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NZV8 Concept Corner: Aston GTX

21 January, 2015

Every month, we ask the cover car owner for the concept that they’d most like to build or see built. You’ve seen what he can do with a Dodge Challenger (NZV8 Issue No. 117), but imagine if Phil Kenny bit the bullet and built the car he’d dreamed of owning since he was a teenager!

“A friend of mine actually had a 1970 GTX when we were at high school, and we used to cruise around in it a bit,” says Phil of the inspiration for his concept. “What I’d really like to do to one though is pretty much exactly what I’ve done with the Challenger, and that is to keep the look of old, but make it drive like new. I’ve got a late-model Aston Martin that I’d love the GTX to drive like. So it’d need a full rebuild from the ground up, including similar suspension and brake work to the Challenger. It’d be great to be able to include things like ABS as well, just to take it to the next level.”

“Looks wise, I think GTXs are best in Plum Crazy purple, so I’d go with that, but add a modern twist with a bit of xyrillic pearl, just to make the curves pop in the sunlight. For wheels, maybe a set of Aston Martin Rapide S 20-inch wheels would help give it a modern flair and would be a bit different from what everyone else has. I’d also shave a few bits of trim and smooth things up a bit, but most importantly get the gaps right, as I can’t stand how badly gapped they were from the factory.”

It’d be nice to go all out on the interior, including a late-model Aston dash and seats, including the electronic gauges and air conditioning setup etc. And under the hood would have to be a late model motor, so if I could find one, a six-litre V12 Aston motor would be the go. They produce 550hp in stock form, so that’d be plenty. Of course, they run a six-speed paddle-shifted gearbox, so it’d be nice to include that also. For ultimate handling, it’d be nice to convert the rear end to IRS, but the reality is building a car like this would just cost far too much. Still, it’d be a cool concept, though!” says Phil.


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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.