For the first time ever, Formula 1 hits New Zealand shores

16 June, 2016

Formula 1 has been turning heads and winning hearts since 1950, but never before has the spectacle come to New Zealand. That’s all set to change in early 2017, when, for the first time ever, a grid full of Formula 1 one cars will line up on Taupo’s Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park.

Around 15 rare and expensive classic Formula 1 machines are confirmed to be competing at the event, with the hope being to relive the action that the sport provided during the 1960s and 1970s.

While a similar historic event takes place in Monaco each year, and draws crowds from around the globe, the event is likely to become the first time most New Zealanders have had such easy access to the vehicles.

Understandably, Taupo resident, and racing legend, Chris Amon — who drove Formula 1 vehicles during the period — is excited about seeing the cars so close to home. Adding to the Kiwi Formula 1 connection is the name of the venue, with the late Bruce McLaren being one of Amon’s teammates.

Both drivers were part of the historic Ford GT40 Le Mans win, which took place 50 years ago this coming weekend — see the current issue of NZV8 for a full article.

The event that the vehicles are set to compete in will take place over January 28–29, 2017, and will pit the Formula 1 vehicles against equally as historically significant Formula 5000s, which are the pinnacle of open-wheeler racing locally.

Despite the values of the vehicles, we are sure that drivers won’t be holding back, all keen to take home the title and bragging rights that would go with becoming a country’s first-ever Formula 1 champion.

Included in the vehicles coming from abroad to compete at the event is a McLaren M26 now owned by Frank Lyons, president of the Historic Sports Car Club, which is responsible for plenty of historic racing events in the UK. The car was driven by 1976 world champion James Hunt, making it extremely valuable and historically significant. It’s not alone though — each of the vehicles scheduled to compete have varying degrees of historic pedigree.

We’ll bring you more on the event over the next few months.

Classics on the green

16 October, 2026

Many pretenders vie for the title, but the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance gets my vote as the biggest thing since sliced bread.
The 71st edition of the world’s pre-eminent and best-known concours event featured 28 classes, judged by a 180-strong jury, which also chose the recipients of 26 special awards.
The size of the event, the number of visitors, and, most mind-numbingly, the sheer number of amazing cars, is almost overwhelming. There are so many quality cars to gaze upon, and so many people gazing at those cars, that it is almost impossible to cover everything.
Notable among the many attractions were the centenary celebrations of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, an elegant Talbot-Lago Grand Sport, Hermann Graber’s Swiss-bodied cabriolets and coupés, the jewels of Otto Vu Italian V8s, early Alfa Romeos, Lincoln and its centenary, and cars with unorthodox propulsion systems.

Janspeed recreates the Jaguar sports car

29 September, 2026

Thankfully, a few of these cars made it to New Zealand, the odd one being imported from the UK over the years. However, the 1988 British Racing Green example owned by Bill Slater in Upper Hutt was originally sold as a standard car but converted using the full Janspeed kit by the first owner within a couple of years of buying it.
Bill has owned a few other Jaguars. In fact, after he sold his Jaguar XJ12 in 2018, he found himself pining for another and, when the XJ-S came up for sale, he could not resist it. Having just sold the V12, he was not expecting much from the six-cylinder car other than more reliability and it being cheaper to keep on the road. Naturally, he had heard of the influence Janspeed had on the marque, but it was not until he took the car for a test drive that he became aware of just how superior it was to the car he had just sold. The price of a second-hand Janspeed XJ-S and that of a standard 3.6 XJ-S is quite comparable, making the Janspeed version an incredible bargain, even more so in comparison with other performance classic cars — or even modern cars, for that matter — which cost far more bucks for the bang.

For the first time ever, Formula 1 hits New Zealand shores

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