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!

“Gotcha!’’ The continuing tale of a Nissan/Datsun tragic – part two

8 May, 2026

In 1996, I was on a mission to buy a suitable pavement scorcher and visited the now-defunct Manukau City Car Fair. Unbelievably, among the sea of four-door utilitarian Japanese compacts was the absolute jewel in the crown, my automobile wet dream — a 1985 two-door R30 RS Nissan Skyline FJ20 Turbo five-speed manual in nice condition. The owner wanted $10,000 — a great deal.
But what did I do? I bailed out, paralysed by indecision. The money would have been a stretch, but it was the worst automotive choice I ever made. Instead, I went for a rusty Toyota Sprinter 8 Valve Twin Cam Coupé, which was pretty terminal from the get-go. I know. We’ve all done it, but there was really no excuse for passing up the Skyline, and I was haunted by that for years.

Last Tango in the Fast Lane

30 April, 2026

In the mid ’80s, I locked into a serious Nissan/Datsun performance obsession. It could have kicked off with my ’82 Datsun Sunny, though this would have been a bit of a stretch of the imagination, given its normally aspirated 1.2-litre motor — not the sort of thing to unleash radical road warrior dreams. But it did plant a seed, and it was a sweet little machine and surprisingly quick, in contrast to all the diabolical English offerings I had endured.
I was living in South Auckland at the time and was an unrepentant petrolhead. Motor racing was my drug of choice, and I followed the scene slavishly. Saloon car racing, with the arrival of the international Group A formula, was having a serious renaissance here and in Australia and Europe. There was suddenly an exotic air in local racing that had been absent for 15 years.
I was transfixed by this new frontier of motor racing that had hit our tracks in 1985–87 and the new array of machinery on display. In 1986, the Nissan Skyline RS DR30 made a blinding impression on me. The Australian Fred Gibson-run, Peter Jackson-sponsored team of George Fury and Glenn Seton were the fastest crew of the 1986 Australian Touring Car Championship. But Kiwi legend Robbie Francevic snuck through to win the Aussie Championship in his Volvo 240T after a strong start and consistent finishes.