McLaren biopic in Cinemas today

31 May, 2017

“An honest and in-depth account of the Auckland boy that took on the world, and won: McLaren.

While the name McLaren moniker is now more recognised as that of one of the best supercar companies in the world, to most Kiwis, the name McLaren remains synonymous with the man that was. He spawned the now globally famous brand on the back of an epic tale of hard work and pushing the limits.

The Roger Donaldson directed biopic is now in cinemas across New Zealand. Utilising old footage of Bruce and his crew testing and racing around the world and interviewing those nearest and dearest to him, the film is a must see for all Kiwis regardless of the amount of benzine running through their veins.

Check out the trailer here:

A second dose of Dash

When the car arrived in Wellington in December 2018 it was duly taken along for entry certification. Vehicle Inspection NZ (VINZ) found some wrongly wired lamps and switches — not too bad — but, much more significantly, some poor welding repairs. As the structural problems were probed more thoroughly, we realized the previous owner’s restoration would not do and we needed an upgrade. Dash had made it into the country but it would take some time and money before he would be free to explore any of New Zealand’s scenic highways.
We took the car to our new home in Johnsonville in the northern suburbs of Wellington and I pored over the car in detail to figure out what was next. There were lots of new parts on the car and a very perky reconditioned drivetrain but the chassis needed serious work.

Lunch with… Jim Palmer

In the 1960s, Hamilton’s Jim Palmer won the prestigious ‘Gold Star’ four times and was the first resident New Zealander home in the New Zealand Grand Prix on five consecutive occasions. He shared the podium with Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham, Bruce McLaren, Graham Hill, Jim Clark, Denny Hulme, Jackie Stewart, and Chris Amon. The extent of his domination of the open-wheeler scene in New Zealand will probably never be matched or exceeded. Yet he’s always been modest about his achievements.