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Right-hand drive Kiwi Mustangs officially on their way

27 August, 2015

So far, 425 individuals from the land of the long white cloud have raised their hands and committed to purchasing the new Ford Mustang when they finally arrive on domestic soil. And those concerned will be excited to learn that the first Ford Mustangs slated for the New Zealand market have started to make their way down Ford’s factory Flatrock Assembly Plant production line in Michigan.

The pre-sales success should come as no surprise, as this is the first time the Mustang has ever been available to order as a right-hand drive vehicle. New Zealanders aren’t alone in their excitement for the arrival of the Pony, with the United Kingdom also buying them in their droves. Almost 2000 orders for the Mustang have been taken in the UK since January, 80 per cent of UK buyers ordering the 416PS 5.0-litre V8 engine over the more fuel-efficient EcoBoost variation.

Kiwi prices for the Mustang start at $56,990 for the six-speed automatic transmission Fastback — which features a high-performance 2.3-litre EcoBoost engine — to $76,990 for the range-topping six-speed automatic GT 5.0-litre V8 convertible. While we don’t know which version of the Mustang has been the most popular for Kiwi buyers, we do know that Race Red is so far the most popular colour — an interesting characteristic for a blue-oval product!

While the first UK deliveries of the Mustang are expected in November 2015, New Zealand’s estimated times are unknown. However, when they do eventually hit the homeland, we’ll be sure to take one for a spin!

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.”