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Lamborghini gets a facelift: good, or bad?

2 August, 2016

For me, the later-model Lamborghinis aren’t the most attractive supercars out there. For some, their fighter jet–like appearance has them drooling, but for me, I like my supercars with a more classic shape, resembling Ferraris of the ’80s for example. This is why I find the Mitsubishi GTO and Honda NSX extremely attractive. Call me old-fashioned, if you will. When I heard Lamborghini were releasing a facelift-kit option for their Huracán model, I was curious to see what they came up with. 

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Racing stripes, canards, flares, and a rear wing — what were they thinking? They’ve taken a questionable-looking supercar and have turned it into something you’d see in the films of the Fast and the Furious franchise … I’m not sure what Lamborghini is up to, but I’m hoping they sort their act out soon. Ferrari and McLaren are still producing beautiful supercars, and even Audi’s R8 is better looking, which, for a company that doesn’t know what colour is, is saying something! 

What do you think of the new additions to the Lamborghini Huracán? Hit or miss? 

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.