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Blackbird Automotive: Audi Quattro S1 or Ford RS200? Why not both!?

23 October, 2016

Oh boy, why do these hard decisions have to come up? Do you prefer the gnarly sounding five-pot Quattro S1, or the more refined sound of the Ford RS200? Maybe it’s a looks thing? Well, Blackbird Automotive couldn’t decide either, so they made a video with both side by side spraying gravel, making chirp sounds, and just being generally kickass at the 2016 Goodwood Festival of Speed. 

If I had to choose, it would no doubt be the Audi, but I would like to know what you think is better. Let me know in the comments section below. 

A second dose of Dash

24 April, 2025

When the car arrived in Wellington in December 2018 it was duly taken along for entry certification. Vehicle Inspection NZ (VINZ) found some wrongly wired lamps and switches — not too bad — but, much more significantly, some poor welding repairs. As the structural problems were probed more thoroughly, we realized the previous owner’s restoration would not do and we needed an upgrade. Dash had made it into the country but it would take some time and money before he would be free to explore any of New Zealand’s scenic highways.
We took the car to our new home in Johnsonville in the northern suburbs of Wellington and I pored over the car in detail to figure out what was next. There were lots of new parts on the car and a very perky reconditioned drivetrain but the chassis needed serious work.

Lunch with… Jim Palmer

16 April, 2025

In the 1960s, Hamilton’s Jim Palmer won the prestigious ‘Gold Star’ four times and was the first resident New Zealander home in the New Zealand Grand Prix on five consecutive occasions. He shared the podium with Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham, Bruce McLaren, Graham Hill, Jim Clark, Denny Hulme, Jackie Stewart, and Chris Amon. The extent of his domination of the open-wheeler scene in New Zealand will probably never be matched or exceeded. Yet he’s always been modest about his achievements.