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The December 2016 issue of New Zealand Classic Car is out now!

23 November, 2016

It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost a year since I, Ashley Webb, took over the helm of New Zealand Classic Car magazine. Where did that year go? And what a year it’s been. I have to admit that it’s certainly kept me on to toes, to say the least.

Looking at the cover of this month’s issue, you’ll notice a slight change in tack — and you may even have thought you’d picked up the wrong magazine. A short commute anywhere in New Zealand will confirm the numbers of late-model SUVs on the road, and the statistics are hard to ignore as the Ford Ranger continues to top the sales charts in this country.

With this in mind, we decided to look at how they’ve evolved over the decades, and morphed into the luxurious cruisers that we see on the roads today. It’s a little different to our usual, but still 100-per-cent New Zealand Classic Car.

Here’s a rundown of what we’ve put together for this issue:

We explore the heritage of the ute and the 4×4 in New Zealand, and ask whether ‘trucks’ can be considered classic cars. Get a sneak peek at a gallery of images that didn’t fit in the magazine here. 

The Aston Martin Vulcan; one of the most extreme not-quite-road-going supercars, and the British marque’s most  exhilarating creation to date. Check out some of the shots of Tony Quinn’s gorgeous Vulcan here.

An earlier date and a more compact event footprint found favour with competitors and Targa tourists alike for this year’s Targa New Zealand. Check out more shots from the event here. 

Subscribe and get

Subscribe or renew your subscription this month and receive a free Milwaukee 9mm snap-off knife, featuring an auto-lock slide for faster blade adjustments and longer-lasting micro-carbide blade, worth $15. This offer is only available until December 11, so get in quick! Subscribe now!

For all of this, and plenty more, grab your copy of the December 2016 issue of New Zealand Classic Car (Issue No. 312) from a store near you, or order your copy below:


NZCC312 Cover.jpg



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Grand Routier — in the french tradition

10 July, 2025

Sitting in Paddy and Patsy Williams’ Dunedin garage is a stunning example of one of these rare French grand routier sedans. It is a 1949 four-door Lago-Record Factory Berline sedan, to give its full name. Daughter Cath let us know how proud she was of her dad, who had been tinkering away in his garage on this car for so many years.
Without exaggeration, it has been a mammoth task. I first saw this Talbot-Lago in mid 2019. The long-nosed, sweeping, curved four-door saloon, clothed in its misty green metallic paint, was quite breathtaking. There’s more than a little English influence in it, too, harking back to company owner Tony Lago’s involvement in the Clement-Talbot-Darracq era. The long front wings and bonnet, usually multi-louvred, highlighted with artful touches of chrome bling, are typical of the era, but these were indeed luxury length. Interiors provided leather-clad, armchair-style seating and ample legroom, with touches of wood and surprising details such as dainty childproof interior locks — a far cry from today’s lozenge boxes.
Paddy, a retired civil and structural engineer, knows his way around a lathe. He has a well-equipped garage-workshop to assist in any machining tasks along with his other passion for restoring classic motorcycles.

The Great River Road

4 July, 2025

A few years ago my family, knowing my fondness for driving, gave me the book Unforgettable Road Trips: Thirty-Six Drives of a Lifetime by Martin Derrick. Most of the road trips listed take less than a day in places like Scotland, Monaco, and Australia, plus one in New Zealand. Most of these places were too far to go just for a short drive but four of them would take several days. My interest was piqued, and those four drives were added to the bucket list. To date, I have done three of them: ‘Route 66’ (USA 21 days), ‘State Highway 6’ (NZ 10 days) and ‘The Great River Road’ (USA 22 days). You can drive all of them in less time, but you could also fly over them. We wanted a decent immersion in their charms.
The great river referred to is the Mississippi. While the name conjures the deep south, the river actually starts at the bottom of the great lakes, before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico about 3800km later. The great road is more of a concept than a specific strip of tarmac, as you can drive down either side of the river on various routes. Regardless of which side you drive, time should be kept aside for detours to places such as Nashville, which is famous for something or other.