NZ Performance Car No 291 August - September 2021
Since 1996 New Zealand Performance Car has been the voice of the country’s modified import car scene. It was there to see the first import 10-second quarter mile run, there when the first official drift battle ensued, there when the first show trophies were handed out, and there to bring NZ its very first Super Lap time attack event. Each month the very best of NZ’s modified import car scene is served up. It’s New Zealand’s number 1 selling monthly motoring magazine and is New Zealand’s import performance authority and for good reason…it leaves the others for dust.
この号
end of an era — and the start of a new one
Ah, that all-too-familiar feeling — it’s gone. My 1995 Subaru WRX V2 STI, painted in the famous 555 hue from the factory, has been sold. Why, you might ask? I have always wanted to own a GC8; I think they’re an incredible factory platform and they cause me a huge amount of nostalgia, from when I would watch the World Rally Championship (WRC) in the ’90s as a kid. Hell, even the first race car I ever went in was a GC8 WRX rally car, driven by a Kiwi. Those are the main reasons I had to have one at some point, so when the chance to own this particular example arose I jumped on it without thinking long term. However, being the kind of vehicle that it is and how…
nzpc team
HERO CONTRIBUTOR GLEN MCNAMARA I’m constantly on the lookout for fresh, new content to bring to the magazine for all of you to enjoy. While I was shooting the 2JZ-powered Nissan Laurel C35, which also features in this issue, Minh’s name was mentioned as someone I should get in touch with. Minh doesn’t have social media so I had no idea what the deal with his RX-7 was until I got in touch with him and he sent through some images and videos — I instantly knew I had to feature it. Slammed out on air-ride suspension and with the power to match, it’s right at home at an event or on the drag strip. With it having the number plate ‘AIROUT’, I really wanted to shoot it at an airfield — so…
mike young to contest remainder of 2021 rally new zealand championship
After competing in Japan from 2013 to 2019 with the Cusco Japan-based team in the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, followed by a stint competing in the West Australian Rally Championship, Mike Young is set to contest the remainder of the 2021 Rally New Zealand Championship for SAS with regular co-driver Malcom Read. About the move, Mike says, “SAS have built a great car, it’s easily the fastest GRB Subaru I’ve ever driven. It handles really well, has a sequential [gear]box with Cusco diffs. It was good to be able to do the rally sprint as a test — we managed to get about 20km in — enough to get used to the car and find a set-up that suits my style.” With New Zealand having some of the greatest rally roads in…
nsdw winners
This year’s NZ Performance Car Night Speed Drag Wars (NSDW) went harder than ever, with an evident resurgence in attendance from recent years. The opening night was colossal, followed by an incredibly competitive and regularly busy season of racing. There were plenty of highlight moments, with contestants fighting Auckland traffic to come down, and also coming from locations all round New Zealand to compete in their allocated class. There can only be one winner and one runner up, though, so congratulations to the following drivers for competing and placing where you did. 2020–’21 NZ PERFORMANCE CAR NIGHT SPEED DRAG WARS Class C6 DYO Runner-up: David Sharpe Winner: Jeffrey Delos Reyes Class C5 Motorbikes Runner-up: Jerome De Silva Winner: Jason Finch Class C4 Quick V8 Justin Weir Phil Hunter Class C3 All Motor Mohammed Rahman Ravi/Ronald Prasad Class C2 Turbo 2WD Matthew Lipsham Mazin Shalash Class C1 Turbo…
binge at your leisure
By now, you’ll all be well aware that Repco Muscle Garage has returned to Three’s CRC Motorsport on Sundays (hooray!), but what you might not know is that we upload all the episodes to YouTube so you can stream them any time, anywhere. In fact, you’ll also find all previous seasons up there too. Each episode is uploaded the Monday following its TV broadcast. Just search the show’s name, or subscribe to The Motorhood’s YouTube channel, to have it appear in your feed — make sure to click the notifications bell. Thanks once again to our partners Repco, Mount Shop, and Smits Group, which make the filming of the show possible — legends!…
mod 2021 inbound — mitsubishi owners stand up!
Calling all Mitsubishi lovers! Mitsubishi Owners Day (MOD) is back this year, on 18 September, and the Downtime Entertainment and 4&Rotary New Zealand team promise us that it’s going to be bigger than ever, hosted yet again at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park. If you’re new to the MOD concept, it’s a Mitsubishi-only day, where Mitsi fans and enthusiasts can come and celebrate, show off, and blow the cobwebs off their chosen Mitsubishi platform. MOD will be run like a normal cruise-style event, with plenty of track time by means of track sessions, gymkhana, roll racing, and everyone’s favourite: cruising. Quite possibly, one of the coolest opportunities you’ll have this year is to be involved in the Andrew Simms NZ Mitsubishi parade world-record attempt. Last year, they were only 38 Mitsubishis short of beating…
