SUBSCRIBE TO THE
MAGAZINE NOW
Facebook-f Instagram

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.

Racing Mazdas

12 June, 2026

Both Rod Millen and Ron Kendall were rotary racing kings, emanating from the North Shore of Auckland, where I grew up. And the ultimate rotary techno guru was Bill Shiells, who developed the engine into a rocket ship while working out of Gulf Mazda in Takapuna from 1969, and later in his own business, Rotorsport. He began to extract some phenomenal horsepower from the enigmatic rotary engine. Bill was one of the first to race the Mazda RX-2 Coupe in 1971 and achieved immediate success, causing others to sit up and take notice, particularly the North Shore’s racing elite. They included Robbie Francevic, Rod Millen, Ron Kendall, John Woolf, John Le Feuvre, and Rex Findlay.

Range Rover CSK — the original SUV

5 June, 2026

The Range Rover, thanks to Charles Spencer King, went into production in 1970 boasting an iconic shape that would last until 1996. The vehicle that would create the SUV moniker came about because Rover decided it was time to add a bigger four-wheel-drive vehicle, one with a 100-inch wheelbase, to the model range. Land Rover made a 109-inch wheelbase model but the standard vehicle had a 88-inch wheelbase.
The new model would be more suitable for road use than the existing Land Rover, which was considered to be predominantly for rural use. To make sure it could cope on any road it came standard with the Rover 3.5-litre V8 engine. The body design was originally sketched by King and went into production with only a few minor touch-ups by the Rover styling team.
According to King, “The idea was to combine the comfort and on-road ability of a Rover saloon with the off-road ability of a Land Rover. Nobody was doing it.”