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2016 London Classic Car Show announced

21 April, 2015

 

The first London Classic Car Show took place in January of 2015, and, following praise from visitors and exhibitors, will be returning for 2016. Many exhibitors at the inaugural show have already rebooked for the next event, and will be joined by a host of new exhibitors, including classic car dealers and specialists.

Marques such as Aston Martin, Citroen, and Maserati, as well as industry specialists like Nicholas Mee, Jim Stokes Workshops, and Classic Motor Cars are amongst the many names to have rebooked for 2016.

To accommodate the significantly increased scale of the next event, the show is to be 50-per-cent bigger. The increase in size will allow for an even larger rendering of one of the show’s standout features — The Grand Avenue. Running through the centre of the show, The Grand Avenue provides a runway for some of history’s most iconic cars to parade.

The Grand Avenue’s variety is second to none, with the inaugural show hosting everything from 100-year-old veterans and ’60s supercars, to Grand Prix racers, most notable of which was Ayrton Senna’s Lotus 97T. So, not only is The Grand Avenue to be extended for 2016, but it will also host many more live performances.

Event director Bas Bungish says, “Our aim with the London Classic Car Show was to create a show that really raises the bar. We did that … motor shows will never be the same again.”

Keep an eye out for more news on the London Classic Car Show 2016.

Last Tango in the Fast Lane

30 April, 2026

In the mid ’80s, I locked into a serious Nissan/Datsun performance obsession. It could have kicked off with my ’82 Datsun Sunny, though this would have been a bit of a stretch of the imagination, given its normally aspirated 1.2-litre motor — not the sort of thing to unleash radical road warrior dreams. But it did plant a seed, and it was a sweet little machine and surprisingly quick, in contrast to all the diabolical English offerings I had endured.
I was living in South Auckland at the time and was an unrepentant petrolhead. Motor racing was my drug of choice, and I followed the scene slavishly. Saloon car racing, with the arrival of the international Group A formula, was having a serious renaissance here and in Australia and Europe. There was suddenly an exotic air in local racing that had been absent for 15 years.
I was transfixed by this new frontier of motor racing that had hit our tracks in 1985–87 and the new array of machinery on display. In 1986, the Nissan Skyline RS DR30 made a blinding impression on me. The Australian Fred Gibson-run, Peter Jackson-sponsored team of George Fury and Glenn Seton were the fastest crew of the 1986 Australian Touring Car Championship. But Kiwi legend Robbie Francevic snuck through to win the Aussie Championship in his Volvo 240T after a strong start and consistent finishes.

NZ Classic Car magazine, May/June 2026 issue 405, on sale now

26 April, 2026

Reincarnation of the snake
We are captivated by a top-quality sports car
The Shelby NZ build team at Matamata Panelworks has endured a long and challenging journey, culminating with the highly anticipated public unveiling of the 427SC and firing up of its sonorous V8 at the 2026 Ayrburn Classic Festival of Motoring in Queenstown on February 20. This is a New Zealand-built car with loads of character and potential.
The car is now back in Matamata, and I finally have an opportunity to get up close and personal with it. But before then, the question that must be asked is, “Why would ya?”
The first answer is easy, as mentioned in the last issue of New Zealand Classic Car (#404). It was a great way to use up all the surplus Mustang parts acquired while converting brand-new Mustangs into Shelbys. The unused new Mustang parts would be great in any kit car, but the 427SC in front of me cannot be classified as one.
This is not a kit car. The reality is that it is a high-quality, factory-made production car.
Possibly the second answer is because the CEO of Matamata Panelworks, Malcolm Sankey, wanted to build a replica of the car that is a distant relation to the Shelby Mustangs scattered around his showroom floor, a car created long before the first Mustang was even thought of, and the brainchild of Carroll Shelby back in the early ‘60s.