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New Zealand, the Aston Martin DB11 has landed

4 August, 2016

Following the driving debut of the Aston Martin DB11 at the 2016 Goodwood Festival of Speed in late July, luxury British brand Aston Martin has now unveiled the DB11 on New Zealand soil at Cibo in Parnell, Auckland.

As the first product launched under the company’s ‘Second Century’ plan, the DB11 is the new figurehead of the ‘DB’ bloodline, a bloodline with a very prestigious history.

During the DB11’s unveiling, Patrik Nilsson, president of Aston Martin in Asia Pacific, said, “We are excited to unveil DB11 in New Zealand. As the first ‘DB’ since the introduction of the DB9, we are already experiencing significant demand for DB11, demonstrating the strong affinity for Aston Martin in this market.”

The DB11 features a distinctive design, including refined aerodynamics, and is powered by a newly designed 5.2-litre twin-turbocharged V12 engine. Utilizing a new lighter, stronger, and more space-efficient bonded aluminium construction, the DB11 is the most powerful and most efficient DB model in Aston Martin’s history. As such, Aston Martin are claiming the car as “the most significant new Aston Martin since the introduction of the DB9 in 2003”. 

The in-house-designed engines are rated at 600BHP and 700Nm of torque, making the DB11 the most powerful production DB model ever. Those performance figures are good enough to push the car to a top speed of 322kph and a 0–100kph time of just 3.9 seconds.

Patrik Nilsson added, “Aston Martin has a proud, 103-year heritage in the luxury automotive market, and the DB11 embodies every aspect of the brand with absolute elegance and indulgence, combining the very latest technology and finest quality hand craftsmanship.”

The DB11’s RRP starts from NZ$365K plus on-road costs, and the first local deliveries are scheduled to begin at the end of 2016.

NZ Classic Car magazine, March/April 2025 issue 398, on sale now

23 February, 2025

An HQ to die for
Mention the acronym HQ and most people in the northern hemisphere will assume this is an abbreviation for Head Quarters. However, for those born before the mid-’80s in Australia and New Zealand, the same two letters only mean one thing – HQ Holden!
Christchurch enthusiast Ed Beattie has a beautiful collection of Holden and Chevrolet cars. He loves the bowtie and its Aussie cousin and has a stable of beautiful, powerful cars. His collection includes everything from a modern GTSR W507 HSV through the decades to a 1960s Camaro muscle car and much in between.
In the last two Holden Nationals (run biennially in 2021 and 2023), Ed won trophies for the Best Monaro and Best Decade with his amazing 1972 Holden Monaro GTS 350 with manual transmission.
Ed is a perfectionist and loves his cars to reflect precisely how they were on ‘Day 1,’ meaning when the dealer released them to the first customer, including any extras the dealer may have added or changed.

You’re the one that I want – 1973 Datsun 240K GT

21 February, 2025

In the early 1970s, Clark Caldow was a young sales rep travelling the North Island and doing big miles annually. He loved driving. In 1975 the firm he worked for asked Clark what he wanted for his new car, and Clark chose a brand-new Datsun 240K GT. The two-door car arrived, and Clark was smitten, or in his own words, he was “pole vaulting.”
Clark drove it all over the country, racking up thousands of miles. “It had quite a bit of pep with its SOHC 128 hp (96kW) of power mated to a four-speed manual gearbox,” he says. Weighing in at 1240kg meant the power to weight ratio was good for the time and its length at almost 4.5 metres meant it had good street presence.
Clark has been a car enthusiast all his life, and decided around nine years ago to look for one of these coupes. By sheer luck he very quickly found a mint example refurbished by an aircraft engineer, but it was in Perth.