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Hayden Paddon announces New Zealand–based Hyundai

24 March, 2016

Kiwi rally stars Hayden Paddon and John Kennard  announced on March 24 that they will contest two rounds of the New Zealand Rally Championship (NZRC) in a newly built Hyundai i20. 

The car that Hayden will be pedalling is an AP4-spec i20, run under the newly formed Hyundai Motorsport Team. The car was built at Force Motorsport (Andrew Hawkeswood), and is the second AP4-spec car to be built in New Zealand behind Hawkswood’s Mazda 2. The i20 wears World Rally Championship (WRC) body panels identical to the car that Hayden and John are currently contesting the WRC in. 

The two cars also share the same WRC 1.8 turbocharged Hyundai engine. The AP4 car, however, is backed by a Sadev six-speed sequential transmission that is rated to 920Nm of torque. The majority of the suspension components are built here in New Zealand, including billet uprights, and chromoly and billet suspension arms and cross members, with all suspension parts designed to be interchangeable across differing chassis. The cars all run Australian-built MCA coilovers, AP Racing brake packages, Racetech seats, and a Woodward steering column. 

“I’m very excited to be part of this programme with Hyundai New Zealand as we enter a new phase of our partnership to bring our rally exploits back to New Zealand, and to introduce Hyundai New Zealand to the NZRC,” says Paddon.

While WRC will still take priority, the team are able to contest firstly the Rally of Otago, followed by the International Rally of Whangarei. Paddon says, “Otago and Whangarei are my two favourite rallies in the world. The car is still early in development, but has a lot of potential and we look forward to working closely with Force to help develop it into a rally-winning car. Like any new formula, it will take a little longer for this car to catch on, but I believe that value for money is the key with this sort of car. While not at the same level, it has the same design principles and look of a WRC car.” 

Put a ring around that

18 October, 2024

Provenance is a valuable part of a classic car and DKW/Auto Union collectors Brendan and Bobbette Odell have a detailed documented history of a special car in their growing collection of these little two-stroke wonders.
Brendan’s hometown of Pretoria enjoyed more than its fair share of the marque, where their reliability and performance made them popular..
“There used to be a joke going round in South Africa that there were more DKWs in Pretoria per square mile than anywhere else in the world,” Says Brendan.
The Odells redressed that balance a little when they shifted to New Zealand as they brought some of the cars with them.
One of their DKWs also accompanied them to Tonga. Brendan’s green 1959 Auto Union 1000 two-door went with them from South Africa to Tonga from 2010 to 2013 where he worked for the local airline. It then travelled on with them to New Zealand. It is one of just 10 right-hand drive cars of the two-door basic model remaining worldwide.

Stag roars again

11 October, 2024

The Triumph Stag pictured here has been lovingly restored from what was once, in the owner’s words, “a horrible, terrible job”. Owners Glynn and Alison Gaston hail from Dunedin and along with their grandchildren now enjoy cruising in the Stag after a three-and-a-half-year restoration.
In 2011, Glynn was looking for a classic car to restore. After 21 years with Air New Zealand he was working as a Super Shuttle driver, with four days on and four days off, which gave him the time to take on such a project — something he had always wanted to do.
“I’d looked at quite a few cars over the years. The idea was to restore a car as something to keep me going. I had looked at different MGs and I would have quite liked an Austin Healey or something similar but they were really expensive.
“Then I saw a Stag and I thought, Ah, this is nice. This is what I would like.