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Whipped Up: Maserati Bora

5 May, 2015

I frequent the Caffeine and Classics event. It’s what appeals to me and it’s growing on me more and more as ‘my scene’. I guess with my move away from the performance-car scene, I’m gaining an increased interest in the classic scene. This is supported by seeing some of my dream cars at the gatherings, including this Maserati Bora. As there were only 524 produced, it’s quite rare to see one in a parking lot.

I was quite surprised to see this car at the event, and couldn’t help but stare from afar. Honestly, I wasn’t sure of what I was looking at. As I got closer and closer I noticed the front emblem and realized what I was gazing upon — a Maserati Bora.

The Maserati was equipped with 15×7.5-inch Campagnolo light-alloy rims and a set of near rally-inspired, removable, polished stainless-steel hubcaps.

Although nowadays we have family sedans pushing over 200kWs, the Maserati Bora, in its day, was regarded as an extremely powerful car with 230kW at 6000rpm. The car could push up to 284.79kph at top speed, and get 0–100kph in just 6.6 seconds.

As the car is mid-engined and equipped with a miniature baggage region in the front end of the car, the interior had to allow for a little more storage space than most mid-engined cars. The designers fitted the door cards with their own storage compartments and fitted double-paned glass to lower the volumes within the cabin. 

This particular model has been previously featured in New Zealand Classic Car magazine and was rebuilt by Gavin and Myles Hicks. The Hicks are known for their car restorations and have popped out a fair few vehicles over the years, many being restored to original condition and experiencing the life they once had. This Bora was given the full Hicks treatment with a complete interior and exterior restore. The car itself is exceptional and has now moved on to a new owner. 

If you’re ever out and about on a Sunday morning and want to see this car for yourself, it might just be at Caffeine and Classics.

Britannia rules the roads – Royal Tour Cars – part 1

30 May, 2025

Today we take royal tours for granted, but once upon a time, or at any time before the 20th century, it was impossible for our monarchs to visit their downunder dominions because of the distances involved and the unreliable transport.
The advent of steam power for ships and trains, the evolution of the motor car and, finally, the arrival of passenger air travel shrank their world, and ours, considerably, and the royal tour became a feature of the empire and the Commonwealth.
The first British royal visitor to Aotearoa, New Zealand, was Edward, Prince of Wales, in 1920. During his 28-day tour, he travelled mostly by the royal train, which was both safer and more convenient for royal personages. A variety of best-available cars were used locally. Ideally, these would be Daimlers.

Motorman: Blame it on Rio!

22 May, 2025

Following the third polite advisory, I figured there had to be a fair degree of substance to the warning. “If this is your first visit to Rio de Janeiro, please be careful,” came the personal hushed dialogue from the pleasant hostesses on a far from crowded Varig flight from Los Angeles to the famous Brazilian seaside city.
The previous evening I had flown into LA from Auckland en route to the 1985 international launch of the Fiat Uno Turbo. I was prepared for another long haul of just under 12 hours across Mexico, central America, Colombia, and central Brazil to that nation’s third largest city. Surprisingly the 10,500km run from Los Angeles to Rio is actually longer than the 8800km LA-London air route.
With the journey including a brief stopover in Honolulu I expected to travel just under 44,000km for the return journey to sample what was to be a low-volume version of a popular Italian car that would sell in even lower numbers in New Zealand. I like to think this shows nothing more than my deep commitment to my craft. In fact, even though I became lost on the homeward journey my total air miles would be little different.