KING SALMON

One of the most talked-about cars from this year’s Meguiar's MotorEx - both at the event and online afterwards - was Mitchel Hawkins's mould-busting VR ClubSport tribute.

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It didn’t just challenge styling conventions - it brazenly defied them.

Known to be a bit of an antagonist, Mitchel sought to ruffle some feathers with his VR and give street machiners some inspiration for the next era of tough street cars. “I was tired of seeing the same old stuff on every build,” he says.

While he'd had some tough cars when he was younger, Mitch had sold them all to build his business and set up his family, so he was itching to get back into things. “I convinced my wife that I should spend $60,000 building a tough street car for the family,” he laughs, before admitting he's long since blown that initial budget!

For Mitch, deciding which model to build was a no-brainer. “My first car was a VR Commodore, and this one had been in a garage down the street for years,” he says. “I noticed the family moving out and they said the car was their father's, who had just gone into aged care. After some back and forth, we got a deal done, and my mind started racing straight away!”

Armed with that blank canvas, permission from the Minister of Finance, and a desire to build something controversial, Mitchel initially earmarked a Ford six-banger to power the VR. “I went so far as to buy a green-top Barra to build, back when no one was doing the conversion, but pretty soon that was really common,” he explains.

Looking to find another way for his VR project to break the internet, Mitchel sourced an LS engine and shipped the car off to begin fab work, as his intention from the start was to build a tough cruiser, which meant tubs and a rollcage.