NZV8 No 196 September 2021

If I were to tell you that old cars are expensive, you would probably reply with something along the lines of “no shit” — vocabulary dependent. It’s nothing new. I’ve seen the prices of everything climb a mountain bigger than Bathurst ever since I was old enough to understand the value of a dollar. And if you’re from a gen or two above me, then you’ll probably have stories of cars that sold for cents on the dollar now commanding six figures. If my fourth-form economics teacher, Mr Wilson, taught me anything, it’s that supply and demand are the two main driving factors of prices in an open market. So, given that currently anyone with land they can call their own is pretty much laughing all the way to the…

CHECK THEMOTORHOOD.COM FOR REGULAR NEWS UPDATES AutoFest is fast growing into the country’s biggest two-day car event for hot rods, classics, V8s, and street machines. All it really needed was a track — and now it’s got one! After skipping last year, AutoFest will be back, stronger than ever, on the weekend of 11–12 September. It’s roaring back with a new format, offering more for drivers, and, most importantly, a new location: Manfeild Circuit Chris Amon. New track-focused events include a cruise with your mates, slow sessions, ladies-only sessions, roll racing, grip sessions, drifting (demo only), power skids (demo only), and much more. Proven highlights from the previous Mystery Creek AutoFests include a V8-only burnout competition, a barbecue competition, Retro-o-rama, live music, Miss AutoFest, and a wheel-changing competition. Burnouts! Competition is hot for…

There is no denying that us Kiwis have had a very strong standing in the Supercars ranks in recent history, and over the past few years barely a weekend passes without at least one of us featuring on the podium. For many young Kiwi racers, the Supercars championship is the pinnacle of local motorsport and a realistic goal. It’s a goal that will feel one step closer for the 2021/’22 Best Bars Toyota 86 champion following the announcement by Tony Quinn recently that the winner will be offered a test drive with Triple Eight Racing. “They will see how a top team works from the engineering and technical side to the driving side of things. And of course they will have a golden opportunity to catch the eye of those…

Raising a total of $600K, the Shelby GT-H raffled off for the Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter Trust has now found a home. Built by Shelby New Zealand in conjunction with Ford New Zealand, the GT-H (Heritage) features all the GT upgrades, as well as Shelby’s performance suspension package, forged 20-inch matte-gold alloys, brake ducting, redesigned front aero, and that black-and-gold paint scheme. The car has been on show all summer long, with all 6000 tickets selling before the live draw was made and the winner Maria O’Flaherty from Wellington found. Maria purchased her ticket during Beach Hop this year and enjoyed the long drive back from Auckland alongside her husband. The funds raised from the raffle will directly fund 100 rescue missions.…

Classic electric vehicle (EV) specialist Everrati has announced a partnership with Superformance to produce EV GT40s. While Everrati will ultimately convert the traditionally fossil-fuel burner to EV, Superformance will provide the chassis. Superformance is a world-leading builder of GT40 replicas, which are traditionally sold as rolling bodies. Packaging the EV componentry is no easy feat, and a prototype is well underway at Everrati’s UK development centre in Upper Heyford, a former US air base. No stranger to building EV-powered heritage classics, you can expect the build to be of the highest calibre, and with attention to detail befitting a car of this calibre. “The sole focus of both Everrati and Superformance is iconic cars, and Lance and his team are ‘the’ guys when it comes to authorised continuation chassis of some of…

A head of the inclusion of an electric vehicle (EV) class into the NHRA line-up, the bar has been raised by Ford Performance and its Mustang Cobra Jet 1400. With NHRA funny car racer pilot Bob Tasca III behind the wheel, the Mustang ran a new EV record of 8.128s at 171.97mph during the NHRA Summit Racing Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio. “It’s very special whenever you can be a part of something so new,” states Tasca III, the current points leader in funny cars seeming quite taken by the experience. “It’s really amazing. It’s like a slingshot, it does a nice wheel-stand, and you don’t feel a twist in the chassis, there’s no vibration, and it’s smooth. Everyone involved has worked so hard and continues to improve this technology. I…