No better place to kick off 2015 than Whangamata

23 January, 2015

If you ask a gearhead what the best way to see in the New Year is, there is an incredibly high likelihood they’ll tell you there’s nothing better than the annual Whangamata New Year’s Day car show at the Whangamata Club.

With more than 183 vehicles of both the four-wheel and two-wheel persuasion, as well as the brilliant summer weather, 2015’s show was the largest yet with people travelling from all over New Zealand to attend.

Organizer Noddy Watts reckons, “We sure kicked off 2015 in style raising over $1500 for our local youth group.”

For many this was their first chance to check out this year’s Repco Beach Hop giveaway car — a 1950 Mercury Coupe mild custom, direct from the USA, complete with a hopped-up flathead V8 under the hood.

It was also the first public showing of Neil Surtees’ latest from Whakatane. Based on a Model A roadster pickup with an all-aluminium, hand-formed body held together with over 5000 rivets. The tray slides back to reveal the rear-mounted radiators for the Ford flathead V8, and the underslung chassis is innovative; All owner built and oozing coolness.

Another new car was the bright yellow ’32 Ford Coupe of Matamata’s Bill Fryer which was cloned after the Mike Poole ’32 Coupe which carved up the quarter mile in the ’80s. Bill is a Beach Hop regular with a blown Ford Y-block-powered T-bucket.

The show attracted a diverse mix of hot rods, customs, classics, muscle cars, street machines, and motorcycles, and the atmosphere was buzzing to the tunes of the Recliner Rockers. Roll on Beach Hop!

Congratulations to the winners:

Best Ford — Peter Kidd, Kapiti Coast, 1955 Mercury Sunvalley
Best Chev — Nigel Brown, Matamata, 1939 Chev Pickup
Best Other — Robbie Metcalfe, Whangamata, 1957 Oldsmobile
Best Hot Rod — Bruce Carter, Riverhead, 1933 Ford
Best Street Machine — Steve Green, Ohaupo, 1963 Holden
Best Nostalgia — Neil Surtees, Whakatane, 1928 Ford Model A
Best Original — David Leask, Morrinsville, Kawasaki
Best Bike — Roger Kemp, Te Kauwhata, Suzuki

NZ Classic Car magazine, November/December 2026 issue 408, on sale now

18 October, 2026

Star status for classic Porsche
A long search ends: finding the right car
Unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1963, the Porsche 911 heralded an iconic lineage of sports cars, known for their exceptional performance, remarkable racing reliability, and adaptability, second to none.
New Zealand Classic Car, in conjunction with Star Insure, recently conducted a photo competition to find 13 suitably impressive classics to grace the pages of the magazine’s 2027 calendar. A flood of entries showed that Kiwis recognise eye-catching designs and restorations. Many are handy with a camera, too, and have entered some outstanding results.
The choice was not straightforward, with multiple stunning entries, and Geoff Long’s immaculate 1990 Porsche 911 (964 Factory designation) took top honours. Fortunately, Geoff had Ethan Hanlon handy to take the accompanying photos while working in his office.
“I’ve got a young employee who is doing work experience in my office at the moment, and he’s a very avid photographer. So, I said, I’ll buy you breakfast and then why don’t we go and take some photos. He found the right spot, and he spent over an hour photographing.”
Originally sold new in Japan, hence the right-hand drive, the Porsche was resident there for four years before being exported to New Zealand, as Geoff recalls.
“I bought it two-and-a-half years ago, but I looked for it for over two years, because it’s just the colour scheme, interior and exterior I was after. The service file that came with it is extensive; I mean, it’s been beautifully looked after, which is what I wanted to continue, as it does get driven. It doesn’t sit in the garage.”

Classics on the green

16 October, 2026

Many pretenders vie for the title, but the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance gets my vote as the biggest thing since sliced bread.
The 71st edition of the world’s pre-eminent and best-known concours event featured 28 classes, judged by a 180-strong jury, which also chose the recipients of 26 special awards.
The size of the event, the number of visitors, and, most mind-numbingly, the sheer number of amazing cars, is almost overwhelming. There are so many quality cars to gaze upon, and so many people gazing at those cars, that it is almost impossible to cover everything.
Notable among the many attractions were the centenary celebrations of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, an elegant Talbot-Lago Grand Sport, Hermann Graber’s Swiss-bodied cabriolets and coupés, the jewels of Otto Vu Italian V8s, early Alfa Romeos, Lincoln and its centenary, and cars with unorthodox propulsion systems.

No better place to kick off 2015 than Whangamata

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