Top 10 biggest automotive milestones of 2017

It's been a tumultuous year, but as we head towards 2017 there are plenty of reasons to look forward to over the next 12 months.

Here's the 10 biggest automotive milestones to look forward to in 2017.

McLaren F1 turns 25

May 28, 1992. That was the day the supercar landscape changed forever.

McLaren, up until this point strictly a Formula One team (and at the time the most dominant team in the sport having won the world championship four times between 1988-1991), upset the established supercar makers.

The F1 was originally conceived by designer Gordon Murray as the ultimate road car, to beat its then contemporaries, the likes of which included Ferrari F40 and Porsche 959.

His creation was a three-seater (with the driver in the centre, ahead of the passengers), carbon-fibre tubbed, BMW V12-powered masterpiece.

The F1 was the fastest production car in the world, reaching a record top speed of 386km/h that stood until the Bugatti Veyron arrived in 2007.

But it wasn't just about going quick in a straight-line, the F1 also earned rave reviews for its handling and driveability.

It ushered in a new era of high-technology supercars that leaned heavily on Formula One knowledge thaat continues to this day with cars like the Ferrari LaFerrari, Porsche 918 Spyder and, of course, its successor the McLaren P1.

50 years since Ferrari launched the Dino

Enzo Ferrari was not a man known for compromises. His cars had V12 engines and nothing else. So when he needed a new V6-powered model to compete with the then-new-but-increasingly-popular Porsche 911 he created the Dino.

Named after his son, Alfredo 'Dino' Ferrari, the new model was based around the brand's successful 2.0-litre V6 racing engine. Another major departure from the then Ferrari norm was to place the engine in the middle of the car; up until then Ferrari favoured front-engined road cars.

So with a new, smaller engine and compact streamlined body the Dino launched without any Ferrari or Prancing Horse badges on it.

Just over 150 examples of the original Dino 206 GT were built and while not considered popular at the time they soon became a highly-sought after classic.

The smaller, mid-mounted engine platform proved a hit and has continued to this day in a lineage that culminates in today's 488 GTB buts can traces its heritage back through the 458, F430, 355 and the 308 (made famous in Magnum PI) all the way to the Dino.

Ferrari management has now recognized the need for a new entry-level model to once-again compete directly against the Porsche 911 and an all-new V6-powered Dino is rumoured to launch in 2018.

25th anniversary of the rally-bred road rockets

Whether you were a rally fan or just looking for an affordable performance car, 1992 was a good year. It saw the debut of both the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and Subaru Impreza WRX, a pair of sensible small sedans turned into all-wheel drive, turbocharged road warriors thanks to the Group A World Rally Championship regulations.

The rules at the time required a manufacturer to have built at least 5000 examples of the car they intended to compete with in the WRC. While there were other cars - such as the Lancia Delta Integrale and Ford Escort Cosworth - the Mitsubishi and Subaru stand out as the two icons of this era.

Mitsubishi created 10 Evolutions of the Lancer between 1992 and 2016 and the car won four WRC titles with the legendary Tommi Makinen between 1996-99.

Subaru still builds the WRX, even spinning it off as a stand-alone model to distance it from the Impreza.

The 'Commodore' made its debut 50 years ago

Fittingly, in the year that the Australian-made Holden Commodore ceases production and is replaced by an new model from Germany's Opel brand, 2017 marks the 50th anniversary of the Commodore name.

It was 1967 when Opel first used the badge, as an upmarket, six-cylinder version of its Rekord model. That first Commodore was powered by a 2.2-litre or 2.5-litre inline six-cylinder.

Opel continued to use the nameplate until 1982, by which point it had already been adopted by Holden for its new mid-size sedan.

As history comes full-circle, the new 'Commodore' will be an imported Opel, albeit one that will wear the Insignia badge in its own domestic market.

20 years of the compact luxury hatch

The Mercedes-Benz A-Class had a difficult birth but it has not only survived it has flourished, and in the process help established the compact luxury hatchback market.

Launched at the 1997 Frankfurt motor show, the A-Class broke the mould for what customers expected in a Mercedes-Benz - compact in size, with a tall, narrow body and front-wheel drive underpinnings.

Infamously it failed a 'moose test' (an emergency lane-change swerve) by a Swedish publication, rolling over and causing Mercedes to redesign the A-Class' safety systems.

But it didn't deter people from embracing the new pint-sized luxury car and by the time the first generation model finished production it had sold more than one million examples.

Now in its third generation, the A-Class was the catalyst for rival luxury brands to down-size including the Mini Cooper, BMW 1-Series and Audi A1.

50 years of Holden Torana

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The HB Torana debuted in 1967 as a basic small car but it didn't take long for Holden to give the model an upgrade that helped turn it into an icon.

The XU-1 Torana, powered by a 3.0-litre six-cylinder engine, debuted in '72 and helped a young racing driver name Peter Brock win his first Bathurst race.

The Torana became Holden's track weapon of choice in the 1970s and became a household name in Australia, synonymous with performance.

The most famous of all Toranas is 1977's A9X, an option that gave the LX series model (launched the previous year) a 5.0-litre V8 crammed under its bonnet. Well, mostly crammed under, as it did require a large bonnet bulge to fit the bigger motor, giving the A9X its distinctive look.

It was dominant in Australian touring car racing, winning both the series championship and the Bathurst 1000 in '78 and '79.

Ultimately the introduction of the Commodore, then pitched as a mid-sized model, meant the Torana ceased production in 1980.

Holden toyed with a revival of the nameplate in 2004 with the Torana TT36 concept car but nothing came from it.

Toyota Camry turns 35

It may be one of the least exciting cars in the world but it is one of the most dependable and popular - and that's why it is celebrating its 35th birthday in 2017.

Conceived in response to the oil crises in the '70s and  to compete against the Honda Accord, Toyota created a spacious but fuel efficient front-wheel drive four-door liftback and then sedan.

It hit the brief and soon became one of the Japanese brand's best sellers. It sold so well that by 1987 Toyota Australia began local production, coinciding with the introduction of the second generation model.

It has been built in Australia continuously since then but that will end in 2017 when the local factory closes and the Camry becomes an imported model again.

A new model is due in 2018 and will be revealed at January's 2017 Detroit motor show.

50th anniversary of the Ford Falcon GT

Seven years after the Falcon hit Australian showrooms the blue oval created a new model that took the car from mainstream to mythical - the Falcon GT.

Based on the XR Falcon introduced in 1966 and looking to cash-in on the popularity of the brand-new Mustang, Ford Australia put the 4.7-litre V8 from the pony car into its four-door sedan.

It was an immediate hit and the GT became a staple of the Falcon line-up in the 1970s, before being revived in 1992 and again in 1997 as limited editions and back into full-scale production when Ford Performance Vehicles was created in 2002..

The first Falcon GT also helped change the landscape in Australian touring car racing. Fred Gibson and Harry Firth used the XR model to win the '67 Bathurst 500, beating the previously dominant Mini Cooper S and Ford Cortina. Big V8-powered sedans become the popular choice after that and evolved into the Supercars Series we watch today.

20 years of hybrid

Hybrid-powered models are becoming increasingly popular amongst most car makers these days, in everything from four-wheel drives to sports car. But it all started with an odd-shaped weird burger family sedan.

It was 1997 when Toyota took the first step into petrol/electric propulstion when it introduced the Prius in Japan. Honda followed quickly with the Insight, and actually beat the Prius on sale in Australia, but it is the Toyota that rightfully earns the credit for being the first mainstream hybrid car.

The decision to make it a unique vehicle, not just a hybrid version of an existing model, proved a masterstroke and it didn't take long for the Prius to become synonymous with clean, green motoring.

The fourth generation Prius arrived in Australia in 2016 but the impact of the Prius can be seen far and wide across the rest of the car industry.

Rotary turns 50

German engineer Felix Wankel began work on what would become known as the rotary engine in 1927 but it wasn't until 1967 that it finally made its way under the bonnet of a production car.

The NSU Ro 80 debuted the innovative engine and enjoyed a successful 10 year production run. But it was Mazda which has become most closely associated with the rotary engine, also debuting the iconic Cosmo in '67.

Mazda then used the rotary in a series of production cars including the RX-3 then the RX-7 and finally the RX-8. While the rotary died with the RX-8 in 2012 Mazda has repeatedly promised to revive the engine concept in a future sports car and even possibly use it as a range extender motor for a plug-in hybrid.