An automotive feast

The show has been moved back from February to March 3-12 this year so it doesn't clash with the Melbourne Motor Show which opened last week. The Melbourne event was staged earlier to avoid a clash with the Commonwealth Games.

Diesel cars, an Aussie supercar and hybrid technology were the highlights of the Melbourne show.

Brisbane show organiser Michelle Ramsey said manufacturers usually held back the launch of new models until the Melbourne show, which meant Brisbane missed out.

However, with the unveiling of several new and exciting models in Melbourne last week, Ramsey said most of these would be coming to Brisbane providing one of the biggest automotive feasts yet seen here.

"It's very nice of Melbourne to have this practice run for us," Ramsey said.

She predicted a record of more than 50 new models would make their Queensland debuts.

The Melbourne show not only unveiled several new models to the Australian market but also featured the return after 18 years of the Fiat brand with the Punto hatchback and Dodge with the Caliber compact SUV to go on sale about September.

In an acknowledgement of record fuel prices, Holden, BMW, Jaguar, Fiat, VW, SsangYong and Alfa Romeo announced new diesel-powered passenger cars.

For the first time in Australia, BMW will introduce diesel power to its four-cylinder cars, with the 320d at $56,700 and the 120d at $47,800 in the next quarter.

The most significant of diesel releases is Holden's Astra diesel.

The car will feature a 1.9-litre turbocharged diesel engine and be available later this year. No prices are yet set.

GM Holden boss Denny Mooney said it would "not be high volume but it might be a surprise".

Volkswagen Group Australia managing director Jutta Dierks said the diesel Astra would increase interest in diesel and not take sales from their range, which this year will feature an oil burner in every model.

"We have a head start on diesel and it (Astra) will only lift sales," she said.

Several manufacturers also announced new fuel-miserly hybrid petrol-electric models, while Korean manufacturer SsangYong said it would introduce a hybrid diesel-electric Kyron sports utility vehicle later this year.

However, fuel-hungry supercars were also on the agenda, led by the Australian-made bespoke Redback Spyder which is coming to the Brisbane motor show.

The $250,000 mid-engined 335kW V8 two-seater weighs 900kg and has a top speed of 320km/h. It goes from 0 to 100km/h in three seconds and will be a highlight of the Brisbane Motor Show.

The current model can only be driven on a racetrack but the Melbourne-based builders plan to build a street-legal version.

Builder Nick Tomkinson said American talk show host Jay Leno was considering buying one.