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It’s Targa time!

13 October, 2019

 

 

New Zealand Classic Car’s November issue, on sale now, previews New Zealand’s greatest closed roads tarmac rally, Targa New Zealand.


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Flip the magazine over and it becomes a programme for New Zealand’s premier closed road event with racing, touring and time trial categories. We feature cars and drivers, route maps, times and places. Plus we have all of the goodness of another great issue. On the cover is what now qualifies as a classic — a Group A Toyota Celica GT4.


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Inside, the magazine, has a distinctly modern air, featuring one of New Zealand’s fastest selling new cars, the Tesla Model 3.


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There’s a new De Tomaso Pantera to compare with the classic pictured here (with next month’s cover car), part 2 of the equally beautiful and brutal Peking to Paris classic car rally, BMW’s 135i and a rare Mazda MX5 coupe. Happy reading!

Available on magazine stands or at Magstore now.


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The motor car as an art form

12 March, 2026

We have certainly come a long way since the exhibition entitled 8 Automobiles, shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in the autumn of 1951, the first exhibition concerned with the aesthetics of motor car design.
It was here that the often-used term ‘rolling sculpture’ was coined by curator Philip C Johnson, director of the department of architecture and design, when he said, “An automobile is a familiar 20th century artefact, and is no less worthy of being judged for its visual appeal than a building or a chair. Automobiles are hollow, rolling sculptures, and their design refinements are fascinating. We have selected cars whose details and basic design suggest that automobiles, besides being America’s most useful objects, could be a source of visual experience more enjoyable than they now are.”

More to the point

6 March, 2026

This Daimler SP252 is so rare, few people know it exists. It’s one of a kind. It’s the only surviving, in fact the only SP252 ever completed; the would-be successor to the SP250 Daimler Dart. It is also the last sports car to have been designed by Jaguar’s legendary founder, Sir William Lyons.
Perhaps one of the original Dart’s biggest problems was it’s somewhat-divisive looks. It certainly went well enough to win fans, although Sir William wasn’t among them. It crushed the opposition in the Bathurst six-hour race, finishing five laps ahead of anyone else, and it was snapped up by police forces in Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, as it was the fastest thing on the road.
So you’d think a stunning new body with the magic Lyons touch would have been a surefire success. Why this car never made it into production is still something of a mystery, as the official explanations barely stack up.