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Be sure to grab an edition of New Zealand Classic Car Issue No. 296

18 August, 2015

The August issue of New Zealand Classic Car (Issue No. 296) is now on sale!

We take a close look at a the final iteration of the original Monaro — Holden’s HZ Monaro GTS. This iconic Aussie muscle car marked the end of an era, after which Holden put the Monaro nameplate into hibernation for two decades.

Cars don’t come more British than the iconic Daimler 2.5-litre V8. The winning recipe of shapely Jaguar Mk2 bodyshell and Edward Turner’s refined V8 engine proved to be a real winner.

Japanese classics are becoming more and more collectable amongst enthusiasts every year, and none more so than cars like our featured rotary-powered Mazda RX-3 Coupe. This pristine example has managed to survive more than four decades without becoming heavily modified. It is a truly outstanding car.  

Read all about a discovered, almost-forgotten barn find. This Bugatti Type 57 was part of the much-publicized Baillon collection, and is now in New Zealand. The owners have rather ambitious plans to bring this historic vehicle back to its former glory.

Additionally, there are eight pages full of nationwide news, and don’t forget to take advantage of this month’s subscription offer.            

NZ Classic Car magazine, July/August 2026 issue 406, on sale now

21 June, 2026

Rebirth of a brilliant Grand Tourer –1973 Datsun 240Z
How often do we long for that ultimate dream sports car, and that dream comes true? This is about one of the most influential Japanese cars of all time, a car that changed the sports car market.
This is about much more than the restoration of an iconic classic sports car, the 240Z. It’s about the culmination of a dream over many years and the friendships made. It’s about the people who helped and the professionals whose approach ensured that the dream became a reality, an attitude typical of the industry we call ‘classic restoration experts’.
It is no surprise that the outcome after a lengthy search by Conrad Van der Geest for the right Datsun 240Z culminated in a trophy for the best Japanese car at this year’s Caroline Bay Beach, Rock N’ Hop at Timaru.
Originally a roadworthy car in running order, it was left-hand-drive and had been driven for several years by its Timaru owner, as Conrad explains.
“A neighbour, Dave Barron, knew I was looking for one and introduced me to the owner. I had seen the car being driven around Timaru. It was unusual for one of these coming originally from California, so it was a really clean car instead of rusty, as they are prone to rust. The story goes that the grandfather passed it onto his grandson, who decided to sell it, and that’s when it came over here.”
Every issue comes with our FREE huge wall poster; this issue, it’s our cover car for this edition, a 1973 Datsun 240Z

The butterfly effect

18 June, 2026

The man on the mountain bike pedalled over, taking it all in. Gazing in wonderment at this small Japanese coupe with butterfly doors, he said, “Wow, I have never seen one of these before. What is it?” When I told him it was a Toyota, he nearly fell off his bike.
The Toyota Sera is unique amongst ’90s Japanese coupes. The Sera, which is Italian for ‘evening’, can trace its roots back to Toyota’s AXV-II concept car. Launched as part of a trio of Toyota concept cars at the 1987 Tokyo Motor Show, it shared its underpinnings with the P70 Toyota Starlet. The similarities ended there, thanks to the AXV-II’s low-slung and rounded coupe styling with butterfly doors. These doors were held upright by gas struts when fully open. Glass covered the upper section of the doors and the rear hatchback.
These features, much to everyone’s surprise, were carried over to the production Sera in 1990. Toyota marketed the Sera, which means ‘will be’ in Spanish and ‘princess’ in Hebrew, as a funky alternative to the much-loved MR2.