Over in the States it’s Monterey Car Week, a huge event for classic car enthusiasts and one that draws out some of the finest classic metal in the world.

The event has also become famous for its auctions and this year there are five auctions to take place with hundreds of classics going under the hammer. Auction houses Bonhams, Gooding & Company, Mecum, RM and Russo and Steele have all been consigning cars for the past several months and will lure in the thousands of automotive enthusiasts that gather in the Monterey peninsula every August.

It can be hard for us Kiwis to understand the scale of these auctions but to help collector car insurance company Hagerty has compiled the estimated net worth of every car being offered up in Monterey this week. The total is an incredible $230 million US dollars. That’s a lot of action and some very pricey cars. Read full story…

Since 1924 the Campbell family have used the Pendine sand in Carmarthenshire, Wales as the home for their Bluebird land speed record attempts. It was last weekend that Don Wales – grandson of Malcolm Campbell and nephew of Donald Campbell –  and his son Joseph returned to the iconic 7-mile stretch of beach in an attempt to add another entry to the history books.

Organising a Land Speed Record attempt is an epic logistical feat before a wheel has even turned. The team has faced countless hurdles in their quest for speed; delayed component parts, cancelled runs and tight budgets. There’s also a very short window of time between low tides at Pendine and the unpredictability of the weather.

Saturday 13^th August wasn’t just the 2011 Bluebird Electric’s first time on Pendine, it was only the second time Joe Wales had got behind the wheel of the vehicle. Weather conditions on the day hampered the exploratory runs but provided plenty of valuable experience for the young driver.

A blue sky on Sunday put the Bluebird team in good spirits and Don was keen to give Joe the opportunity to enter the record books himself. Unfortunately, the return leg of a fast outward run was brought to a premature end. Limited visibility within the cockpit of Bluebird and an alarming slide towards the sea at speeds in excess of 100mph caused the car to bounce severely on the uneven surface and hit a soft pothole of sand. The resulting impact damaged the bodyshell, steering components and disconnected a bottom wishbone.  Read full story…

THIS COMPETITION HAS EXPIRED

We have ten double passes to the upcoming feature film Senna to give away.

Senna proved popular at this year’s NZ Film Festival and is now coming to cinemas nationwide. Shot in a documentary style it follows Ayrton Senna’s rise from Brazilian karting star to becoming arguably the greatest Formula One driver of that era.

Senna opens in theatres from September 1st, to enter the draw for tickets click on the link below and be ready to answer the following question. Read full story…

The very first official press photos of the new 2012 Porsche 911 have been leaked on to the Internet before its official debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month.

In typical fashion the all-new 911 (code name 991), looks very familiar with only subtle styling changes from the outgoing 997. Porsche purists should be kept happy with the iconic model’s classic lines and proportions kept intact.

The most obvious changes are the LED running lamps and revised air intakes at the front, the door-mounted wing mirrors on the flanks and the thinner LED tail lamps that grace the sculptured rear end.

Away from the styling, the most significant changes come with the new 911′s increased size. The car is about two inches longer than the current model with a four inch longer wheelbase.

In terms of power the new entry-model Carrera will use a 3.4-litre direct-injected flat-six, producing 261kW, the Carrera S will be powered by a 3.8-litre flat-six engine producing around 300kW. Both engines will be mated to either a seven-speed manual or a PDK dual-clutch transmission. Read full story…

Morgan Motor Company is developing a high-performance electric sportscar prototype in partnership with a consortium of British technology specialists.

The Morgan +E programme will deliver two engineering concept vehicles early in 2012. Both will be based on a development of the proven Aero Supersport’s aluminium chassis with the 4.8 litre BMW V8 replaced by a new derivative of Zytek’s high power-density electric powertrain driving through a conventional manual gearbox.

The collaborative research and development project is being part-funded by a £100,000 grant from the Niche Vehicle Network CR&D Programme, which is managed by CENEX.

The prototype Morgan will use a new derivative of Zytek’s proven 70kW (94bhp) 300Nm electric powertrain, which is already supplied to US vehicle manufacturers. The compact, lightweight unit will be installed in the transmission tunnel and will require three additional connections (cooling water, high voltage electrics and low voltage electrics). Read full story…

On June 25, 2010, the Australian Ford Falcon notched up its half century, fifty years after the original Australian-made XK Falcon rolled off the production line in 1960 launching the longest continuous model line in Australian motoring history.

Ford Australia achieved two outstanding milestones this year, the other, 85 years of Ford production in Australia. The Falcon has proved itself to be a true icon of Australian motoring since its debut, and while other models such as the recently discontinued Ford Fairlane have travelled over Australian roads longer, they’ve included imported versions. The Falcon has undoubtedly earned its place in automotive history as the longest running nameplate on an Australian-made vehicle and, in order to commemorate this outstanding accomplishment, Ford has recently unveiled a range of six special edition Falcon’s boasting a host of additional features and special pricing. With four XR-based models and two G-Series based models, proudly wearing the Falcon ‘bird’ logo that originally inspired the name for the large car. Read full story…

A final chance to secure New Zealand’s Gold Star rally championship title is the primary focus for top teams contesting this weekend’s Tomoana Warehousing Rally Hawke’s Bay (20-21 August).

The Hawke’s Bay event is the fifth and final round in the 2011 Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship which has seen the lead switch between former champions and Subaru drivers Hayden Paddon, of Geraldine, and Richard Mason, from Masterton. Paddon isn’t competing in Hawke’s Bay as his CR Properties Placemakers Subaru STI is en route to Australia for September’s FIA World Rally Championship event. So this leaves Mason, who currently tops the championship points-table with 410 points, with an 88 point advantage over third-placed Emma Gilmour from Dunedin.

For 33-year-old Mason, having won the Hawke’s Bay rally last time it was run in 2009, the season’s goal is close to being realised this weekend. After being beaten by Paddon in three of this season’s five events, the 2005 and 2006 Gold Star champion, with co-driving wife Sara alongside, says sticking to their plan has helped reverse their fortunes, but they still need to finish in Hawke’s Bay to win this year’s title.

“The plan from the start of the season was we’d take a steady approach to the year and plan to finish every rally,” says Mason who drives the BNT-backed Subaru STI. “I still maintain our points system is very harsh; if you miss a round you’re in trouble, and we’re still in that boat. If we were to break down on the first day and couldn’t restart for the second then Emma would have a relatively easy job to win the championship, so we’ve got to bring it home and a lot of it will depend on what she does really. If she goes all out and breaks down herself, for arguments sake, then the curtain would be lifted, we’d drop the hammer at that point and go flat-out.” Read full story…

The VIP Petfoods team pushed through challenging conditions to win a Porsche dominated 9-1/2-hour endurance race at Hampton Downs last weekend.

What was originally scheduled to be a 12-hour race lost almost a fifth of its duration after early-morning fog blanketed the 2.8km North Island circuit.

When the event finally got underway at 9.30am, two and a half hours after the scheduled start time, Australians Klark and Tony Quinn and New Zealander Stefan Webling dominated the race from the outset in the VIP Petfoods 997 RSR.

The trans-Tasman trio qualified on pole position and led all but three of the 471 laps. When Tony Quinn crossed the finish line at 7pm, he had a 29-lap lead over the second-placed 997 GT3 of Australians Malcolm and Brett Niall and Clint Harvey.

Completing the trifecta for the German manufacturer were New Zealanders Denis Roderick, David Glasson and Aaron Harris in their 996 TT.

Fellow Kiwis and second-fastest qualifiers Andre Heimgartner and Phillip Hood had the honour of being the only other team to lead the race in their 996 TT on lap five, but their joy was short-lived. Klark Quinn swiftly retook the position three laps later, and the VIP Petfoods car was never headed thereafter. Heimgartner and Hood dropped steadily down the order and finished ninth, 199 laps in arrears. Read full story…