1958 Ford Edsel

This past Sunday saw Auckland’s North Shore locals get a glimpse of some motoring excellence in their own backyard with the first annual Bayswater Auto Show.

Held at Bayswater School near Devonport, the show was a fundraising initiative for the school. Brilliant sunshine shone down as the 2000 plus crowd were welcomed by over 130 cars, trucks and bikes. Including displays from the Cobra Club, Jag Owners Club, Fraser Car Club, American Classic and American Muscle Car Club. Cars ranged from a 2010 Camaro, to a 900hp Hemi Road Runner, to Minis, Hot Rods, Mustangs, and even a 1925 Dodge. The latest offerings from Jaguar, BMW, Mercedes, and VW were also on show.

Not surprisingly the day had a very kid friendly atmosphere with plenty to keep the young ones entertained. All the usual school fair stands and stalls were present with lucky dips, raffles, inflatable slides, and sausage sizzles. Combined with live music, radio controlled car demos, Fire Service and Police displays, it became a great way to pass a few lazy Sunday hours.

Bayswater School wants to say a huge thankyou to all participants, sponsors and attendees and look out for an even bigger and better show in 2011.

To check out images of some of the great vehicles on display at the show, click on the link below.

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Like vogels toast and marmite some things just naturally go together in this world. That’s the case for Lotus and Cosworth. Back in 1967 when Keith Duckworth, Mike Costin and Ford got together to create the DFV Formula One engine, Lotus was the first team to make the move and drop it into a car. The DFV would go on to major success winning 12 world drivers championships and 10 F1 constructors titles.

Now Lotus and Cosworth are making moves to rekindle the old flame and get back together working on high-performance engines. The current-generation Lotus Elise, Exige and Evora are all powered by Toyota-developed engines, and now Cosworth will be upgrading these units for new Lotus road and race machines, with the first being the new Evora Cup car.

The GT4-class Evora (pictured) is now propelled by a 400-horsepower 4.0-litre version of Toyota’s V6 engine with dry-sump lubrication all supplied by the engine specialists. With a new Esprit on the cards for Lotus it looks like Cosworth will have a prime opportunity to display its tuning prowess.

Ford Edsel Commercial (1958)

The Targa Bambina is the launch pad for three Targa events in 2010. With 260 Kms spread over 16 tarmac rally stages and 394 kms of touring stages throughout the Franklin and North Waikato Districts. There are some great entries in both categories – Targa Bambina and Targa Tour.

Targa event dates for 2010 are:

• Targa Bambina (Papakura based) 2 day event 13-14 March
• Targa Rotorua 2 day event 05-06 June
• Dunlop Targa 6 day main event 25-31 October

Event Director Peter Martin said: “We have a new sponsor in Rock FM coming on board – Targa is, the demographics of their target market. Talking target markets, what is also interesting is that Parkside Media report increased sales of their Classic Car magazine since Targa returned to the magazine. We have also produced a promotional DVD that will be used to attract international drivers either in their vehicles or leasing one of ours.”

Scrutineering and Parc Ferme will be held at Ray Small Park in central Papakura with Documentation next door in the RSA building.

Front runner Jason Gill will be there in his potent Evo as will as Clark Proctor in the turbo V6 Mark 1 Escort. Mark Parsons also makes a welcome return, this time with Mal Clark in the mighty Rover V8. Peter Cullen in the ‘exotic’ de Tomaso Pantera is also back.

DAY 1: Saturday 13 March sees them head off from 8.15am across to the Awhitu Peninsular with 5 special stages before lunch in Waiuku. Then they are in Pukekohe East which has some great spectating points on Tuhimata and Runcimen Roads. SS7 was the driver’s favourite stage last year and starts near the Southern Motorway at Ramarama and they hill-climb up and over Ararimu Road, all the way to Paparimu. That stage starts at 1.55pm so if you are going to be a spectator you have to be in place well before the start-time. Last stage for the day is SS8 Koheroa Road and this year it runs west, from the Mangatawiri down to Mercer.

All cars then return to the Accent Point car-park in Papakura. That was 99klms of Special Stages and 177 of Touring.

DAY 2: First stage is at 8.20 am and just south of the Bombays – Pinnacle Hill Road. This stage routes down Paparimu Road and is a fast one. Then it’s SS10 from Mangatangi to Miranda and then twice down the eastern side of Lake Waikare near Te Kauwhata where lunch is. The afternoon is spent in the Rotongaro, Hetherington, Glen Murray area where Targa has traversed many times before. The last Special Stage is new one of 16 klms from Te Kohanga back towards Pukekawa with the Finish and Prizegiving at the Onewhero Golf Club.

Looking forward to Targa Rotorua and the main event there is keen interest from overseas. Expat Kiwi Gavin Riches (Florida) will be at Rotorua this time in a new Porsche GT3 RS. Another expat Steve Millen (California) is bringing the Nissan GTR35 that his Stillen Team built and won the Targa Newfoundland in Canada with.

California, U.S.A is a great place to be if you’re a classic car fan there’s the annual festivities in Monterey, the world-class concours in Palm Springs, and car museums like the Petersen and Nethercutt Collections. Now, another large classics collection is being prepared to be opened to the public next month. Opening on April 15 in Oxnard, California, the Mullin Automotive Museum is ready to show the vehicles of Pebble Beach-winner and Monterey Historics racer Peter Mullin, and could be a must-see attraction if you find yourself in the area.

Apparently the Mullin Automotive Museum will pay homage to the art deco and machine age design eras (1918-1941). The musuem centerpiece will be a huge collection of unrestored Bugattis, but  other iconic old school brands like Delahaye, Delage, Talbot-Lago, Voisin and Hispano-Suiza should feature. There will also be French cars with coachwork by masters like Chapron, Figoni et Falaschi, Gangloff, Vanvooren, Labourdette, Letourneur et Marchand and Saoutchik among others.

The museum will also show art and furniture from the same era and will have an entire floor devoted to “Club Bugatti.” The Mullin will provide a home to 100 gorgeous vehicles of the era and also some less beautiful but still significant vehicles including 30 unrestored cars and a collection of Grand Prix and Le Mans cars. So if your travels ever take you to Oxnard, California be sure to check it out.

Photo: Michael Furman Photography

Watch JOETWINT in his EVOMS GTXXXX Porsche 996TT hitting more than 220 miles per hour in the standing mile.

Kiwis have had a strong affiliation with caravans for as long as I can remember – and what better way to tow a caravan than with a classic, V8-powered convertible

Caravanning is part of our heritage, our culture – for many, the answer to our yearning for the great outdoors, sandy beaches and snow-capped mountains. No matter where you are in this great land of ours, you can be sure of one thing – you’re never too far from a camping ground. Although, over the past decade or so, I have noticed a steady decline in caravans on our summer roads.

Remember mum, dad and the kids, complete with all the crucial outdoor paraphernalia (bikes, kayaks and the like) tied to the roof, holding up queues of frustrated motorists as they struggle to haul the family caravan up hill and down dale to their destination? That’s a fading sight on our roads today. Instead, families are opting for mobile homes or camper vans – although still frustrating the heck out of most motorists. Whatever, they only have one thing in mind – the great outdoor experience. Of course, this has spawned a whole new industry for the tourism market in New Zealand, and many overseas tourists travel here just to share in the experience that we Kiwis often take so much for granted.

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