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Taking a look at the new Land Rover Discovery

22 April, 2015

We’ve just finished featuring the classic ‘Landy’ Land Rover on the front page of New Zealand Classic Car Issue No. 293, and funnily enough we were invited to check out the new Land Rover Discovery. However, this was set to be a bit of a spectacular event with the invite mentioning breakfast and a test. On arrival, we noticed a big trailer with a weird form of ramp mounted to the base. 

With three new Discoverys, a kitchen, and a rock-climbing wall, there was a decent spot of entertainment for everyone. 

The ramp allows the driver to drive up to the top on the left-hand side, and then it adjusts to put the car on a near 45-degree angle. The car, with its new terrain-response setting, allows the car to automatically drive down the hill by itself, leaving the driver in safe hands. 

Utilizing the mud-ruts feature allows the car to lock up the diff and manage the power between the front and rear wheels to support the car as it travels down steep hills.

The car is then able to manage those tricky situations when out off-roading.

The car features a large amount of boot space with up to seven seats available, depending on which model you’re looking at. 

It also comes fully furnished in leather with a clean-cut, modern dash.

The car is set to be on the New Zealand market within the next few months. 
 

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.