SUBSCRIBE TO THE
MAGAZINE NOW
Facebook-f Instagram

Peter Caughey wins Suzuki SuperBoat Champs round five

16 June, 2014

 


Photo: Ian Thornton

Photo: Ian Thornton

Peter Caughey and his Enzed team have won the penultimate round of the Suzuki SuperBoat Champs which was held in Whanganui on April 5.

Taking out round four of the SuperBoat Champs sees Caughey defend his four-time world and six-time New Zealand SuperBoat champion title as he also prepares for the World Championships coming up in America in August.

“Up to this point we’ve not only been focusing on the New Zealand champs but in pushing the boat and the team as hard as we dare in pursuit of greater understanding of the team’s capability as the Worlds loom. Is the boat up to it, and is the team up to it.”

Caughey’s Sprintec boat has repeatedly set each event’s fastest time, yet he’s taken the chequered flag less often than his speed might suggest, as chasing ultimate pace can backfire.

“We’ve raced harder than we needed to at times, but for the worlds you need to be on your best game,” the Canterbury racer says. “Racing internationally is a big undertaking, and we want to go there knowing we have a package capable of winning.”


Photo: Ian Thornton

Photo: Ian Thornton

Caughey’s team is aware there are no guarantees, but it takes time – and time spent in the white heat of top-level competition – to fine tune a high-powered lightweight racer like Caughey’s Sprintec-built SuperBoat.

“It’s not easy to find that last two or three per cent of your boat’s ultimate performance, and that is what we have been focused on this season,” Caughey says.

His biggest hurdle will be raising the money to go, Caughey says, but he’s suspended sponsor talks to focus on the last two rounds of this season’s NZ champs, with the points now tight at the top.


Photo: Ian Thornton

Photo: Ian Thornton

He’s had the boat’s motor out, given the hull a few tweaks after its fast airborne exit from the last round, and fettled the jet unit in pursuit of more speed, which should suit the fast, flowing rotation at Whanganui’s Shelterview track.

“It’s a rotation I expect will deliver a level playing field for the top three. Phonsy will have his twin-turbo back in after trying a new motor at Hastings, Hill has good power too, and we’ll all be looking over our shoulders this weekend,” he says.

“The big variable is night racing, it’s difficult, and the faster you go the trickier it is, but it’s difficult for everyone, and traditionally Wanganui prepares well.”

The final round of the Suzuki SuperBoat class will be held in Wanaka (ending under lights) on April 18.

 

Chrysler’s classy cruiser

22 May, 2026

I first saw our feature car, a 1970 V8-powered Regal 770 hardtop, towing a trailer carrying the tidy Ford Anglia classic racing saloon in Broadspeed racing colours that has featured in these pages. The coupe is comparatively rare here, which means anyone contemplating purchasing one of these big two-doors is sure to see prices continue to climb. The latter Charger has claimed much of the Aussie Chrysler limelight, but the simpler and classier lines of this car, which appeared dated soon after its introduction, now have a more timeless appeal.
Former owner, Balclutha motor engineer, Mike Verdoner, remembers the car well. He believes it came from Dunedin originally.
“I’m not sure about the car’s history, but I bought it off its owner at Kaitangata. Unusually, it was advertised in the local newspaper, the Clutha Leader, which was a surprise as these usually go for a lot more money on the internet. I had it for quite a few years. It needed a little bit of work to tidy it up, so I had to decide whether to spend the money on it to do it up, which could have been twenty grand. Its value at the time was not like it is now, so I sold it to Ewan. It’s probably now worth three or four times what I sold it for.”

The Pininfarina 230 SL

14 May, 2026

It’s October 1964, and imagine you’re an automotive journalist covering that year’s Paris Auto Show (Mondial de l’Automobile). As you approach the Pininfarina booth, you come across a car that looks a bit like the Mercedes-Benz 230 SL introduced the previous year at the Geneva Auto Show, a car then arriving at Mercedes-Benz dealerships around the world.
But looking closely, its styling and proportions seem to be a bit different. And it has a fixed roof, unlike the Pagoda-style greenhouse of the removable hardtop seen on the production 230 SL. While today, the styling of the W113, under the supervision of Head of Styling Friedrich Geiger, with lead designers Paul Bracq and Bela Barenyi, is considered a mid-century modern masterpiece, acceptance in-period was not universal. Some critics called out the concave design of its removable roof, which ultimately gave the car its “Pagoda” nickname.