SUBSCRIBE TO THE
MAGAZINE NOW
Facebook-f Instagram

Weekly Motor Fix: Mike Lowe’s new Targa Abarth

20 October, 2015

When veteran Targa driver Mike Lowe — and his co-driver Philip Sutton — line up to start the 21st annual Targa NZ next Monday (Labour Day, October 26) once again they will be in a small Enzed-backed Abarth sports coupé. However it will not be the same classic model in which Mike started and finished all 20 previous week-long Targa New Zealand events.

Now that Mike’s 1964 model Abarth Berlina Corsa — ‘Barty’ — has been retired from active duty, ‘Barty 2’ will take over as his Targa car. Despite its near-identical Enzed livery, the new car couldn’t be more different from its predecessor — and that’s because Barty 2 is a modern-day front-wheel-drive Abarth Assetto Corse works race car that has been converted to R3T tarmac rally specification. It is powered by a turbocharged, front-mounted 1400cc engine that produces 140kWs of peak power for a top speed of 225km/h — giving the Mike a big performance advantage over his older Fiat.

“In the 20 years of Targa we have seen the event get faster and with less older cars running,” Mike said. “In that time we had to push Barty way beyond its design brief just to keep up and it became clear that we needed to keep him for special or smaller events, and find something else to use for the next 20 years. When I saw the new Abarths (on a visit to the factory in 2012) I knew then we had to have one.”

This year’s six-day Targa NZ event starts in Auckland on (Labour Day) Monday October 26 and finishes in Palmerston North on Saturday October 31 — check out the current edition of New Zealand Classic Car for full details and route maps.

Photo credits: Fast Company / Mike Lowe and ProShotz

Luxury by design

15 January, 2026

How do you define luxury? To some it is being blinded with all manner of technological wizardry, from massaging heated seats to being able to activate everything with your voice, be it the driver’s side window or the next track on Spotify. To others, the most exorbitant price tag will dictate how luxurious a car is.
For me, true automotive luxury comes from being transported in unparalleled comfort, refinement, and smoothness of power under complete control. Forget millions of technological toys; if one can be transported here and there without the sensation of moving at all, that is luxury — something that is perfectly encapsulated by the original Lexus LS400. It was the first truly global luxury car from Toyota, and one that made the big luxury brands take notice.

NZ Classic Car magazine, January/February 2026 issue 403, on sale now

15 December, 2025

Morris’ ground-breaking, world-beating, Minor
It was Britain’s biggest small car, and it got Britain mobile again.       Morris Motors celebrated its millionth Minor in December 1960, a car that defined the British motor industry, and was in production for 10 years alongside the iconic Mini of 1959.
Whakatane dentist John Twaddle has a passion for Morris Minors going back to 1982, and he still has his first example. There are now three ‘Morries’ in his garage. One, however, is quite special, a rare ‘Minor-Million’. 
One of just 350 made commemorating the millionth Morris Minor produced, the first British car to hit a million units, the well-rounded little Brit’ would end production in 1971with a tally of over 1.6 million units.
John finished his Minor Million six years ago, resplendent in lilac, its official factory colour. He calls it his ‘Minor Resurrection’, and it has won numerous awards.
This summer edition also comes with our annual FREE classic car calendar, a must for every garage wall.
Every issue comes with our FREE huge wall poster; this issue, our poster is of a couple of garage mates, a 1957 Ford Ranchero and a 1968 Lincoln Continental.