A slice of Americana: The Auburn Spring Collector Car Weekend

16 April, 2015

A park filled with hundreds of American muscle cars, classics, sports cars, and hot rods would do it for most petrolheads that have their heads screwed on right. And that is exactly what’s going to be on offer at the Auburn Spring Collector Car Weekend, at the Auburn Auction Park in Indiana, USA, over May 7–9 this year.

Auburn Spring has become a must-attend event on the American automotive calendar, featuring more than just an auction, with a car corral, swap meet, and AACA (Antique Automobile Club of America) Special National Spring Meet.

As far as the auction side of things goes, a range of fine vehicles can be expected, including this 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T. The immaculate muscle car, finished in ‘Lemon Twist’ is powered by the legendary 426 Hemi V8, topped with a rare factory ‘N96’ shaker hood option, and backed by an A833 four-speed manual transmission. Such a desirable car, in this condition, is expected to go for between $340–380,000.

In addition to, and on the opposite end of the spectrum from, the Mopar muscle is this 2006 Ford GTX1 TT ‘Spyder’. The unique supercar is one of only 30 built by the Ford-authorized coachbuilder, Genaddi Design Group, before they ceased business. The striking car is powered by a 5.4-litre V8, producing an astonishing 1000hp, and is expected to go for between $300–350,000.

The Buick Regal GNX is another strange one; though the car design of the ’80s isn’t generally regarded as being the strongpoint of automotive history, it hasn’t failed to make the Buick GNX a highly desirable car. With blistering performance, thanks to its turbocharged six-cylinder engine, this genuine example, with only 119 miles on the odometer is expected to go for upwards of $100,000 — who’d have ever believed that 20 years ago?  

NZ Classic Car magazine, March/April 2025 issue 398, on sale now

An HQ to die for
Mention the acronym HQ and most people in the northern hemisphere will assume this is an abbreviation for Head Quarters. However, for those born before the mid-’80s in Australia and New Zealand, the same two letters only mean one thing – HQ Holden!
Christchurch enthusiast Ed Beattie has a beautiful collection of Holden and Chevrolet cars. He loves the bowtie and its Aussie cousin and has a stable of beautiful, powerful cars. His collection includes everything from a modern GTSR W507 HSV through the decades to a 1960s Camaro muscle car and much in between.
In the last two Holden Nationals (run biennially in 2021 and 2023), Ed won trophies for the Best Monaro and Best Decade with his amazing 1972 Holden Monaro GTS 350 with manual transmission.
Ed is a perfectionist and loves his cars to reflect precisely how they were on ‘Day 1,’ meaning when the dealer released them to the first customer, including any extras the dealer may have added or changed.

You’re the one that I want – 1973 Datsun 240K GT

In the early 1970s, Clark Caldow was a young sales rep travelling the North Island and doing big miles annually. He loved driving. In 1975 the firm he worked for asked Clark what he wanted for his new car, and Clark chose a brand-new Datsun 240K GT. The two-door car arrived, and Clark was smitten, or in his own words, he was “pole vaulting.”
Clark drove it all over the country, racking up thousands of miles. “It had quite a bit of pep with its SOHC 128 hp (96kW) of power mated to a four-speed manual gearbox,” he says. Weighing in at 1240kg meant the power to weight ratio was good for the time and its length at almost 4.5 metres meant it had good street presence.
Clark has been a car enthusiast all his life, and decided around nine years ago to look for one of these coupes. By sheer luck he very quickly found a mint example refurbished by an aircraft engineer, but it was in Perth.