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Super Black Racing ready to take on V8 Supercars

21 January, 2015

Super Black Racing — the only New Zealand-based V8 Supercars team — has teamed up with Prodrive Racing Australia (PRA) heading into the 2015 V8 Supercars Championship, with the team’s debut at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide, held between February 26 and March 1, 2015.

Following their successful debut at last year’s Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, with support from PRA, the decision to continue with PRA’s technical support and services was a no-brainer.

The Wellsford-based team has recently signed 19-year-old Andre Heimgartner to race their PRA Ford Falcon in the 2015 season. At 19, he is one of the youngest ever drivers to race in V8 Supercars.

“I just can’t wait to start racing! The team at PRA are amazing to work with and I’m sure I’ll soak up a lot of information from them, which will be a huge help for us,” he said of the opportunity.  

Australian fans, as well as PRA, have displayed positive reactions towards Super Black Racing. Team owner Tony Lentino says, “We have been blown away from the amount of support we’ve received from all around the world, including our Australian fans … although we are convinced that the friendly New Zealand/Australia banter will be greater than ever.”

To highlight just how serious they are, Super Black Racing has also enlisted the support of legendary racing star Paul Radisich as team principal. Radisich has extensive experience behind the wheel, including winning the Touring Car World Cup in 1993 and 1994.

“I know my V8 experience can and will be put to the best use,” he says of being team principal.

With a New Zealand team to get behind, the 2015 V8 Supercars season is already set to be a good one, and it hasn’t even started.

NZ Classic Car magazine, July/August 2026 issue 406, on sale now

21 June, 2026

Rebirth of a brilliant Grand Tourer –1973 Datsun 240Z
How often do we long for that ultimate dream sports car, and that dream comes true? This is about one of the most influential Japanese cars of all time, a car that changed the sports car market.
This is about much more than the restoration of an iconic classic sports car, the 240Z. It’s about the culmination of a dream over many years and the friendships made. It’s about the people who helped and the professionals whose approach ensured that the dream became a reality, an attitude typical of the industry we call ‘classic restoration experts’.
It is no surprise that the outcome after a lengthy search by Conrad Van der Geest for the right Datsun 240Z culminated in a trophy for the best Japanese car at this year’s Caroline Bay Beach, Rock N’ Hop at Timaru.
Originally a roadworthy car in running order, it was left-hand-drive and had been driven for several years by its Timaru owner, as Conrad explains.
“A neighbour, Dave Barron, knew I was looking for one and introduced me to the owner. I had seen the car being driven around Timaru. It was unusual for one of these coming originally from California, so it was a really clean car instead of rusty, as they are prone to rust. The story goes that the grandfather passed it onto his grandson, who decided to sell it, and that’s when it came over here.”
Every issue comes with our FREE huge wall poster; this issue, it’s our cover car for this edition, a 1973 Datsun 240Z

The butterfly effect

18 June, 2026

The man on the mountain bike pedalled over, taking it all in. Gazing in wonderment at this small Japanese coupe with butterfly doors, he said, “Wow, I have never seen one of these before. What is it?” When I told him it was a Toyota, he nearly fell off his bike.
The Toyota Sera is unique amongst ’90s Japanese coupes. The Sera, which is Italian for ‘evening’, can trace its roots back to Toyota’s AXV-II concept car. Launched as part of a trio of Toyota concept cars at the 1987 Tokyo Motor Show, it shared its underpinnings with the P70 Toyota Starlet. The similarities ended there, thanks to the AXV-II’s low-slung and rounded coupe styling with butterfly doors. These doors were held upright by gas struts when fully open. Glass covered the upper section of the doors and the rear hatchback.
These features, much to everyone’s surprise, were carried over to the production Sera in 1990. Toyota marketed the Sera, which means ‘will be’ in Spanish and ‘princess’ in Hebrew, as a funky alternative to the much-loved MR2.