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Win an AUTOart 1:18 Toyota 2000G

18 February, 2015

The Toyota 2000GT was Japan’s first high-speed two-seater fastback coupé (one convertible version being produced for use in the James Bond movie You Only Live Twice) to break numerous international speed and endurance records during the late ’70s and even drawing the attention of Carroll Shelby, who prepared a team of cars for use in the 1968 SCCA production car race series in the US.

Only 351 examples of the swoopy-looking 2000GT were built between 1967 and 1970 (some sources quote a lower figure of 337) but the car was hardly a sales success. However, today, surviving examples are worth serious money — especially in their homeland.

This gorgeous 1:18 die-cast model comes from AUTOart’s Millennium collection and, as we’ve come to expect from AUTOart, detailing is exemplary. The Yamaha-developed 112kW twin-cam six looks totally authentic with its battery of Solex carburettors. The model also includes gearbox pop-up headlamps, opening access panels located on either side of the car and, of course, a fully detailed interior.

Thanks to the good guys at Toymod, the NZ AUTOart distributor, we have one example of this stunning Toyota 2000GT to give away to a lucky reader — just answer the following question:

Q:    Yamaha developed the 2000GT’s high-spec overhead cam cylinder head — but from which humdrum Toyota saloon did the engine’s bottom-end originate?

 

This competition is now closed

Range Rover CSK — the original SUV

5 June, 2026

The Range Rover, thanks to Charles Spencer King, went into production in 1970 boasting an iconic shape that would last until 1996. The vehicle that would create the SUV moniker came about because Rover decided it was time to add a bigger four-wheel-drive vehicle, one with a 100-inch wheelbase, to the model range. Land Rover made a 109-inch wheelbase model but the standard vehicle had a 88-inch wheelbase.
The new model would be more suitable for road use than the existing Land Rover, which was considered to be predominantly for rural use. To make sure it could cope on any road it came standard with the Rover 3.5-litre V8 engine. The body design was originally sketched by King and went into production with only a few minor touch-ups by the Rover styling team.
According to King, “The idea was to combine the comfort and on-road ability of a Rover saloon with the off-road ability of a Land Rover. Nobody was doing it.”

Ford’s Mustang – the endlessly hip American dream machine

28 May, 2026

Fifty or so years ago, the only place in New Zealand to see a Ford Mustang was on the racetrack. In a local market severely constrained by a lack of new motor vehicles, the new North American Ford was a dreamy icon boosted by considerable motorsport success.
Import licences for cars were limited, and if Kiwis travelled abroad, the amount of currency they could take with them was restricted. What’s more, those funds could not be used to buy a car for importation back home. Yet it was OK to spend the money on heavy drinking at a London pub, Gucci shoes, sable fur coats, and excessive stays at the Hôtel Martinez at Cannes in France.
However, any rare Mustang that landed on our shores would not be destined to pose around Auckland’s then trendy Queen Street on a Friday night but would more likely be found in the care of well-known racing drivers on the starting grid at local motor racing tracks.