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Aston Martin repeats history at Hotel de France

7 June, 2015

For a period spanning a decade — between 1953 and 1963 — the Aston Martin race team for the 24 Hours of Le Mans would set up shop at Hotel de France at La Chartre-sur-le-Loir. What did this entail? Well, in the more relaxed days of yesteryear, the team’s drivers and mechanics would prepare their cars in the hotel courtyard before driving them — on public roads, no less — to the circuit.

Image: Drew Gibson

Following Aston Martin’s final days in the town, it remained a mecca for those with petrol in their veins. Unfortunately, the Aston Martin team didn’t return — until now. It is 52 years on, and history is repeating itself.

Image: Drew Gibson

After two days of testing at Le Mans, Aston Martin have returned to recreate some of the 1950’s most famous photo and film footage of their cars being prepared at the hotel — the 2015 effort stars the team drivers, Kiwi racer Richie Stanaway, Darren Turner, and Mathias Lauda, along with three of Aston Martin Racing’s Vantage GTEs.

Image: Drew Gibson 

Chairman of Aston Martin Racing David Richards says, “The Hotel de France is an important part of Aston martin’s motorsport heritage.

“This year, we wanted to recreate the nostalgia of those days, when the racing cars had their final preparations alongside the hotel before being driven some 40km to the circuit, along public roads.”

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.”

Ford’s Mustang – the endlessly hip American dream machine

28 May, 2026

Fifty or so years ago, the only place in New Zealand to see a Ford Mustang was on the racetrack. In a local market severely constrained by a lack of new motor vehicles, the new North American Ford was a dreamy icon boosted by considerable motorsport success.
Import licences for cars were limited, and if Kiwis travelled abroad, the amount of currency they could take with them was restricted. What’s more, those funds could not be used to buy a car for importation back home. Yet it was OK to spend the money on heavy drinking at a London pub, Gucci shoes, sable fur coats, and excessive stays at the Hôtel Martinez at Cannes in France.
However, any rare Mustang that landed on our shores would not be destined to pose around Auckland’s then trendy Queen Street on a Friday night but would more likely be found in the care of well-known racing drivers on the starting grid at local motor racing tracks.