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NZV8 Issue No. 121 races into stores

6 May, 2015

We knew that last month’s ‘10th Birthday’ issue would be a hard act to follow, but we’re pretty sure Issue No. 121 is right up there — and it’s available in stores now.

Gracing the cover is a circuit car like no other — designed to be cool first, and fast second. The 465ci Ray Barton Hemi that Keith Sinclair fitted to his ’70 Cuda ensured that that goal was achieved with ease, especially when combined with the iconic ‘Hot Wheels’ livery from the AAR cars of the period.

We know circuit racing isn’t everyone’s thing though, and we’ve made sure to pack the issue with just as much straight-line horsepower as always. Helping out with that task is a methanol-drinking big block Chev–powered Ford Capri.

Bridging the gap between straight-line power and handling prowess is a ’66 Chevelle that we’ve been trying to get into print for a few years now — the owner is always busy making it better. Finally, he relented, and we’re sure you’ll agree that it’s been well worth the wait.

Another car that we’ve had our eyes on for some time is the supercharged Commodore VN SS of Taupo’s Paul Topless. There’s not that many highly modified VNs out there, but that may all change after people see Paul’s one!

And, if hot rods are more your thing, you may enjoy finding out about the build of this gorgeous ’37 Ford coupe, which now packs a supercharged LS punch under the hood.

On the event front, this issue is packed with coverage from the recent APT Nostalgia Drags, the always impressive Hot Rod Blowout, NZDRA Drag Racing Nationals, as well as a vintage speedway day out.

On the tech front, we delve deep into the world of camshafts to find out what all the tech speak really means, as well as find out how ‘true fire’ flames are created.

NZV8 Issue No. 121 is on sale now for just $9.99 in store, or you can grab a digital copy online here for just $6.99.

Lunch with … Cary Taylor

11 September, 2024

Many years ago — in June 1995 to be more precise — I was being wowed with yet another terrific tale from Geoff Manning who had worked spanners on all types of racing cars. We were chatting at Bruce McLaren Intermediate school on the 25th anniversary of the death of the extraordinary Kiwi for whom the school was named. Geoff, who had been part of Ford’s Le Mans programme in the ’60s, and also Graham Hill’s chief mechanic — clearly realising that he had me in the palm of his hand — offered a piece of advice that I’ve never forgotten: “If you want the really good stories, talk to the mechanics.”
Without doubt the top mechanics, those involved in the highest echelons of motor racing, have stories galore — after all, they had relationships with their drivers so intimate that, to quote Geoff all those years ago, “Mechanics know what really happened.”

ROTARY CHIC

6 September, 2024

Kerry Bowman readily describes himself as a dyed-in-the-wool Citroën fan and a keen Citroën Car Club member. His Auckland home holds some of the chic French cars and many parts. He has also owned a number of examples of the marque as daily drivers, but he now drives a Birotor GS. They are rare, even in France, and this is a car which was not supposed to see the light of day outside France’s borders, yet somehow this one escaped the buyback to be one of the few survivors out in the world.
It’s a special car Kerry first saw while overseas in the ’70s, indulging an interest sparked early on by his father’s keenness for Citroëns back home in Tauranga. He was keen to see one ‘in the flesh’.
“I got interested in this Birotor when I bought a GS in Paris in 1972. I got in contact with Citroën Cars in Slough, and they got me an invitation to the Earls Court Motor Show where they had the first Birotor prototype on display. I said to a guy on the stand, ‘I’d like one of these,’ and he said I wouldn’t be allowed to get one. Citroën were building them for their own market to test them, and they were only left-hand drive.”