NZV8 No 190 March 2021

Geographically, New Zealand is a small country. For most, there is a racetrack within a few hours’ drive, and for the average petrolhead, any sort of speed lust can be satisfied at these locations. But for a mad few, no local track will do. There is only one racetrack in their sights, and it just so happens to be some 7000 miles across the Pacific on the salt flats of Wendover, Utah, US. Those salt flats are a hot rodder’s ultimate proving ground, and there’s never been a shortage of Kiwis planning, designing, building, and tuning their own creations to ship over and run there. Right now, we know of close to 10 such projects, and no doubt there’s plenty of others we don’t know about. So, what is it that…

New Zealand motorsport had its first taste of the MARC II platform during the 66th New Zealand Grand Prix, one that certainly raised a few eyebrows up and down pit row. Collins Motorsport was the first in New Zealand to purchase one, which it did off the back of a stellar season in 2020 with its own Roush Yates–powered Mustang. With a plan to step up from the one-hour to three-hour races in 2021, the team went shopping for a purpose-built endurance car. “We were looking at buying a GT3 machine, but just could not find anything as good value for money as the MARC machines,” explained team principal Paul Collins. Engineered specifically for endurance racing, what the MARC II Mustang may lack in brute power and straight-line speed from…

It looks like GM’s signing of Holden’s death warrant is going to become a big payday for those who stashed away rare and collectable models of the Australian manufacturer. Since its closure, prices have soared, with the likes of the HSV GTSR W1 sedan near doubling in value. But the one that has grabbed all the headlines is an uber-rare unobtainium Holden HSV GTSR W1 Maloo ute that, at the time of writing, has a leading bid on Australian auction site Lloyds of A$1,050,000 with two days to go. Whatever it sells for, the winner will have to pay a 7.5-per-cent buyer’s premium on top, which, at its current bid will easily push the cost to over the A$1.1 million mark. So what makes the Maloo worth so much? Yeah,…

Sonny Leonard of Sonny’s World Class Race Engines passed away last month. A legend of the automotive industry and a true leader in his field, Sonny leaves behind a 50-year legacy of pushing boundaries with large-cubic-capacity race engines, setting over 70 national and world racing records, and winning countless championships to prove it. Sonny Leonard was a pioneer, a man who most certainly pushed boundaries, whose engines ruled classes like NHRA Pro Stock. His most recent mind-boggling combination, and also another world first, was a 1000-cube 2100hp naturally aspirated tower of billet. The engine was based on the design of a 454 Chev, only upsized using a billet block and billet hemispherical cylinder heads. Such was the impact that Sonny had on his customers and competitors, his funeral was live…

Jesse James’ famed TV show Monster Garage, which aired from 2002 to 2006 on Discovery Channel and here in New Zealand on a free-to-air network, has returned after a 14-year hiatus. The premise of the show was following five car builders who worked alongside Jesse to transform a car in five days. Succeed, and they would receive a prize; fail, and the project would be destroyed in spectacular fashion. For the most part, the show was devoid of all the Hollywood drama other similar shows that followed seemed to prescribe to, although it would be cancelled due to low ratings. Reviving the show some 14 years on in a new workshop, and with a much older and much more famous and outspoken Jesse, it will be an interesting watch for…

When you set out to build the ‘fastest road car on earth’, with an aim to top 500kph (311mph), the build spec will undoubtedly be something pretty special. American-based Hennessey Special Vehicles has set out to do just that with its Venom R5, which was first released to the public in 2017 as a concept, with the production version being released in December 2020 ahead of a global release later this year. Unlike previous Venoms, the F5 was designed from scratch by Hennessey’s team, including John Heinricy, former head of GM Performance. The starting price is US$2.1 million and there will only be 24 units offered. The body is all carbon, as is the carbon monocoque chassis, with a big focus on weight, resulting in a 1359kg curb weight, which…