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Ford set the bar for 2015 with new Ford GT

13 January, 2015

The year that was 2014 showed us that America is stepping up its game with some amazing performance offerings from Chevrolet, Chrysler, and Ford. No sooner has 2015 rolled around and Ford are back, making waves at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show by unveiling their new Ford GT.

While the design cues are undoubtedly of the same gene pool as the original Ford GT40 and old Ford GT, the 2015 Ford GT is a total evolution in both style and engineering.

The supercharged 5.4-litre V8 that powered the previous Ford GT is nowhere to be seen — power now comes from a twin-turbo 3.5-litre V6, producing over 600hp. Ford claims that it is the most powerful EcoBoost production engine ever.

Lightweight materials, including carbon fibre and aluminium, feature extensively on the new Ford GT. The passenger cell is carbon fibre, the front and rear subframes are aluminium, and structural body panels are moulded from carbon fibre. The light weight afforded by these materials will no doubt enable phenomenal acceleration and handling, thankfully kept in check by carbon-ceramic brake discs, 20-inch wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot tyres, and state-of-the-art active racing-style torsion bar and pushrod suspension set-up.

Production is said to be scheduled for late next year, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Ford GT race cars taking all three podium places in the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans.

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.