SUBSCRIBE TO THE
MAGAZINE NOW
Facebook-f Instagram

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 …

Lunch with… Jim Palmer

16 April, 2025

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.

NZ Classic Car magazine, May/June 2025 issue 399, on sale now

13 April, 2025

Who would have thought it would become such a worldwide motorsport star when Ford introduced the humble Escort in 1967?
Its popularity, particularly in Mark 1 form, is now of iconic status. Our cover story for this issue is on a 1968 Ford Escort Mark 1, Alan Mann Racing Tribute. We talked with the owner of this very special Escort, finished in tribute also to the owner’s father.
“Most children love speed, and motorsport typically comes courtesy of a parent, and Elliott is no different. His engineer father, Mark, had a love for motorcycles and going fast; however, when children came along, he swapped two wheels for four, in the form of two Ford Escorts.
Little did Mark know it at the time, but the humble Escort was about to weave its way into the family fabric once and for all.
After emigrating from London to New Zealand, Elliott recalled one evening when he was 14 being invited to tag along by his father, helping a friend convert an Escort road car into a racing car. This was the pivotal moment when Elliott remembers the motorsport bug taking over. He knew he had to have his own one.”