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Beach Hop 2014: Day four — Whangamata

16 June, 2014

 

And then it was Saturday, which is generally considered to be the main day of Beach Hop and best described as orchestrated chaos.

A series of parades take place starting from different locations and ending in different locations. The end points result in various individual car shows, each of which is up there with any of the biggest shows in the country.

The Meguiar’s Main Street Car Show had the Ultimate Pass holders parked in prime position on Whangamata’s main street, alongside drag cars doing fire-ups as part of the Castrol Edge Crackle Fest, bands playing, and crowds like never before.

At the opposite end of the main street, in the Whangamata Area School grounds, was the Vintage Caravan Magazine Retro Caravan Show. When this part of the event started there were just four caravans on the field; four years later, there were an astounding 85 caravans taking part.

It was difficult to imagine a better Repco Pre-49 Hot Rod Show than last year, but the turnout was so impressive that it was hard to pick just one stand-out.

As always, the day was rounded out with a series of stage shows, and the one part everyone was waiting for, the chance to win one of the three Beach Hop promo vehicles. The lucky winner was Terry Scott of Auckland who chose to take home the 1966 Mustang. A “blind” auction was held for one of the two other vehicles: a Zephyr and caravan combo or an XP Falcon wagon. An Auckland couple topped the bidding and chose to take home the Falcon. Graham Jack won the Zephyr and caravan.

Look out for coverage in our next issue, on sale Monday April 7, and our full 122-page coverage in our 2014 Beach Hop Annual, on sale late April.

Range Rover CSK — the original SUV

5 June, 2026

The Range Rover, thanks to Charles Spencer King, went into production in 1970 boasting an iconic shape that would last until 1996. The vehicle that would create the SUV moniker came about because Rover decided it was time to add a bigger four-wheel-drive vehicle, one with a 100-inch wheelbase, to the model range. Land Rover made a 109-inch wheelbase model but the standard vehicle had a 88-inch wheelbase.
The new model would be more suitable for road use than the existing Land Rover, which was considered to be predominantly for rural use. To make sure it could cope on any road it came standard with the Rover 3.5-litre V8 engine. The body design was originally sketched by King and went into production with only a few minor touch-ups by the Rover styling team.
According to King, “The idea was to combine the comfort and on-road ability of a Rover saloon with the off-road ability of a Land Rover. Nobody was doing it.”

Ford’s Mustang – the endlessly hip American dream machine

28 May, 2026

Fifty or so years ago, the only place in New Zealand to see a Ford Mustang was on the racetrack. In a local market severely constrained by a lack of new motor vehicles, the new North American Ford was a dreamy icon boosted by considerable motorsport success.
Import licences for cars were limited, and if Kiwis travelled abroad, the amount of currency they could take with them was restricted. What’s more, those funds could not be used to buy a car for importation back home. Yet it was OK to spend the money on heavy drinking at a London pub, Gucci shoes, sable fur coats, and excessive stays at the Hôtel Martinez at Cannes in France.
However, any rare Mustang that landed on our shores would not be destined to pose around Auckland’s then trendy Queen Street on a Friday night but would more likely be found in the care of well-known racing drivers on the starting grid at local motor racing tracks.