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New Zealand Classic Car 373, January 2022 is out now!

13 December, 2021

Beach Buggies might be 60s years old but their perky charm is even more fun today. Get the vibe, the history and the how-to in New Zealand Classic Car 373

 


 

As modern cars get softer, the cute curves and the raw dak-dak-dak beat of classic Beach Buggy blasts you with raw sensation — and the smiles per mile go through the roof. We check out this timeless classic and its 60-year-old creation myths and legends. We also look at a 1906 Cadillac, and preview the Jaguars that were going to race in Jaguar’s centenary Historic GP in Taupo, now postponed to 2023, thanks to Covid. So, if you want to see them all in one place now, it has to be NZCC! Sticking with the Dune theme, we’ve also got a pristine Holden Sandman that’s also now precious Kiwiana. It’s as ‘westie’ as a mullet —  all business in the front and party in the back!

What to expect in the January 2022 issue of NZCC


McLaren M8? No it’s Mirage…


Taupo Historic GP’s Jag centenary cancelled
Classic racing Jag lineup now only in NZCC


Before eight is enough, one was enough
Cadillac’s 1906 single-cylinder workshorse

Plus lots more in New Zealand Classic Car 373!



GET YOUR COPY HERE

NZ Classic Car magazine, May/June 2026 issue 405, on sale now

26 April, 2026

Reincarnation of the snake
We are captivated by a top-quality sports car
The Shelby NZ build team at Matamata Panelworks has endured a long and challenging journey, culminating with the highly anticipated public unveiling of the 427SC and firing up of its sonorous V8 at the 2026 Ayrburn Classic Festival of Motoring in Queenstown on February 20. This is a New Zealand-built car with loads of character and potential.
The car is now back in Matamata, and I finally have an opportunity to get up close and personal with it. But before then, the question that must be asked is, “Why would ya?”
The first answer is easy, as mentioned in the last issue of New Zealand Classic Car (#404). It was a great way to use up all the surplus Mustang parts acquired while converting brand-new Mustangs into Shelbys. The unused new Mustang parts would be great in any kit car, but the 427SC in front of me cannot be classified as one.
This is not a kit car. The reality is that it is a high-quality, factory-made production car.
Possibly the second answer is because the CEO of Matamata Panelworks, Malcolm Sankey, wanted to build a replica of the car that is a distant relation to the Shelby Mustangs scattered around his showroom floor, a car created long before the first Mustang was even thought of, and the brainchild of Carroll Shelby back in the early ‘60s.

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.