Spark has just released an exquisite collection of 1:43 models of some of the most luxurious marques from the art deco period. Based on European 1930s vehicles, this new range is quite unlike anything Spark has modelled before.

Go into the draw to win the 1:43 Spark 1934 Voisin C27 Aerosport featured here by answering the following question:

What is the item number of this Voisin model?

Hint: It starts with ‘S’, and can be found in SPR’s online catalogue.

Competition closes on April 28, 2012.

To enter, click here.

The Spark range is available from specialist hobby shops nationwide. For more information about the Spark, Bizarre or TrueScale ranges email john@spr.co.nz, or visit the SPR website at www.spr.co.nz.

The Leadfoot Festival is a unique weekend bringing together a mix of classic cars, vintage motorcycles and motorsport legends. Limited tickets will be available to the to Rod Millen’s private grounds at Leadfoot Ranch in Hahei, just outside Whitianga. This 140 acre, ocean-front estate features a long driveway that winds through the property designed to be the perfect hill climb. Guests will be given one of a kind experiences featuring unparalleled access to the drivers, pits and racecars. The Leadfoot Festival is designed for men and women, boys and girls. Visitors dress in period style clothing to step back in time making the Leadfoot Festival an incredible family experience and a true celebration of motorsports and all things automotive.

The selection of machinery on Leadfoot Ranch will include a spectacular array of the world’s finest competition cars and motorcycles. From classic formula and road race cars to off-road machines and motorcycles, the Leadfoot Festival attracts drivers, riders and race vehicles reminiscent of many eras in an enthusiastic display of speed, style, sound, smell and color.

A collection of static celebrated vintage cars and bikes will line areas of the paddocks to complete the weekend.

For more info, visit: www.leadfootfestival.com

It doesn’t take long for Christmas to roll around, and for some strange reason, it seems to take less and less time every year. We at NZ Classic Car HQ would rather ignore the old cliché that it’s due to the fact we’re getting a little older, and would rather think it’s because we’re so busy immersed in photo-shoots, gathering information and meeting as many interesting classic car owners as we can to share with you, our valued and loyal readers, their cars and their wonderful stories.
This is also the time of year when we like to reflect on our past. A time when we choose a classic car that oozes ‘Kiwiana’ – a classic car that almost all of us have some kind of experience or memory of, whether once owned by a parent, grandparent, dear relative or perhaps a close neighbour. Whatever the instance, they bring back many fond motoring memories.
This year we chose Kevin Darlington’s stunning Ford Zodiac MkIII, which we think ticks all the boxes. Back in 1962 Ford announced the MkIII versions of its Zephyr and Zodiac and, not surprisingly, the Zodiac version was the upper model in the range. This time though, the all-new Zodiac featured a unique body, which looked considerably different from the lesser models even though the floor pan and running gear were essentially the same as the MkIII Zephyr 6. These MkIII Fords were considered spacious, comfortable, nice to drive, easy to maintain and, today, you can get pretty much get anything you need from local and overseas suppliers in order to keep one purring like a contented kitten – although finding a half-decent example now may be easier said than done.
 

Every Boy’s Dream

Like many of us middle-aged chaps, Kevin Darlington’s first leap into automobile ownership began in the ’60s with a trusty Morris Minor. Kevin was fortunate enough to move on quite quickly, and by the time he was just 16 years of age he was driving every boy’s dream – an Anglia van. Now, I’m not for one moment suggesting Morris Minors were bad cars, on the contrary, they were the workhorse of their time and most of us have experienced in one way or another the reliability and robustness of the Morrie. However, the Morrie I owned as a teenager was a complete lemon and, to be honest, I couldn’t wait to see the rusty end of it.
The desire for more power soon had Kevin in the driver’s seat of an immaculate
Valiant AP5 sporting a powerful slant-six engine – perfect for those long trips down country, and a car which Kevin enjoyed owning for about two years before selling it to a taxi driver who was amazed at its original condition and low mileage.
Delving back into Kevin’s memory banks, he also recalled a neighbour who owned a very nice Ford Zodiac MkIII with all the period options – rear window Venetian blinds, front sun visor, extra wheel trims and a driver’s door wind deflector. This Zodiac really caught his eye and he vowed that one day he would own one. From that day to this, Kevin has always admired the shape and style of the Ford Zephyr/ Zodiac MkIII.
 

Realising the Dream

It wasn’t until 2005 that Kevin finally decided it was time to treat himself to a classic car of his own. The search was on, and together with a good friend and local Auckland-based Consul, Zephyr, Zodiac Car Club member Laurie Roberts, he started searching. Kevin also decided to join the same club, but it wasn’t until he’d attended its National Convention held in Wairakei, central North Island in 2003, that he confirmed in his own mind a Zodiac MkIII was the car he had to have – not only because of the shape but also because of the additional exterior trim and interior features, such as the wood grain trim. In short, it was these features Kevin really liked.
He also discovered there were in fact many quite distinct visual differences between the Zephyr and Zodiac. The Zodiac boasted a unique four-headlight front and a full width grille. The rear doors were a different shape and the rear quarter windows were situated behind the doors, and increased the car’s glass area.
Looking at the Zodiac MkIII one can be forgiven for thinking it looks larger and more imposing than its predecessor, when actually it’s purely an optical illusion with almost identical dimensions except for the lower height, which gives the MkIII a more elegant stance and, of course, a lower centre of gravity that equates to improved road manners.
The first MkIII that Kevin spotted was in a local Trade & Exchange publication. The car was fitted with a 3500cc Rover V8 engine, which Kevin thought might be worth further investigation. However, when he phoned the owner, the car had already been sold. During the same time Kevin’s friend Laurie had been doing some investigating himself on behalf of Kevin and, during a conversation with a couple of local club members, he learned of a Zodiac MkIII for sale in Wellington. Apparently this Zodiac was an absolute gem – only one owner from new and had remained in the same family its entire life. The very first owners – they operated Flowers & Penny Ltd – eventually passed the car on to their mother, a very short lady who required the fitting of blocks to the Zodiac’s foot-pedals in order to drive the car. Eventually she gave up driving in her 80s – that’s a real ‘owned by a little old lady’ story.
After some initial enquiries by Laurie, the owner of the car sent him some photographs, and after he showed them to Kevin, the decision was made to proceed with purchasing the car. Buying a classic car without first taking a good look at it, or at least having a trusted and knowledgeable person thoroughly carry out a pre-purchase inspection, can often lead to a very long expensive headache, but in this case, Kevin and Laurie had a gut feeling this car wasn’t hiding any nasty surprises.
In 2005, Kevin’s Zodiac arrived and was exactly as the previous owner described it. A closer inspection revealed some very minor rust spots in the right rear quarter panel that weren’t visible in the photographs, but on the whole, Kevin was delighted with his purchase.
 

Restoring the Dream

The car was sent straight over to Laurie Roberts’ workshop and was totally stripped down to a bare shell and sandblasted. While the body shell sat under Kevin’s house he searched for a panel-beater to take up the challenge, and finally found Stuart Algie in Onehunga, who proved to be a tremendous help with information and also did a great job.
Kevin painted the underside of the floor panels with POR15 before sending it Stuart’s workshop. Kevin reckons having a body shell sandblasted gave him hours of enjoyment trying to get rid of the sand or husks left over from the process. According to Kevin, the hours spent vacuuming or sweating over an air compressor surely beats mowing the lawn.
In the care of Stuart Algie, the rust spots were removed from the rear quarter and taillight panels. The drip rail around the inside of the boot lid also needed to be re-fabricated and all four doors – which had seen their fair share of supermarket trolley confrontations – needed minor panel work to get them perfectly straight.
While the body shell was away being sandblasted, beaten back into shape and painted, Laurie spent many hours bead blasting engine, suspension and steering parts – many of them being subsequently sent away for powder coating, the remainder being painted in Laurie’s workshop. Kevin jokingly admits that even with his limited mechanical skills he wanted to be involved and so was given the more important jobs, like cleaning up the wiring loom and stripping out all the doors of their glass, runners and door locks. Kevin really enjoyed doing these ‘important’ tasks but was hoping he wouldn’t be expected to put them back together!
Once the body was in perfect a shape it was treated to a magnificent Gunmetal Metallic paint job.
Meanwhile, on the mechanical side, the front suspension had been completely pulled apart and repainted. New bushes were fitted and the original front shock absorbers installed. The rear leaf springs were re-set and the brakes were re-kitted with new wheel cylinders and brake shoes.
Mechanically, the Zodiac turned out to be quite sound, but Kevin decided to strip the engine down as they had gone this far, just in order to check for any worn internal components. The 2553cc in-line six-cylinder engine was completely stripped down and only required new big-end bearings and rings before being re-assembled and carefully painted in the original colours.
Ford retained the engine capacity of the previous Zephyr/Zodiac MkII but, thanks to extensive internal changes, maximum power was increased by a fairly healthy 28 percent and, together with the all-new four-speed gearbox, overall acceleration was impressive for its day.
The original exhaust manifold was HPC-coated purely for cosmetics and the original intake manifold was cleaned with the standard rebuilt Zenith carburettor refitted. Kevin reckons the gearbox and differential were in perfect working condition and they only required cleaning, repainting and new oil before being re-installed.
 

Dream Z

The exterior trim on this car, including the stock wheel trims, is in truly amazing original condition and the brightwork has all been re-chromed, which highlights the Gunmetal Metallic paint scheme beautifully. Another testament to this car’s originality is the interior. Believe it or not, this Zodiac retains its original seats and door trims – they only needed to be re-sprayed in the original red because of fading due to sunlight exposure over the years, while the dash-top had to be replaced. The woodwork is untouched and is totally original.
Laurie and his team reassembled the Zodiac, and in June this year Kevin was delighted to have the Zodiac MkII back in his garage. Since then he has been able to attend many Auckland Consul, Zephyr, Zodiac Car Club outings, this time in his own car, and has enjoyed every minute of it.
Kevin is indeed thankful to Laurie Roberts for all his help and expertise, as well as the Auckland Consul, Zephyr, Zodiac Car Club members who helped make his dream come true.
 

Specifications 1963 Ford Zodiac MkIII

Engine: In-line six-cylinder / OHV
Capacity: 2553cc
Bore/ stroke: 82.55 x 79.5mm
Valves: ohv
Max power: 81kW at 4800rpm
Max torque: 185Nm at 2400rpm
Compression: 8.3:1
Fuel system: Zenith carburettor
Transmission: Four-speed manual
Steering: Ford/Burman recirculating ball
Suspension: F/R MacPherson strut/ leaf spring, live axle
Brakes F/R: Disc/drum – servo assisted
Dimensions:
Overall length: 4602mm
Width: 1752mm
Wheelbase: 2718mm
Kerb weight: 1282kg
Performance:
Max speed 167kph
0-100kph: 13.5 seconds
Standing ¼ mile:
19.2 seconds
 
Words: Ashley Webb Photos: Adam Croy

For the first time since 1956, works-supported C and D-Types will race again at venues including Goodwood and the Nurburgring, while the season-long programme will also see Jaguar Heritage Racing support numerous additional events on the historic motoring calendar.

These include the Mille Miglia, the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, and each round of the E-type challenge in the UK – a series which in 2011 demonstrated the depth of global interest in historic motorsport, and in Jaguar’s participation specifically.

The first event at which Jaguar Heritage Racing will be present will be the 2012 Mille Miglia retrospective in May – this year’s running of the event having particular significance for Jaguar as it marks 60 years since Sir Stirling Moss and Norman Dewis (then Jaguar’s chief development driver) took the start in the first disc-brake equipped C-Type.

Later that same year Sir Stirling Moss recorded the first win for a disc-braked car when he drove another C-Type to victory at Reims, paving the way for the wide-scale use of the technology that we all take for granted today.

In August, the Jaguar Heritage Racing team will then be in competitive action at the AVD Nurburgring Old-timer Grand Prix and will then head back to the UK for the Goodwood Revival in September.

Rally ace Glenn Inkster wins this years Targa Bambina. Glenn is no stranger when it comes to competing against the might of the the Nissan R35′s and after an early exit from Tony Quinn on day one with a broken drive shaft in his R35, Glenn was able to take control of the event by keeping his nose ahead of Leigh Hopper’s Subaru Impreza WRX STi and the Nissan R35 driven by Harry Dodson. Harry clawed his way back into contention from seventh place on day one after smashing a sump plug off on a tricky uphill acute right hander on SS3 and loosing almost seven valuable minutes.

The event was now split into three main categories for the first time, Metalman Classic 2WD, Instra.com Modern 2WD and Allcomers 4WD giving most competitors the opportunity to compete on a more equal footing.

Taking out the Instra.com Modern 2WD competition was the awesome LS1 powered Toyota Altezza driven by Mark Whyte, a great effort considering Steve Millen driving his fabulous Ford GT was breathing down his neck throughout the entire event. Mike Tubbs was having an absolute blast driving the wheels off his BMW325 M3 to inch ahead of Steve Millen to take out second place overall in the class.

The Metalman Classic competition was just as exciting with Neil Tolich winning the class in his V8 powered Capri Perana ahead of Mark Kirk-Burnnand’s BMW M3 by just under one and a half minutes. The rivalry between these two drivers was so intense that on day two only one second separated the pair in Mark’s favour. In third place was Rex Mc Donald, who had been consistent all weekend with crowd favourite, Mark Parsons snapping at his heels throughout the entire event in his Triumph TR7 V8 to take out fourth position.

Overall, another great weekend in the Coromandel and we now look forward to Rotorua in June where we get to do it all over again.

Keep an eye out for full report in the next issue of NZCC.

Mark Whyte

 
For every person we meet and every car we feature in NZCC there is a special story – whether linked to the owner’s past or simply the tale of a burning passion to own a particular classic car. However, this story is particularly interesting because not only does the owner of this fairly radical VW Beetle, Chris Parkin, have a keen interest in classic cars and motorcycles, he is also passionate about art and the Museum Art Hotel which he owns. Late last year we were invited to stay at the Museum Art Hotel in Wellington and spent some time talking to Chris, the man behind this unique establishment.
 

Driving Force

Chris was born in the UK and immigrated to New Zealand when he was four years old. He grew up in the small rural town of Otaki where he attended the local school, and went on to study at Victoria University in Wellington, graduating with both MSc (Hons) and BCA degrees.
Chris spent the early part of his working career in the banking industry before he started operating the Museum Hotel (formerly the Michael Fowler Hotel) as a result of a bet with the Secretary of the Internal Affairs Department. He was also the driving force behind an extraordinary engineering feat – this involved saving the hotel from demolition to make way for Te Papa in 1993 by, quite literally, moving the entire hotel across the road on railway tracks; it is the largest building in New Zealand to be relocated. This rescue mission led to Chris being named Wellingtonian of the Year in 1993 and, in 2006, he completed a $29 million nine-storey expansion of the hotel to a mix of hotel rooms and apartments.
It is located in the heart of Wellington – New Zealand’s arts and culture capital – and Chris Parkin’s creative influence is felt throughout the luxurious Museum Art Hotel. The hotel houses an extensive, private collection of contemporary New Zealand art – over 80 pieces – collected by Chris over the past 17 years.
Chris commissioned New Zealand artist, Lynne Sandri, to create a Museum Hotel Art Guide cataloguing the art. Guests may use the guide and take their own leisurely tour of the diverse art works on display throughout the hotel.
In February 2010 Prime Minister John Key launched The Long Gallery – an external gallery display area exhibiting changing contemporary New Zealand art work.
The hotel also offers a highly personalised service that includes beautifully furnished suites featuring sumptuous, yet modern décor, characterised by attention to detail and an intimate feel.
For those wanting to indulge in the very best fine-dining experience in Wellington, Hippopotamus – the hotel’s award-winning in-house restaurant – features authentic French-style cuisine by Laurent Loudeac. Chris established the French-themed and Versace-inspired Hippopotamus Restaurant in 2007, and it has since grown to be the most successful hotel restaurant in New Zealand, with the majority of its business coming from outside the hotel.
The hotel is on Yahoo’s list of the world’s top 10 hotels.
 

Outside Interests

When Chris is not busy running the hotel, or travelling far off the beaten track (usually on a motorbike – a recent trip saw him heading out in the northwest frontier provinces of Pakistan, in Taleban territory, on his way through the Karakorum mountain range to China and eventually Tibet; a journey of 6000km), he is consistently serving the arts community through sponsorship assistance to many organisations, including a $100,000 donation to the Wellington Sculpture Trust, and for the past 11 years he has been sponsoring the top student at Toi Whakaari/New Zealand Drama School.
A Wellington City Councillor for nine years before retiring in 2004, Chris has also been involved in Wellington’s art and cultural scene for many years, and the Museum Art Hotel is a significant sponsor of visual arts, film making, theatre, music and dance, as well as having sponsored a number of motorcycle racers over the years. Currently he is chairman of the New Zealand Affordable Arts Trust (which runs the New Zealand Art Show for emerging artists each year), chairman of Wellington Venues Ltd (which operates all the large Council venues, including TSB Arena), chairman of Te Whaia Services (which operates the schools of dance and drama) and is a director of Te Papa and trustee of the Hannah Playhouse (Downstage). Chris is also a leading proponent of a new convention centre for Wellington, as well as a national art gallery, both of which would add significantly to Wellington’s growth prospects, and was recently awarded a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2011 Queen’s Birthday honours list.
 

Creating an Art Car

You’re probably wondering by now how on earth Chris has time to enjoy his classic cars and motorcycles. To be honest, even Chris admits he doesn’t get to spend nearly as much time as he’d like behind the wheel of his Aston Martin DB7, BMW 535M (as featured elsewhere in this issue) or this stunning VW Beetle, which is used primarily as a promotional vehicle for the hotel.
The VW Beetle wasn’t actually planned as such, the idea only materialising when Chris decided to employ a sales and marketing person. After offering the position to the successful candidate, the subject of a company car came up. Although a company vehicle wasn’t initially being offered with the position, not wanting to start a new working relationship on a bad note, Chris suggested that he’d sort something out, but made it quite clear that the car had to be something distinctive and representative of the hotel. After consulting a friend, the idea of a beautifully restored VW Beetle was considered. It all sounded too easy, they reckoned it would take about three months to complete and wouldn’t cost more than $20,000 – less than a good used car.
Unfortunately, the person contracted to build the Beetle turned out to be not as competent as they’d hoped, and Chris was forced to retrieve the basic car and all the bits and pieces which went with it – everything was loaded onto a trailer and taken to Mike Baucke at The Surgery.
With a design brief to rebuild the Beetle as a combination of custom and retro styling with an artistic edge, Mike began work on the worn-out 1972 1302 Super Beetle, quite a rare semi-automatic model. The initial idea was that another company in Wellington would project manage the work while The Surgery was contracted to carry out body work and painting. However, as things turned out, The Surgery ended up completing all the work, including the project management.
The first task was to completely disassemble the Beetle, starting with the interior, dash, engine, transmission, glass and chrome until it was just an empty shell. The bare shell was then acid dipped and sand-blasted back to bare steel.
Old battle scars and rust meant cutting out damaged sections from all four guards, floor pan, heater ducts, doors and quarter panels, these being replaced with fresh panels.
To give a lowered appearance without turning the Beetle into a hot rod was a difficult ask for Mike and his skilled team. They eventually opted for a retro look by cutting the complete roof off from the bottom of the screen pillars and waistline of the doors. Fifty millimetres was then removed from the pillars to lower the roof-line and a complete roof from a 1960 Beetle was then fitted. This model of Beetle was chosen because of the higher ‘crown’ in the roof panel and lower roof gutter line, thus enabling Mike’s team to give the VW a ‘chopped’ roof look without sacrificing interior head-room. The Beetle’s glass was then either remade or cut down to suit the new opening sizes and shapes.
The end result makes you give the Beetle a double take – is it modified or not? It certainly looks different.
 

Retro-style

With all the panel work prepared and ready for paint – and with handmade period-style bumpers fabricated and installed – the next thing to consider was paint colour. The Museum Art Hotel’s official colours are black and gold, so PPG two-pack high gloss/high solid jet black paint was chosen. A retro-twist was added with the addition of hand-painted gold lace-work inserts on the car’s flanks, while specially-designed gold wheels completed the overall theme.
Mechanically, the Beetle wasn’t in the best shape so the engine was fully reconditioned with a few performance enhancements, including an electronic ignition system. Final detailing of the engine bay included gold-plating some items, whilst all the exhaust components were replaced with new parts, all of which were HPC ceramic coated.
The ‘bling’ needed to stop, so the Beetle’s brakes were upgraded to four-wheel discs and a completely new suspension set-up was installed and lowered using factory conversion kits.
The next item on the agenda was the electrical system – including the fitting of a new wiring loom with additional extra features including remote central locking, up-rated performance head lamps, interior LED lighting, remote interior UV lighting (for use at night when parked) and engine bay LED lighting.
The final task was to contrast the interior with the rest of the car, so it was treated to a complete re-trim in white leather with gold trim (set off by ultra violet lighting at night), gold embroidery on the interior panels with the Museum Art Hotel logo, black carpets with gold edging, gold plated interior fittings, a gold chain link steering wheel and a custom sound system to complete the picture.
Two days before Christmas, three years ago, the car was delivered to the Museum Art Hotel unbeknownst to Chris. It was the night of the annual Museum Art Hotel Christmas party, and when Chris entered the hotel, there was the Beetle in all its glory. Today, his only regret is that the Beetle should get out and about much more than it does – and, of course, he’d like to be driving it himself.
Nevertheless, the end result is a vehicle that attracts attention wherever it goes – it’s a genuine ‘one of a kind’, much like the Museum Art Hotel.

Words: Ashley Webb Photos: Adam Croy

For the first time, Lotus are offering the hard-core Exige with a factory-fitted soft top roof, one which is typically lightweight and easy to put up and take down.

In true Lotus fashion the finely tuned suspension delivers a responsive ride and sublimely agile handling, whilst the supercharged 3.5-litre V6 engine with race-derived technologies delivers stunning performance. Reaching 100kph from standing in a neck-snapping four seconds and 0-160kph  in 8.5 seconds this little roadster packs a punch both on and off the track. The top speed for the Exige S Roadster is 233kph and it produces just 236 g of CO2 per km.

With a targeted weight of just under 1100kg, this is one of the lightest six-cylinder roadsters on the market by some margin.

The Roadster comes with a six-speed manual gearbox, but will also be available with Lotus’ Serial Precision Shift (SPS), a paddle-operated automated manual transmission, which makes life more relaxed in the city and more F1-like when it’s let off the leash. The SPS gearbox means the driver never has to take their hands off the wheel, it prevents errors during shifting, and it is lighter and more compact than a normal torque-converter transmission.

The car comes with two different suspension settings. There’s the standard setting for an active driving experience suited to public roads; and an optional setting as part of the Race Pack for maximum performance, developed for track use. The launch control system can be activated when the car is in Race mode.

The car has been developed for the main markets such as Europe and Asia and is expected to be available downunder in 2013 when local prices and specifications will be announced.