The quality of Riley Matekovic’s Commodore is such that we already saw fit to feature it in the August 2024 issue of Street Machine. Powered by a tough, 500rwhp stroker LS, the car has a clinically clean engine bay, banging stance, and old-school-cool Simmons V5 wheels. The best bit is that Riley drives the thing anywhere, anytime.

Riley has won $2000 cash, a $500 Hare & Forbes Machineryhouse voucher and a $150 Street Machine merch voucher.

Congrats on picking up the runner-up spot in YSMOTY, mate!

Thanks. It was a pleasure even to make the Top 16 – I wasn’t expecting that. It was awesome to get the call that we’d done well in the voting.

For those who didn’t catch the feature in the mag last year, tell us a bit about the car.

It’s a VH Commodore I bought about five or six years ago. It was my daily driver for about six months, and then I started pulling it apart and ripped into it. I smoothed the engine bay myself and ProFlo did the engine for me. It’s the perfect combo; it’s tough but reliable, and it cruises so well.

It’s fair to say you drive the wheels off the thing, too.

Yeah, I’m doing a wedding in it tomorrow, actually! Every single weekend I try to get it out and go somewhere in it, whether that’s a Bunnings run, or to do the shopping or to go and see a mate. I raced it and went 10.32@132mph with a set of old slicks that blew on the way home – I nearly wrote the car off! I’d love to go back and crack a 10.1 or a 9.9. I’ve done Summernats and Powercruise with the car, too. It’s definitely a driver.

How did you get interested in cars?

Through family and mates. You used to be able to buy cheap back issues of car magazines at the newsagent, and I spent a lot of time reading those as a kid. It just slowly evolved over time, and then as soon as I met the Sants [from ProFlo Performance], it just snowballed.

Speaking of the Sants, I saw that you and Charlie put together a YouTube video for YSMOTY.

Yeah, it was a bit of a laugh! We put it together to see if we could get some more views and votes – and to show people how goofy I am!

Any plans for the prize money?

I’ll probably spend it on cars! I bought an HT wagon the other day that I want to do a mechanically blown LS in, with all old-school styling. I’ve got a set of gold Moroso small-block rocker covers, and I’ll use red and blue fittings right through it, and probably a set of V5 Simmons rims again. I want to make it look like it came out of the late 90s.

What’s next with the VH?

I just want to keep driving it and enjoying it. I’d like to do a Cootamundra event; drive down there, race and drive home. I’d like to go a bit quicker on the quarter-mile as well. The car just works so well as it is that I don’t really want to change it. I’ll build another car instead.

Anyone you’d like to thank?

I’d like to thank Paul and the crew at ProFlo; Mark at Ontrak Auto Electrical; my family; my partner; and all the boys that helped with the car – they know who they are. Thanks also to Hare & Forbes Machineryhouse and Street Machine for putting on YSMOTY.

2025 Hare & Forbes Machineryhouse Young SMOTY winners:
1st Place: Jack Mill’s Suzuki Swift
2nd Place: Riley Matekovic’s VH Commodore
3rd Place: Jack Archer’s Nissan Silvia S15