SUBSCRIBE TO THE
MAGAZINE NOW
Facebook-f Instagram
Search
Close this search box.

David Brown to celebrate exclusive Speedback GT’s one-year anniversary

11 March, 2015

David Brown Automotive, Britain’s premier, 21st-century coachbuilder, unveiled their Speedback GT at the Top Marques show in Monaco last year. To commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Speedback GT’s successful launch, David Brown will be showcasing the car at the prestigious Retro Classics in Stuttgart, Germany.

The Speedback GT is a clear modern classic, styled upon the timeless lines of the Aston Martin DB5. David Brown, the businessman behind the car, owns one and, though he wanted to sort out the car’s issues, he found that he couldn’t take away from its classic character. The solution to this problem was to design and build a modern version, with classic lines and character, and modern reliability and comfort.

This is achieved through the chassis and running gear of a Jaguar XKR convertible (chosen for its pre-strengthened chassis), powered by the supercharged, five-litre V8 and six-speed automatic. The coach-built body comprises a blend of old and new techniques — a clay model was handcrafted initially, and a scan was made, allowing a lifesize computer rendering to be produced. According to this precise rendering, a wooden buck was made, allowing the bespoke, alloy body panels to be precisely hand-formed.

“Since the car first appeared a year ago, we have had a very strong response in Germany,” said David Brown. Several early orders for the Speedback were from the German market, and David Brown is aware that many of the Speedback’s qualities resonate with affluent German enthusiasts, making Retro Classics the perfect place to commence their 2015 show programme. Retro Classics showcase the finest classics, and modern vehicles, to a discerning crowd between March 26–29, at the Stuttgart Landesmesse. 

ROTARY CHIC

6 September, 2024

Kerry Bowman readily describes himself as a dyed-in-the-wool Citroën fan and a keen Citroën Car Club member. His Auckland home holds some of the chic French cars and many parts. He has also owned a number of examples of the marque as daily drivers, but he now drives a Birotor GS. They are rare, even in France, and this is a car which was not supposed to see the light of day outside France’s borders, yet somehow this one escaped the buyback to be one of the few survivors out in the world.
It’s a special car Kerry first saw while overseas in the ’70s, indulging an interest sparked early on by his father’s keenness for Citroëns back home in Tauranga. He was keen to see one ‘in the flesh’.
“I got interested in this Birotor when I bought a GS in Paris in 1972. I got in contact with Citroën Cars in Slough, and they got me an invitation to the Earls Court Motor Show where they had the first Birotor prototype on display. I said to a guy on the stand, ‘I’d like one of these,’ and he said I wouldn’t be allowed to get one. Citroën were building them for their own market to test them, and they were only left-hand drive.”

Tradie’s Choice

30 August, 2024

Clint Wheeler purchased this 1962 Holden FJ Panelvan as an unfinished project, or as he says “a complete basket case”. Collected as nothing more than a bare shell, the rotisserie-mounted and primed shell travelled the length of the country from the Rangiora garage where it had sat dormant for six years to Clint’s Ruakaka workshop. “Mike, the previous owner, was awesome. He stacked the van and parts nicely. I was pretty excited to get the van up north. We cut the locks and got her out to enjoy the northland sun,” says Clint. “The panelvan also came with boxes of assorted parts, some good, some not so good, but they all helped.”