A Kiwi Le Mans legend brought back from the past

17 December, 2014

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“Recreating a Kiwi Le Mans legend is no minor feat and Grant Aitken explains the reasoning behind why he took on the challenge”

Some five years ago, in a discussion with a significant New Zealand motorsport personality, the topic of the original 1966 Le Mans-winning Ford GT40, as driven to victory by Chris Amon and Bruce McLaren came up. The person involved in the discussion was adamant that the original car was stored in a garage in Tauranga although, personally, I had my doubts as I believed that the value of the original vehicle would be beyond the resources of most Kiwis.

A fruitless search resulted in me making contact with a known previous owner of the original car, a certain George Stauffer — a globally recognized race car restorer. I tracked him down and boldly rang him. He told me that he had in fact owned the original car (chassis 1046), and restored it to its original 1966 livery.

Further to confirming his ownership, he also advised me that he’d recently sold it to a New York collector for a modest US$16 million. However, he told me that if the notion of building a clone of the original interested me, I should talk to Lee Holman, as he still had some of the original parts that made up the MKII GT40.

I commissioned manufacturer Holman Moody to build a replica of #1046. The body shell was sourced from a recognized current replica builder in South Africa and shipped to Holman Moody in Charlotte, North Carolina in the US.

Eighteen months went by and the car was completed with a dry-sump 427 FE engine, built but the original engine builder, Jimmy Tucker. The car features the correct T44 transmission, period-correct gauges, seats, interior, and luggage compartments. It is believe to be the closest reproduction of the original car in existence.

During the build, Chris Amon’s assistance was invaluable, with his supplying of pictures of the original car, including dashboard layout among other things.

The car was completed in 2012 and shipped to New Zealand, where on December 10, 2014 Chris Amon was introduced to the car. We drove several laps of the Taupo Motorsport Park circuit and Chris was quite emotional about the visit to the past, speaking very highly of the car.

I am delighted to have reconstructed a car to commemorate one of New Zealand’s greatest sporting victories — one that has gone largely unnoticed in New Zealand. However, I want to ensure that the upcoming 50th anniversary of Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon’s win — the first ever for a Ford at Le Mans — is celebrated and given the recognition it deserves.

The gallery below has been captured by Graham Sword.

Grand Routier — in the french tradition

10 July, 2025

Sitting in Paddy and Patsy Williams’ Dunedin garage is a stunning example of one of these rare French grand routier sedans. It is a 1949 four-door Lago-Record Factory Berline sedan, to give its full name. Daughter Cath let us know how proud she was of her dad, who had been tinkering away in his garage on this car for so many years.
Without exaggeration, it has been a mammoth task. I first saw this Talbot-Lago in mid 2019. The long-nosed, sweeping, curved four-door saloon, clothed in its misty green metallic paint, was quite breathtaking. There’s more than a little English influence in it, too, harking back to company owner Tony Lago’s involvement in the Clement-Talbot-Darracq era. The long front wings and bonnet, usually multi-louvred, highlighted with artful touches of chrome bling, are typical of the era, but these were indeed luxury length. Interiors provided leather-clad, armchair-style seating and ample legroom, with touches of wood and surprising details such as dainty childproof interior locks — a far cry from today’s lozenge boxes.
Paddy, a retired civil and structural engineer, knows his way around a lathe. He has a well-equipped garage-workshop to assist in any machining tasks along with his other passion for restoring classic motorcycles.

The Great River Road

4 July, 2025

A few years ago my family, knowing my fondness for driving, gave me the book Unforgettable Road Trips: Thirty-Six Drives of a Lifetime by Martin Derrick. Most of the road trips listed take less than a day in places like Scotland, Monaco, and Australia, plus one in New Zealand. Most of these places were too far to go just for a short drive but four of them would take several days. My interest was piqued, and those four drives were added to the bucket list. To date, I have done three of them: ‘Route 66’ (USA 21 days), ‘State Highway 6’ (NZ 10 days) and ‘The Great River Road’ (USA 22 days). You can drive all of them in less time, but you could also fly over them. We wanted a decent immersion in their charms.
The great river referred to is the Mississippi. While the name conjures the deep south, the river actually starts at the bottom of the great lakes, before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico about 3800km later. The great road is more of a concept than a specific strip of tarmac, as you can drive down either side of the river on various routes. Regardless of which side you drive, time should be kept aside for detours to places such as Nashville, which is famous for something or other.

A Kiwi Le Mans legend brought back from the past

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