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Shower thoughts: w​​​​​​​hat’s the best car from the year you were born?

9 July, 2017

Picture this: You’re six months old, you crawl onto any car yard in the world with a blank cheque ready to buy a brand-new car, what will it be? We put the question to some of the team here in the office to find out. What would you be buying?

Lachie Jones, staff writer at New Zealand Classic Car
1981 Toyota Landcruiser FJ40
Timeless, awesome to look at, and ready to take on the Zombie apocalypse with aplomb.

Todd Wylie, editor of NZV8
1980 Buick GNX
The easy pick would be for a Buick GNX, they’re just so wrong, that they’re right.

Connal Grace, deputy editor of NZV8
1992 Ferrari F40
You’d be a fool not to pick the legendary Ferrari F40. Raw unadulterated horsepower at its finest, and a time capsule of an engineering period we’ll never see again — all brawn and no brains (electronics).  

Jaden Martin, staff writer at NZ Performance Car
1993 Toyota Soarer (Z30)
Factory option 1JZ-GTE with five-speed manual inside a Toyota luxury coupe? Yes please — add a dash of low and a set of WORK Rezax IIs, and I’ll be a happy man.

Adam Croy, senior photographer
1980 Ferrari 308 GTSi
Who wouldn’t want to smash one through the Hawaiian back roads!!

Ashley Webb, editor of New Zealand Classic Car
1956 Chevrolet Belair Sport Coupe
The best of the tri-fives!

Let us know what you’d pick and why too, we may even throw you a copy of the latest mags to sweeten the deal …

Merry Christmas from NZ Classic Car magazine

23 December, 2024

The Classic Car magazine team is taking a few weeks’ holiday from the work computer and heading to the beach for some kickback time.
Merry Christmas, and have a wonderful summer holiday to all our readers, followers, and fans. Enjoy this special extra time with the family. We will be posting archive articles again in mid to late January.
Have fun, be good and be careful out there.

Two engines instead of one?

13 December, 2024

Popping two motors into a car is not only complicated, it doesn’t always end well. Donn Anderson recalls early attempts, including John Cooper’s ill-fated original Twini Mini built 58 years ago

For a boost in performance, better traction, and perhaps improved handling to some, two motors seems an obvious solution. It would also eliminate the need to develop a larger engine replacement from scratch, but would that outweigh the not inconsiderable technical difficulties?
The idea of using a pair of engines dates back at least 86 years to the Alfa Romeo Bimotor single seater racing car that was officially timed at 335km/h, or 208mph. Taking a lengthened Alfa P3 chassis, the Italians fitted two supercharged straight eight 2.9-litre and 3.2-litre engines, one in front of the cockpit, and the other behind the cockpit.