mercedes-AMG A 45 first launched here, the waiting list extended beyond a year – as it did for Ford's new Mustang and upcoming Focus RS.

Even Volkswagen's GTI models, which account for as much as a third of all Golfs and Polos sold, have attracted massive wait lists in years gone by, such was the demand.

Ellis explains that Australia was "exceptionally fortunate" to secure a good allocation of 911 Rs.

"That’s because Germany understands Australia is an enthusiast market. We have a very high uptake of 911 sales and top-end cars.

"The number of GT3s we sell, the number of GT3 RSs we sell, the number of GT4 Caymans we sell, the number of 911 Turbos we sell, the number of 911 Rs we sell… We bat above our average," said the Porsche PR executive.

"We have two per cent of the global market for Porsche but when it comes to those high-end GT and turbo models we're way above that. Australians love their top-end Porsches."

On the surface, this seems somewhat paradoxical, given the performance capabilities of these exceedingly popular vehicles are forever increasing, and exploring their limits on public roads would risk lives and licences on our heavily-monitored roads.

For instance, in some Australian states "excessive acceleration" can result in a monetary fine and the impounding of the offending vehicle. And if you do a burnout? Well, expect to have the book thrown at you too.

So why do Australians love fast cars so much, especially since – unlike the Porsche 911 R -- many of them will never be driven on racetracks?

"My thoughts are it is a big country. We like our driving. We don’t have congestion in between cities like they do in Europe. Admittedly we don’t have autobahns, but if you want to drive, Australia's a pretty good country to do so."

Yet Ellis concedes that Australia's high concentration of speed cameras, strict speed limits and anti-hoon laws are at odds with demand for high-tech, high-horsepower machines that are increasingly tailor-made for doing what is frowned upon by policy-makers, such as speeding, drifting and general high-octane Tom-foolery.

Take for example the sold-out Focus RS, which has a drift mode that makes smoky, opposite-lock four-wheel slides easy even for mere mortals like me.

"Yes, we do have a nanny-state mentality with the enforcement of road laws, but let's not forget that many of our vehicles are great for the racetrack," said Ellis.

"People like to drive their cars the way they're meant to without worrying about a flashing blue light in their mirror.

"Porsche customers bring their cars to events, to racetracks. They don't park them, look at them, give them a buff and start them up and listen to them idle. They drive the things!"

Do you own a high-performance car? Have you ever taken it to the racetrack? We'd love to know, so leave your thoughts in the comments section below.