The best of the best: 2015 Ellerslie Intermarque Concours d’Elegance

4 February, 2015

Who would have thought that a small competition between a cluster of car clubs 42 years ago would one day become the largest classic and new-car event in the country?

In 2015 the Ellerslie Intermarque Concours d’Elegance and Classic Car Show will be held on February 8 at Auckland’s Ellerslie Racecourse. It features around 800 cars from clubs and leading new-vehicle dealerships, as well as an even stronger presence from those industries that support our motoring passions. New Zealand Classic Car magazine will once again host an amazing display of classic cars in the Newmarket Room.

This year’s theme for the Classic Cover Insurance Best Club Display award is The Big Screen, featuring cars as stars in films and TV shows. And you’ll see some of the country’s finest unrestored classics in RadioLIVE’s Best Survivor Class.

The show host this year is last year’s team event winner — the Auckland Mustang Owners’ Club — and you can expect to see a spectacular line-up of these iconic pony cars.

But it won’t just be classics that will captivate you. It’s hard to resist the temptations of new cars too — and this year Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jaguar, Jeep, Lamborghini, Land Rover, Lotus, Maserati, Mini, Porsche, Rolls-Royce, Volkswagen, and Volvo all display a mouth-watering selection of models.

There’s also Maserati’s new hospitality area, in which you can decide what you’re going to buy with next week’s Lotto winnings. One option (apart from a few cars) could be a new motorhome and, for the first time, RV Super Centre has a presence, exhibiting six futuristic recreational vehicles at the show.

This year, background music — appropriate for a classic scene — is provided by The Sound 93.8FM, with a broadcasting team on-site.

You can also acquire books and motorsport accessories, and check out wheel refurbishing, rally tours, tracking-and-recovery technology, dashboard cameras, clothing, car bumpers, garage/showroom flooring and paint-protection technology, insurance cover and, of course, Meguiar’s car-care products.

We also hope you’ll support the Variety Bash vehicles that raise funds for Variety — The Children’s Charity — look out for their special display.

So, set your camera for some great shots — and recapture fresh memories of cars you might have dreamed about, owned, or grew up with.

We hope you enjoy the show — check out the event’s progamme in advance below to see where everything will be located on the day:

Put a ring around that

Provenance is a valuable part of a classic car and DKW/Auto Union collectors Brendan and Bobbette Odell have a detailed documented history of a special car in their growing collection of these little two-stroke wonders.
Brendan’s hometown of Pretoria enjoyed more than its fair share of the marque, where their reliability and performance made them popular..
“There used to be a joke going round in South Africa that there were more DKWs in Pretoria per square mile than anywhere else in the world,” Says Brendan.
The Odells redressed that balance a little when they shifted to New Zealand as they brought some of the cars with them.
One of their DKWs also accompanied them to Tonga. Brendan’s green 1959 Auto Union 1000 two-door went with them from South Africa to Tonga from 2010 to 2013 where he worked for the local airline. It then travelled on with them to New Zealand. It is one of just 10 right-hand drive cars of the two-door basic model remaining worldwide.

Stag roars again

The Triumph Stag pictured here has been lovingly restored from what was once, in the owner’s words, “a horrible, terrible job”. Owners Glynn and Alison Gaston hail from Dunedin and along with their grandchildren now enjoy cruising in the Stag after a three-and-a-half-year restoration.
In 2011, Glynn was looking for a classic car to restore. After 21 years with Air New Zealand he was working as a Super Shuttle driver, with four days on and four days off, which gave him the time to take on such a project — something he had always wanted to do.
“I’d looked at quite a few cars over the years. The idea was to restore a car as something to keep me going. I had looked at different MGs and I would have quite liked an Austin Healey or something similar but they were really expensive.
“Then I saw a Stag and I thought, Ah, this is nice. This is what I would like.