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First shipment of new Mustangs lands in New Zealand

1 December, 2015

The most anticipated new cars of 2015 have finally landed in New Zealand — the all-new, 2015 Ford Mustang. The first ship from the USA docked in Auckland earlier in the week of November 23–29; great news for a number of the 550-plus Kiwis who pre-ordered a new Mustang. 

“It’s New Zealand automotive history in the making,” said Corey Holter, Ford New Zealand’s managing director. “These are the very first, factory-built in the USA, right-hand drive Ford Mustangs in the country.”

From the Auckland wharf, the Mustangs will be transported to the Ford Vehicle Compound, where they will undergo a series of final checks before being delivered to dealerships throughout the country where the keys will be handed over to their owners. 

It appears that the majority of new Mustang customers have opted for the Mustang GT Fastback, with the six-speed auto and five-litre V8, and this is certainly true for New Zealand, where it makes up around 58 per cent of orders. This is New Zealand, though, and it’s reassuring to know that manual-transmission–equipped Mustangs still make up a decent 15 per cent of total orders. 

And, while there will always be some who would rather a left-hand drive Mustang for the ‘real’ American sports car feel, the appeal of the factory-built right-hand drive Mustangs is clear. It’s still early days, but we’re certainly looking forward to getting a proper, up-close look at these game-changing machines. 

NZ Classic Car magazine, July/August 2026 issue 406, on sale now

21 June, 2026

Rebirth of a brilliant Grand Tourer –1973 Datsun 240Z
How often do we long for that ultimate dream sports car, and that dream comes true? This is about one of the most influential Japanese cars of all time, a car that changed the sports car market.
This is about much more than the restoration of an iconic classic sports car, the 240Z. It’s about the culmination of a dream over many years and the friendships made. It’s about the people who helped and the professionals whose approach ensured that the dream became a reality, an attitude typical of the industry we call ‘classic restoration experts’.
It is no surprise that the outcome after a lengthy search by Conrad Van der Geest for the right Datsun 240Z culminated in a trophy for the best Japanese car at this year’s Caroline Bay Beach, Rock N’ Hop at Timaru.
Originally a roadworthy car in running order, it was left-hand-drive and had been driven for several years by its Timaru owner, as Conrad explains.
“A neighbour, Dave Barron, knew I was looking for one and introduced me to the owner. I had seen the car being driven around Timaru. It was unusual for one of these coming originally from California, so it was a really clean car instead of rusty, as they are prone to rust. The story goes that the grandfather passed it onto his grandson, who decided to sell it, and that’s when it came over here.”
Every issue comes with our FREE huge wall poster; this issue, it’s our cover car for this edition, a 1973 Datsun 240Z

The butterfly effect

18 June, 2026

The man on the mountain bike pedalled over, taking it all in. Gazing in wonderment at this small Japanese coupe with butterfly doors, he said, “Wow, I have never seen one of these before. What is it?” When I told him it was a Toyota, he nearly fell off his bike.
The Toyota Sera is unique amongst ’90s Japanese coupes. The Sera, which is Italian for ‘evening’, can trace its roots back to Toyota’s AXV-II concept car. Launched as part of a trio of Toyota concept cars at the 1987 Tokyo Motor Show, it shared its underpinnings with the P70 Toyota Starlet. The similarities ended there, thanks to the AXV-II’s low-slung and rounded coupe styling with butterfly doors. These doors were held upright by gas struts when fully open. Glass covered the upper section of the doors and the rear hatchback.
These features, much to everyone’s surprise, were carried over to the production Sera in 1990. Toyota marketed the Sera, which means ‘will be’ in Spanish and ‘princess’ in Hebrew, as a funky alternative to the much-loved MR2.