For two-wheel enthusiasts, NZ auction house Webb’s is holding a Classic Motorcycle auction on 19th October with previewing starting this Friday (Oct 7th).
The auction is attracting local and international interest and follows a similar successful event held in March. Once again Webb’s Managing Director Neil Campbell has gathered some truly historic works of industrial design, spanning more than 100 years of New Zealand motorcycling history.
From the remarkably original 1905 Minerva, coming with its original purchase receipt and three generations of family history, to the Grand Prix raced Bultaco direct from the legendary New Zealand race pilot Ginger Molloy’s lifetime collection. Another extremely rare race bike is the 1975 RG500 XR14. The XR14 was made famous by Barry Sheene who won 3 World Championships. Read the rest of this entry »
The Honda Civic has touched most of us in some way, whether from the drivers seat or riding shotgun with mates or partners. We all have some sort of Civic story. Honda is preparing to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its most famous model next year, but before then it has released a video titled “Heritage” that looks back at this automotive icon.
The video features a soundtrack from British house music trio Dirty Vegas and provides a glimpse at the history of this model. Since it debuted in 1973 more than 19 million Civics have been sold, it’s no wonder everyone has a Honda Civic story.
The track-focused no nonsense Ariel Atom has just turned 10 years old and to celebrate the British maker has joined forces with Mugen’s European branch to develop a special edition model. The new even lighter model will be launched into the European market in January 2011 with a very limited production run of just 10 cars.
Making the special edition special will be some new paintwork and every unit will come with a individual plate signed by Mugen and Ariel technicians. According to Ariel, the Atom Mugen will be as uncompromising as ever, using Honda’s K20Z naturally aspirated Type R engine to its full potential.
The Mugen-prepared powerplant produces 270 hp from its 2.0-litre displacement, which will be enough for speed freak customers.
“The Type R Honda is the best 2.0-liter normally aspirated engine available. We have put our experience and know how to release even more power from the engine and we’re delighted to see our engine in the Ariel Atom”, Vice President of Mugen Euro, Mr. Hiroki Toyoda said.
The Atom Mugen will be fully handbuilt with one Ariel employee making each car while his Mugen counterpart assembles the engine.
The Atom Mugen will be first shown at next month’s 2011 Autosport Show in Birmingham, UK. Further details will be released shortly.
With its strong background of high performance motorbikes, it was not surprising that Honda’s first prototype cars in the early ’60s were sports cars — the 1962 S360 and S500 sports cars shown domestically at the Japan Motor Show. Other sporting Hondas have graced the Honda line-up over the years, and a mid-to-late ’80s favourite was the little CR-X coupe. We profile these two models in the first of a series on Honda sports-mobiles.
Honda S500
The reception at the Japan Motor Show in 1962 was favourable, with the S500 getting the nod for production as the larger motor made it a more attractive prospect for international sales.
In 1963 the first S500s rolled off the production line, featuring much of the technological expertise that Honda had built up during its years of motorcycle production. It featured an aluminium 531cc water-cooled, dohc four-cylinder engine. The S500 (as well as the later S600 and S800) used an interesting induction system in the form of one carburettor per cylinder. It produced 33kW at an astounding (for a road car built in 1963) 8000rpm, and it would continue to rev to a 9500rpm redline thanks to the needle roller bearing crank that ensured smooth, high rev limits safely and reliably (these engines also possessed a reputed ability to rev to beyond 11,000rpm!).
The drivetrain broke new ground, with a four-speed gearbox driving to a differential, which spread the drive to a sprocket each side. The wheels were actually driven, motorcycle-style, by chain, with the chain-case acting as the suspension arm, giving both longitudinal and some lateral location. It was an effective independent rear suspension set-up that kept unsprung weight to a minimum. Front suspension was also independent, with double wishbones.
Perhaps the only negative part in the chassis design was the use of drum brakes front and rear, but the fact that the S500 only weighed 725kg meant they did an adequate job.
A Christchurch born mother of two, Miriam Macmillan, has become New Zealand’s undisputed queen of speed after powering into the record books at the recent Bonneville Speed Week in the United States.
Following in the wake of her record-breaking husband Doug, and outdoing Kiwi land speed record breaking legend Burt Munro, Miriam became the first Kiwi woman to join Bonneville’s elite 200mph club earlier this month after a 204.364 (329kph) run on the salt flats.
Macmillan’s record-breaking 200mph+ run was recorded behind the wheel of a highly-modified 2.1-litre 400 horsepower Honda CRX, and was the culmination of a week-long campaign at Bonneville during which she broke 4 different class records.
As well as being the first Kiwi woman to earn her 200mph hat at Bonneville, Miriam is only the third New Zealander of either gender to do so (the first was Lincoln Harris, and the second was her husband Doug, in 2008 at an average speed of 221 mph). Qualifying for membership of this elite club isn’t as simple as exceeding 200mph either: the record time is assessed on the basis of the average speed of two timed runs down the course within a specified time period and those runs must break an existing class record as well.
Miriam joined the club running her Honda with a high-performance nitrous oxide fuel mix and special aerodynamic enhancements to the car’s nose and underbelly. She smashed the previous record for her class by 28mph (45kph) and the vehicles she outpaced along the way included a Ferrari Enzo, which is one of the world’s fastest production road cars.
“Running at over 200mph is hard to describe, but I can tell you it is a real buzz,” says Miriam. “You’re out there on the big, wide-open salt flats, you build up to speed, and just hang in there hoping that nothing goes wrong!”
Honda has brought back its once popular Impossible Dream advert. The original ad was shot mostly here in NZ and aired in many countries a few years back. The first ad featured a range of models from the Japanese company’s past. From lowly scooters to the company’s early racing bikes and F1 cars, the ad was a highlight reel of successful products.
Since the Impossible Dream ad first aired things have changed for Honda. It’s abandoned its F1 efforts, discontinued the S2000 and moved it’s focus to boring passenger vehicles. But the new updated The Impossible Dream II clip shows no boring stuff. Honda has removed any reference to Formula One and ha now removed the old hot-air balloon at the end of the ad in favor of products like the new Honda Jet, CR-Z hybrid and the FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle. Even Asimo, Honda’s much teased robot makes a cameo and the end features a hot tub powered by a Honda generator to help display a full range of products.
Check out the new Impossible Dream II ad by clicking on the link below and see if you can recognise any NZ spots featured.
The auction is attracting local and international interest and follows a similar successful event held in March. Once again Webb’s Managing Director Neil Campbell has gathered some truly historic works of industrial design, spanning more than 100 years of New Zealand motorcycling history.
In 1963 the first S500s rolled off the production line, featuring much of the technological expertise that Honda had built up during its years of motorcycle production. It featured an aluminium 531cc water-cooled, dohc four-cylinder engine. The S500 (as well as the later S600 and S800) used an interesting induction system in the form of one carburettor per cylinder. It produced 33kW at an astounding (for a road car built in 1963) 8000rpm, and it would continue to rev to a 9500rpm redline thanks to the needle roller bearing crank that ensured smooth, high rev limits safely and reliably (these engines also possessed a reputed ability to rev to beyond 11,000rpm!).
As well as being the first Kiwi woman to earn her 200mph hat at Bonneville, Miriam is only the third New Zealander of either gender to do so (the first was Lincoln Harris, and the second was her husband Doug, in 2008 at an average speed of 221 mph). Qualifying for membership of this elite club isn’t as simple as exceeding 200mph either: the record time is assessed on the basis of the average speed of two timed runs down the course within a specified time period and those runs must break an existing class record as well.