Would any of these machines be in your ultimate two-car garage?

14 April, 2016

A few of the members of The Motorhood team (NZ Performance Car, New Zealand Classic Car, and NZV8) have come up with their ultimate two-car garage.

Check out our thoughts below, but then, taking into account an unlimited budget and your day-to-day driving requirements — do you need a tow car, do you drive long distance, do you haul kids, or just want to haul ass — let us know what your ultimate two-car garage would be in the comments at the end of this article, and we’ll select our top submission to get the latest copy of all three magazines!

Lachie Jones: New Zealand Classic Car staff writer

Bay one: Audi C5 RS6 Avant

Big enough for taking the family away, comfortable around town, sticks like shit to a blanket, insanely fast with a remap pushing things above 500hp.

Bay two: McLaren P1

A sensible hybrid car to counteract the RS6’s desire to burn fossil fuels.

Todd Wylie: NZV8 editor

Bay one: Jeep Cherokee Hellcat

With 707-supercharged-Hemi horsepower in a family-friendly four-door package — with room for the dog — what more could you ask for in the ultimate daily driver / toy hauler?

Bay two: Twin-turbo LSX-powered 1966 Chev Nova Wagon

Because sometimes shiny paint and modern creature comforts are overrated, but ridiculous amounts of horsepower never are …

Connal Grace: NZV8 deputy editor

Bay one: 1966–’67 Dodge Charger

I don’t get how anyone prefers the 1968–’69 Chargers to the first-gen! I’d have a pro-tourer with modern underpinnings, with a dirty Ray Barton 528ci Hemi and Jerico four-speed trans.

Bay two: ’49 Buick Roadmaster

I should probably have a practical vehicle on this list — like a bagged ’59 Impala two-door wagon — but who cares about practicality when you’ve got a ’49 Buick kustom?! Slam it to the floor on bags and Cadi hubcaps with wide whitewalls, chuck a white leather tuck ’n’ roll interior inside, and a 6L80E auto and LS3 deloomed and dressed to look like a Nailhead. Daily driver sorted!

Marcus Gibson: NZ Performance Car editor

Bay one: ETS Hilux

Nothing beats a vehicle that’s been hand built in the shed. Although I love Nigel Petrie’s, I would have to build my own version, with a 26B PP backed by a Holinger HD6. Or perhaps using a carbon ’80s-shape C10 body with a Nascar driveline … Hell, if it was my dream double garage it would have a hoist so I could have both.

Bay two: BMW E46 M3 CSL

I have an M3 as my daily driver already, but why not go one better with the super-light CSL version. Drop in a half cage and have VAG Motorsports go all out on the engine build, but keep it NA. BBS wheels, big brakes, and lots of semi-slick.

Jaden Martin: NZ Performance Car staff writer

Bay one: Nissan Z31 300ZX

Who doesn’t love transforming an ugly duckling into something rad? However, it would require a cheeky engine swap — a turbo VH45DE should do the trick.

Bay two: Lancia Delta Integrale Evoluzione II

Italian ’90s Group B styling, power to weight, and still the most successful individual model designation ever to compete in rallying. Perfect for lugging the groceries home.

Don’t forget to tell us in the comments below what two cars would feature in your ultimate two-car garage!

Lunch with Bill Leckie: An Imp’s tale

6 August, 2026

Seeking limelight is part of Bill Leckie’s DNA, but when I asked him if anyone had written about his career and the cars he created, he didn’t think so. Even so, I was delighted when he agreed to sit down with me over a pie and coffee to reminisce. I started by asking how it is that someone who is so fanatical about F1 only ever raced saloon cars? Well, we’ll get to that, but where did things start? “I went to Cornwall Park Primary School and then to Remuera Intermediate where I became good mates with Geoff Perry, son of the legendary motorcycle racing legend Len.” Geoff Perry was 23 and on the edge of stardom when he was killed in a mystery air disaster over the Pacific in 1973. “We used to race around his backyard on a cutdown motorbike. It was friendly competition that I suppose helped hone our racing instincts. There was never much between us and so, by 11 or 12, I had a definite leaning towards speed.”

Mitsubishi’s secret weapon

31 July, 2026

Ewen’s Starion is a little different and special. He saved this one – literally ‘found in a paddock’ — just in time, as he relates.
“Mine is a 1983 Starion. I’ve had it about five years. I first saw it in a paddock at Ryal Bush [north of Invercargill], and I went past it three times. The third time I went back and knocked at the door, but the owner didn’t want to sell. He rang up a year later, and put a price on it, which we accepted. Only thing wrong was the motor was totally dismantled.”
Ewen then set about getting the car back to its current state.
“It took me six months to find somebody suitable to refurbish it back then. Simon Bradley at Midas in Invercargill offered to do it and he did a great job on it. The head was badly damaged around the valves, and Simon said you could get generic cylinder heads now, so he installed one, and it cost $800. It’s made such a difference to the car. Mine is an intercooled, fuel-injected turbo model, fitted with a five-speed manual gearbox. It’s a great car to drive too.”
Except for a small patch of surface rust, Ewen’s car was in surprisingly good condition despite its paddock life.