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The January 2017 issue of New Zealand Classic Car is out now!

12 December, 2016

By the time you open the pages of the January 2017 issue of New Zealand Classic Car (Issue No. 313), Christmas will quite literally be just around the corner. As always, the lead-up can be a stressful time for everyone. Leaving everything to the last minute seems to be the norm — well, for most of us, anyway — despite our best intentions not to make the same mistake again the following year. As our minds clog up with last-minute work details, what Christmas presents to buy, Christmas and holiday plans, not to mention atrocious traffic build-ups, it’s probably not a bad idea to take a moment or two to take a deep breath, relax, and thumb through the pages of this special Christmas issue.

Finally, I would like to wish all our loyal readers, advertisers, and contributors a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Drive safely over the holiday season, and we hope to see you next year.

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

Daniel Armstrong took a liking to the HR station wagon from an early age, and decided that it would be his first car.

The story of our featured Lotus 22 — frame number 22/47 — is both interesting and tangled. Feast your eyes on this beauty!

It has been said that once a Mini is in the family, you never really let go. Just ask Dean Foster!

Grab a copy of the January 2017 issue of New Zealand Classic Car (Issue No. 313) from a store near you, or order your copy below:


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Grab a copy of the mag now!

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.