Get to know Tony Quinn’s Aston Martin Vulcan

10 November, 2016

This incredible piece of automotive machinery got a fair amount of PR when it arrived in New Zealand last year.

Its owner is businessman, racing driver, and race-track owner Tony Quinn. You might have heard of some of Tony’s exploits behind the wheel over the years. He’s become a mainstay of Targa events here and across the Tasman, and has recently purchased both Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell and Hampton Downs Motorsport Park in Waikato.

We briefly caught up with Tony at the recent Hampton Downs 101 event, where the Vulcan was holding court in and amongst some amazing machinery, and asked him, why the Aston? Quite simply, Tony explained, because he was offered one, and how could you pass up that opportunity?

We’ve included a few additional photos that didn’t make it into the feature in the December issue of New Zealand Classic Car (Issue No. 312) — grab your copy below to read the full story.


NZCC312 Cover.jpg

A second dose of Dash

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

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.