The Classic Adelaide Rally is now known as one of the world\'s greatest rallies, with the benefit of natural twisting, two lane tarmac roads around the hills of Adelaide that are blessed with mild, usually dry weather. It uses sealed public roads, and covers a total distance of around 1000 kms.

The rally was first run in 1997, and past winning cars have included Subara WRX\'s and Lancer Evos, as well as Lamborghini Supaleggardos in recent years. However, it is as much about the other Mercedes autos, Hong Kong luxury cars, and amazing performance vehicles that are on every mile of the track, as the ones that finish in front.

Here we look at some automotive highlights of the entries from the Classic Adelaide Rally in 2008.
Mercedes autos are the only cars to have been involved in every rally from the beginning, and the 2008 race helped to showcase the variety in the Mercedes AMG range. Sir Jack Brabham drvoe an SLK55 AMG.

This luxury auto available in Hong Kong will accelerate from 0-60 mph in 4.7 seconds, and has a top speed of 155 mph, which is electronically limited for safety - not that the professional drivers in the Adelaide Rally are likely to get over-enthusiastic! It redlines at 6700 rpm, and has a stunning 376 pound-foot of torque at 4000 rpm.

This luxury car available in HK has steering wheel gearshift paddles, making it a proper racing experience even for amateur drivers, which are allowed in the Classic Adelaide Rally. These control a seven speed gearbox in a Mercedes auto which has either sport or automatic options.

Other Mercedes Benz cars which entered the event included the SLK63 AMG, driven by 1983 Le Mans winner Vern Schuppan.The Porsche 911 RS was the winner of the rally last year, driven by Crunkhorn and Weeks.

Those of you that have driven competitively will know that how fast a Hong Kong sports car stops is just as important as how fast it goes - the Porsche 911 GT3 RS has ABS with vented discs on both front and rear wheels.

It has an impressively high redline, at 8400 rpm, and delivers its maximum torque at a similarly high rev range, outputting 300 pound-foot of torque at 5500 rpm.

It is known as the Hong Kong luxury car for driving enthusiasts, not passenger enthusiasts, and goes from 0-60 in 4 seconds flat. Its top speed is 193 mph, yet for all that gets a relatively good fuel economy in city driving of 17 mpg!

The Mazda RX7 always does well in Classic Adelaide rallies. While this luxury auto is not available in Hong Kong to purchase new any more, you can get spine-tingling RX8 from luxury auto dealers in Hong Kong. The engine type looks unfamiliar, and the way the Wankel-2 engine drives will be equally unfamiliar for those used to traditional piston engines.

The rotary redlines at an amazing 9000 rpm, but loves to sit fairly close to that. It goes from 0-60 in 6 seconds and has a top speed of 150mph, but its handling really is the strong point, which has helped it to the front of the pack in most Classic rallies.