OUR T R IBU T E T O A NE W Z E A L A ND MO T OR S P OR T L E GE ND NEW ZEALAND CLASSIC CAR SEPTEMBER 2016 ISSUE 309
Celebrating the life of
OUR TRIBUTE TO CHRIS AMON • FORD’S RS EVOLUTION • INSIDE FERRARI DESIGN
Chris Amon
themotorhood.com
SEPTEMBER 2016
ISSUE 309 $9.99 INCL. GST
July 20, 1943 – August 3, 2016
INTERVIEW
FLAVIO MANZONI — FERRARI DESIGN
FROM THEN TO NOW
UNCOVERING FORD’S RS EVOLUTION
CONTENTS
309 SEPTEMBER 2016
6 CHRIS AMON OUR TRIBUTE TO A NEW ZEALAND MOTOR
SPORT LEGEND
22 THE RS EVOLUTION FORD’S PERFORMANCE TIMELINE
CONTENTS
309 SEPTEMBER 2016
SPECIAL FEATURES 34 66
INSIDE FERRARI DESIGN: WE MEET FLAVIO MANZONI UNDER-BONNET ANCILLARIES: UNCOVERING THE SPECIALISTS
COLUMNS
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50 MOTOR SPORT FLASHBACK 56 MOTORMAN 62 GLOBAL MARKET REPORT 64 LOCAL MARKET REPORT 84 PRICE ON
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EVENTS
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78 BALCAIRN TRIAL 80 ROTORUA VINTAGE CAR CLUB 36TH ANNUAL CENTRAL NORTH ISLAND SWAP MEET AND CAR SHOW
REGULARS
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44 READERS’ WRITES 46 ONLINE THIS MONTH 48 SUBSCRIBE AND WIN 74 NEWS 82 EVENTS DIARY 86 BEHIND THE GARAGE DOOR 88 CLUB CORNER 90 CLASSIC AUTOMOBILIA 94 QUICK QUIZ /CROSSWORD 100 SELL YOUR CLASSIC 102 CLASSIC CARS FOR SALE 108 CLASSIFIEDS 110 TRADE DIRECTORY 112 COMING NEXT MONTH
SPECIAL FEATURE
A tribute to a New Zealand motor sport legend
A TR I BU TE TO
Chris Amon 194 3–2016
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It was with heavy hearts that we learned of the passing of one of New Zealand motor sport’s greats — Chris Amon. Chris passed away at Rotorua Hospital on Wednesday August 3, just a fortnight after celebrating his 73rd birthday Words: Ashley Webb, Michael Clark, Donn Anderson Photos: Adam Croy, Michael Clark, Donn Anderson, Jack Inwood
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he year 2016 marks the 50th anniversary of the victory for Chris Amon and Bruce McLaren at Le Mans, when the Kiwi duo won the famous 24-hour race in a Ford GT40. That victory did not go unnoticed at Ferrari, and, for 1967, Chris was signed to the famous Italian marque. He remained there for three seasons, during which he won the 24 Hours of Daytona race, the 1000 Kilometres of Monza, the New Zealand Grand Prix twice, and the Tasman Championship — in 1969 — however, consistent car breakages with its Grand Prix cars caused him to reluctantly quit at the end of that year. Having established himself as one of the very best drivers in the world, he went on to drive for March and Matra in Formula 1, and for BMW in the European Touring Car Championship. He retired from Formula 1 in 1976 and from all motor racing in 1977, when he returned to New Zealand. He married wife Tish and returned to farming. While motor racing was never forgotten, it went on the back-burner as he settled back into life in New Zealand after 15 years away. He and Tish were soon joined by daughter Georgie, followed by twins James and Alex. Chris was a consultant to Toyota for many years, and the winner of the Toyota Racing Series receives the Chris Amon Trophy. Chris was widely regarded internationally as not only the best driver never to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix but also one of the best drivers never to be crowned world champion. Chris was awarded an MBE for his services to motor sport in 1993 and was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 1995. Chris had battled with cancer in recent years, however, he retained not only a close interest in Formula 1 but also his wonderful sense of humour, complete with that infectious chuckle.
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Chris Amon — a good oldfashioned Kiwi bloke Words: Michael Clark
Chris Amon in the 1972 French GP
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or Chris Amon’s 60th birthday party in 2003, his wife Tish thought it might be an idea for many of his farming friends to learn a little bit about the motor racing past of their famous neighbour. Now, you’d think that even non–motor sport folk would know at least the headlines — that he’d headed off to Europe in 1963 as a 19-year-old — “just for one year, to say I’d done it”; ended up staying until 1977; and, in the interim, won Le Mans, drove for Ferrari, and forged a reputation as one of the very best racing drivers on the planet. Hell, even the Toyota ads promoted the fact that he’d been rated as the best test driver Ferrari ever had. But the fact that many of his buddies knew so little about his illustrious past
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says much about the man — he oozed modesty and was simply content to be Chris Amon the farmer, Chris Amon the family man. He didn’t need to remind the locals about what he’d done; that was then, and now there was the serious task of getting on with the rest of his life rather than resting on past laurels or having regrets about how things might have turned out very differently — he knew the score.
Fast enough Chris had initially proven himself to be fast enough when he first started in Formula 1 (F1) — “the first Grand Prix I attended, I was in it” — but it wasn’t until he was picked up by Ferrari in 1967 that he had the chance to show just how
good he was. Ferrari was beaten by Ford at Le Mans in 1966 — it hadn’t lost there since 1959, and this hadn’t gone unnoticed in Maranello. An approach was made to Chris, who’d gone through boarding school reading Motor Sport in the mid to late ’50s, when the Italian teams epitomized the romantic notion of European motor racing. The lure was too strong, and he spent three years at the scuderia — there were great times, there were frustrations aplenty, and there were dark days — like when his teammate Lorenzo Bandini was killed at Monaco. It was Chris’ first Grand Prix for Ferrari — he and the dashing Italian had driven from Milan to the principality together, after having already shared the winning car at Daytona and Monza.
Brands Hatch British GP 1968
Finest performance
Chris Amon, Hampton Downs 2011
Can-Am McLaren, Bridgehampton 1966
Chris Amon, Hampton Downs 2011
He always regarded his finest performance in a Grand Prix as being his drive at the daunting Clermont-Ferrand in 1972. That day, the Matra V12 was cooperating for once, and he led away from pole, simply dominating the opposition. It was a masterclass act, and it would undoubtedly have resulted in victory had it not been for a puncture. After returning to the track following the unscheduled pit stop, he hammered away at the lap record on each lap. The record books say he finished third, but, as with most statistics relating to this very special driver, this hardly reflects what was seen that day in the middle of France. But Chris does not rate that as his greatest drive — that, he believed, was in a Can-Am race at Bridgehampton in 1966, when he and Bruce McLaren were running the twin McLaren-Chevs. It was another race he didn’t win, but he and Dan Gurney, in a Ford-powered Lola, cleared out in a race in which, “Dan and I ran away — we were about half a mile ahead of everybody else. I think if I could have got by Dan, I probably would have pulled away, but the Ford worked particularly well there”. Chris loved cars in which there was an excess of power to grip — it all went back to his days in the 250F Maserati as an 18-year-old. He had car control other drivers could only dream of — I sent a photo of Chris, which I’d never seen before, in the Matra at Kyalami to Howden Ganley, who said, “Oh, that is so Chris”. He wasn’t destroying tyres or martyring suspension — he had the thing dancing, like only the best can.
imagined that anyone would remember him. The line remained all Saturday and most of Sunday. When he got back, I asked how he’d enjoyed it all: “Well, I hardly saw very much … but I met a lot people who all wanted to talk about the old days.” Chris’ love of the sport never diminished — he followed the exploits of Kiwis abroad but could happily chat about a variety of subjects — politics, cricket, dogs, the world economy, modern trends in passenger-car design, Tish’s golf — and lots about his kids, and their kids. At the heart of it all, Chris was a good old-fashioned Kiwi bloke from the sticks, who loved his family, doted over his dogs, appreciated a good red, was good to his mates, and wondered what those clouds up there might bring if there was a chance of getting out on the lake. And he was a phenomenally good racing driver — with the driest sense of humour around and an infectious chuckle.
Surprised In 2003, Chris attended the Australian Grand Prix as a guest of Toyota — on the Friday, he was surprised that the steady line of people wanting to talk to him never seemed to shrink. He’d not been to Grand Prix for over 25 years, and never themotorhood.com | New Zealand Classic Car
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FEATURE
Ford RS1600 Escort, Sierra Cosworth / Cosworth RS500, Escort Cosworth, Focus RS
RS
THE
EVOLUTION
We spent some time with a collection of race-bred Fords and looked at the heritage of the latest in a long line of rally- and track-bred machines Words: Lachlan Jones Photos: Adam Croy
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his year is proving to be a watershed year for Ford. Not only does 2016 mark the 50th anniversary of an all–Blue Oval podium at Le Mans (taken out by Kiwi duo Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon in the number-two car, with Denny Hulme coming in second with US driving partner Ken Miles in the number-one car), but it has also seen the company market a new breed of vehicles has proven to be not just a success but a revelation. There was the announcement, in late 2015, that Ford would produce a new version of the GT. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the company later made it known that it was taking it to Le Mans in an attempt to recreate history. It didn’t fare too badly either, taking first and third in the GT-E series. On the ground here in New Zealand, we saw the release of the new Mustang earlier in the year, and we managed to spend some time with both versions (the 5.0L V8 and the 2.3L four-cylinder EcoBoost) and were impressed with the advances made while keeping the Mustang heritage alive. And now, Ford has released the latest in a long line of gravel- and track-bred monsters — the brand new Focus RS. The Focus has been built up by the PlayStation generation more than any car in recent history. One of the reasons for this may be Ford’s relationship with YouTube star, driving genius, and all round good guy Mr Ken Block. If you’re unfamiliar with Block’s work, I encourage you to fire up the computer and search YouTube for his name — I personally guarantee that you’ll be in awe of his skill. It will also give you some understanding of what this new Focus is all about. As magazines and websites across the globe proclaim hot-hatch perfection, we decided to take a slightly different tack and look at how we got here. We set out to find a few old Fords that did in their own time what the Focus is currently doing to the market now and explore the mark the Rallye Sport (RS) sub-brand has made on the motoring landscape. themotorhood.com | New Zealand Classic Car
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INTERVIEW
Words: James Nicholls Photos: James Nicholls, Ferrari
Artistic sensibility and the “culture of the project” James Nicholls travels to Maranello for an exclusive interview with Flavio Manzoni, head of Ferrari design
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o have the opportunity to visit the most famous car factory in the world was a privilege. To stay in Maranello and have the keys of the incredible Ferrari 488 GTB thrust into my hands was indeed very special. The car is fantastic to look at and to drive, and the guided tour of the factory provided by my hosts was testimony to why it is such an impressive motor car — a turbo with truly no turbo lag, a turbo that sounds like a normally aspirated Ferrari engine. When Ferrari sets out to do anything related to a motor vehicle, it does it properly, and, if you share the Ferrari passion with the staff, then the members welcome you with open arms in true Italian style. And so, for me, the greatest honour was not just being allowed behind the wheel of one of its creations; not seeing how green and efficient and yet still
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so human the factory making this creation was, and, of course, its bigger V12 sibling; but being accorded the time to meet the man who first breathed life into the company’s latest offerings — to have an exclusive interview with Flavio Manzoni, head of Ferrari design. Over its history, Ferrari has worked with the great carrozzeria, most notably Pininfarina, to provide its cars with substance. But things changed in 2010, as Signor Manzoni explained: “I’m director of design, head of Ferrari design. So, I lead the Ferrari Design Centre — that is quite a new, recent reality in Ferrari, because it [was] … created in 2010 when I arrived here. Now it’s a complete reality with many … [and] with several competencies, and I’m very proud of this. I think the history of Ferrari is a kind of duty … It’s a duty to know and to assimilate. The question is how to evolve the Ferrari
design language into something which must be modern and also futuristic in certain cases, still being very respectful regarding the DNA of the brand and the history of the brand. So, there is a very nice phrase of Renzo Piano, the famous architect, that explains that the design is something in between the prudence of tradition and the courage of the future. So, it’s always a balance between the two, so you cannot forget such an important history like the Ferrari history, but we have to be really creative in order to imagine that possible evolution, possible transformation of the design, the Ferrari design, in a very natural way. So, we have also with our new projects to anticipate somehow the development of the car industry with very excellent products, so, we have to be courageous and respectful at the same time.”
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ADVERTISING FEATURE Under Bonnet Ancillaries
UNDER BONNET ANCILLARIES We all know there’s plenty more under the hood of a car besides an engine: here’s an insight into those often overlooked ancillaries, and the experts who can assist you with them Words: NZCC Photos: Supplied / NZCC Archive
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n today’s world, with engines shrouded in plastic covers and rich with electronics, there are plenty of components in the engine bay of a vehicle that a traditional mechanic can not assist with, and the same is true of many classics. While some car enthusiasts will spend a lot of
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time and money wringing every last bit of power from their engine, or getting it looking better than new, the ancillaries are equally important, yet often overlooked. Over the next few pages we’ve assembled a great directory of businesses which specialize in those
under-bonnet ancillaries, broken down into the areas of radiators, air conditioning and carburettors. All three of these topics require specialist knowledge, knowledge that can only be gained from years of dealing with the subject matter, as you’ll soon find out.