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Vale Phil Kerr: 1934–2015

24 August, 2015

Over the weekend of August 22–23, we received news that Phil Kerr had passed away on the morning of Saturday, August 22.

Phil, who told his own story in his superb biography — To Finish First — had a long association with Bruce McLaren, who he first met at a hill climb in which both men were competing.

In 1958, Phil would be one of the three finalists for the New Zealand International Grand Prix (NZIGP) Driver To Europe programme, along with McLaren and Merv Mayo. Bruce was, of course, the winner, but Phil would follow McLaren to Europe the following year anyway to work alongside Australian motorsport royalty Jack Brabham — during that time he would champion Denny Hulme. After Denny won the Formua 1 world championship in 1967, both he and Phil joined up with McLaren, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Photo: Terry Marshall

McLaren’s current boss, Ron Dennis, confirmed Phil Kerr’s contribution to the marque via his own condolences: “Speaking on behalf of all at McLaren, I am very sorry to hear the news that Phil Kerr has passed away. Phil was a McLaren stalwart from the company’s very earliest days … now, decades later, the 3000 people who make up McLaren therefore owe Phil a debt of gratitude. On behalf of us all, I consequently extend heartfelt sympathy to his family and many friends. May he rest in peace.”

Everyone at New Zealand Classic Car magazine and Parkside Media would like to extend their sincere condolences to Patricia Kerr.

Photo: A great partnership — Phil Kerr chats to Bruce McLaren

Almost mythical pony

25 July, 2024

The Shelby came to our shores in 2003. It went from the original New Zealand owner to an owner in Auckland. Malcolm just happened to be in the right place with the right amount of money in 2018 and a deal was done. Since then, plenty of people have tried to buy it off him. The odometer reads 92,300 miles. From the condition of the car that seems to be correct and only the first time around.
Malcolm’s car is an automatic. It has the 1966 dashboard, the back seat, the rear quarter windows and the scoops funnelling air to the rear brakes.
He even has the original bill of sale from October 1965 in California.

Becoming fond of Fords part two – happy times with Escorts

17 July, 2024

In part one of this Ford-flavoured trip down memory lane I recalled a sad and instructive episode when I learned my shortcomings as a car tuner, something that tainted my appreciation of Mk2 Ford Escort vans in particular. Prior to that I had a couple of other Ford entanglements of slightly more redeeming merit. There were two Mk1 Escorts I had got my hands on: a 1972 1300 XL belonging to my father and a later, end-of-line, English-assembled 1974 1100, which my partner and I bought from Panmure Motors Ford in Auckland in 1980. Both those cars were the high water mark of my relationship with the Ford Motor Co. I liked the Mk1 Escorts. They were nice, nippy, small cars, particularly the 1300, which handled really well, and had a very precise gearbox for the time.
Images of Jim Richards in the Carney Racing Williment-built Twin Cam Escort and Paul Fahey in the Alan Mann–built Escort FVA often loomed in my imagination when I was driving these Mk1 Escorts — not that I was under any illusion of comparable driving skills, but they had to be having just as much fun as I was steering the basic versions of these projectiles.