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Big jump at Cromwell

27 April, 2023

The Cromwell Classic Car and Hot Rod Festival 2023 made a welcome return on the weekend of 20–23 January
By Quinton Taylor
Photographs: Quinton Taylor

Classics as far as you can see

Kicking off the event, the Alpine Street Machines’ Friday cruise to Bannockburn and back on the Friday was easily the biggest in the event’s history. Some 380 cars created a wondrous spectacle for unsuspecting fellow road users that day, potentially tempting some to take a closer look in Cromwell over the weekend.
Club member Shane Bingham was thrilled to announce the cruise alone raised more than $200 for the Cromwell volunteer fire brigade.
Saturday’s car show, organised by the Southland Ford Falcon Club at the Alpha St reserve, drew perhaps a thousand or more gleaming examples of interesting cars and applied restoration skills. Chrome and flashing paintwork dazzled the eye in the bright Central Otago light everywhere you looked. It really looked as if everyone with a classic or a hot rod from across the island had seen the forecast for great weather and headed for Central Otago.
Secretary Tena McCarthy said “the disbursement of money raised from the event for four Cromwell organisations was yet to be decided. Cromwell is such a great site for the car show and the locals love it.” 

Spectacular Hispano-Suiza, aero engine Delage of Alan Dippie, and Rolls Royce Silver Ghost
George and Tesh Payn’s 1931 Ford pickup

The event had been postponed for a couple of years, which no doubt prompted more families to head to the venue for a real taste of Southern nostalgia, providing a solidly welcome financial boost for the region.
The date for the next show is Saturday 20 January 2024. 

PRIZE WINNERS
Judge’s choice: Maas Geluk –1950 Cadillac Fleetwood
People’s choice: George & Tesh Payn – 1931 Ford Model A pickup

A tradesman’s estate — the Cortina GT Estate

22 April, 2026

The owner of our featured car, Rod Peat, used to rally a Cortina GT back when the words ‘rally’ and ‘trial’ were interchangeable. In times after that he could also be seen beside Mal Clark in various Targa NZ rallies, getting the famous Rover V8 or Lotus Cortina in spirited fashion around and over the various special stages that make up those events. After children, houses, and career, Rod decided it was time to own a GT again.
A search on the various systems available turned up a car Rod and probably most of us didn’t even know existed: a genuine Ford factory Cortina Estate GT.

For the love of cars

20 April, 2026

Passion, Pride & Joy:
A new chapter for New Zealand’s classic car custodians
In the world of classic and collector cars, continuity matters. Not just of ownership or
provenance, but of care shaped by skilled hands, patience, and deep respect for the machines themselves.
Since 1973, Auto Restorations has existed for this purpose: to ensure these cars live
on, not as relics, but as working expressions of design and engineering. Over more than five decades, we have restored and returned countless vehicles to the road and racetrack, and in recent years expanded our service offering to keep them
performing at their best.
Today, we are proud to introduce the next step in that journey: This is not a reinvention, but a natural evolution. A name that reflects the full scope of what we now offer, while staying true to the standards and values that have always defined us.