O UT O F S I G HT, O UT O F M I N D — U N D E R B O DY CO M P O N E NT S
LEGENDARY STATUS GR A H A M MCR A E PORSCHE 550 SPY DER
ROTARY PASSION
ISSUE 332 $10.99 INCL. GST
MAZDA ROADPACER
AUGUST 2018
themotorhood.com
PURPLE HAZE MINI 1000
HOLLYWOOD ON THE LAKE CONCORSO D’ELEGANZA V ILLA D’ESTE
BACK TO THE '60S — NEW ZEALAND'S GOLDEN ERA
CONTENTS
332 AUGUST 2018
6 PORSCHE 550 SPYDER GRAHAM MCRAE MASTERPIECE
18 1976 MAZDA ROADPACER A PASSION FOR MAZDAS
28 1980 MINI 1000 IT HAD TO BE PURPLE
38 CONCORSO D’ELEGANZA VILLA D’ESTE HOLLYWOOD ON THE LAKE
64 BACK TO THE ’60S
WE GO BACK TO THIS GOLDEN ERA
74 A SAFER UNDERBODY OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND
4
New Zealand Classic Car | themotorhood.com
18
28
COLUMNS 46 52 58 94
MOTORMAN KITS AND PIECES MOTOR SPORT FLASHBACK PRICE ON
EVENTS
38
46
88 90
HISTORIC MUSCLE CARS 2018 AUTUMN COLOURS OUTING
74
52
58 LIKE US ON FACEBOOK — SEARCH ‘NZ CLASSIC CAR ’
REGULARS
86
36 57 82 86 92 96 98 100 104 105 110 112
READERS’ WRITES SUBSCRIBE AND WIN LOCAL REPORT NEWS EVENTS DIARY BEHIND THE GARAGE DOOR CLUB CORNER AUTOMOBILIA CLASSIC CARS FOR SALE EDITOR’S PICK LOCAL SPECIALISTS CROSSWORD / NEXT MONTH
90 themotorhood.com | New Zealand Classic Car
5
FEATURE
1955 Porsche 550 Spyder (2018 McRae reproduction)
LEGENDARY
STATUS THE PORSCHE 550 SPYDER
IS ABOUT AS CLASSIC AND ICONIC AS IT GETS, EVEN FOR THE STORIED PORSCHE BR AND Words: Terry Cobham Photos: Adam Croy
6
New Zealand Classic Car | themotorhood.com
themotorhood.com | New Zealand Classic Car
7
FEATURE 1980 Mini 1000
THE COLOUR
PURPLE WHEN SELF-CONFESSED
P E T R O L H E A D D A R R E L L- M A R I E N I C H O L WAS GIVEN THE OPPORTUNIT Y TO CHOOSE A COLOUR FOR HER NE W C A R , T H E R E W A S O N LY E V E R G O I N G TO BE ONE OPTION Words: Ashley Webb, Darrell-Marie Nichol Photos: Darrell-Marie Nichol
28 New Zealand Classic Car | themotorhood.com
themotorhood.com | New Zealand Classic Car
29
FEATURE Concorso d’Eleganza
JAMES HEADS OFF TO THE SHORES OF L A K E C O M O , I TA LY, A P O P U L A R R E T R E AT F O R A R I S TO C R AT S A N D T H E W E A LT H Y S I N C E R O M A N TIMES, FOR THE AMAZING CONCORSO D’ELEGANZA VILLA D’ESTE Words and photos: James Nicholls
H O L L Y W O O D ON THE L A K E
38 New Zealand Classic Car | themotorhood.com
T
he Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, held every year at the Grand Hotel Villa d’Este on the shores of Lake Como, was first held in 1929. Then, the movie industry was still in its infancy and the Great Depression was beginning after the Wall Street Crash. This year, 89 years later, it celebrated perhaps two of the 20th century’s most important socio-historic events — the arrival of the automobile and its relationship with the cinema — and was entitled ‘Hollywood on the Lake’. Villa d’Este, built in 1568, was originally the summer residence of Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio, becoming a hotel in 1873. Since then, it has always been a destination for aristocrats of Europe partaking in the ‘Grand Tour’. In the 20th century, as today, it became the meeting point for the internationally famous, many of who became so almost overnight by dint of their exploits on the silver screen. For this reason, the hotel, to insiders, became known as ‘Hollywood on the Lake’.
Style and purpose The 50 cars featured in the Concorso this year were divided into a variety classes according to their style and purpose: pioneering racing cars (The Titans), including venerable Alfa Romeos
and Bugattis; opulent automobiles (From Manhattan to Mayfair), of which surely none was more luxurious than the gold-plated 1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom, seemingly touched by the hand of King Midas or the Ian Fleming character Auric Goldfinger himself; and stunning art-deco grande routières, exemplified by the 5.5m long 1936 Lancia Astura Serie III or the beautiful Bugatti Type 57 Atalante from the following year, named after the Amazon hunter from Greek mythology. GT cars were in abundance, with wonderful and exotic specimens from the great marques Ferrari, Bentley, Jaguar, and Aston Martin, from the pens of the great coachbuilders Mulliner, Vignale, Pinin Farina (which became Pininfarina only in the 1960s), and Scaglietti. For the first time, too, Formula 1 was a featured class at the Concorso, designated by the risqué title ‘When Sex Was Safe and Racing Dangerous!’ Here were single-seaters, or monoposti as they are known in Italy, which had been driven by those who hold a place in the pantheon of piloti such as Stirling Moss, Harry Schell, Jean Behra, Luigi Musso, Luigi Villoresi, Juan Manuel Fangio, Jim Clark, John Surtees, Jo Bonnier, Wolfgang von Trips, Jean-Pierre Beltoise, Ronnie Peterson, Andrea De Cesaris, themotorhood.com | New Zealand Classic Car
39
KITS AND PIECES
Words and photos: Patrick Harlow
T-REX
IT’ S A C A R , J I M , B U T N O T A S WE K N O W IS IT POSSIBLE TO BUY A WILD HIGH-PERFORMANCE SUPERCAR WITHOUT SPENDING HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS? THE ANSWER IS QUITE S I M P LY Y E S
52 New Zealand Classic Car | themotorhood.com
I T
themotorhood.com | New Zealand Classic Car
53
Subscribe and win The Best of the Shed Subscribe or renew this month and be in to win one of 10 copies of The Best of the Shed O UT O F S I G HT, O UT O F M I N D — U N D E R B O DY CO M P O N E NT S NEW ZEALAND CLASSIC CAR AUGUST 2018 ISSUE 332
MCRAE PORSCHE 550 SPYDER • MAZDA ROADPACER • MINI 1000 • CONCORSO D’ELEGANZA VILLA D’ESTE
LEGENDARY STATUS GR A H A M MCR A E PORSCHE 550 SPY DER
Worth
ROTARY PASSION
ISSUE 332 $10.99 INCL. GST
MAZDA ROADPACER
AUGUST 2018
themotorhood.com
PURPLE HAZE MINI 1000
$19.90
HOLLYWOOD ON THE LAKE CONCORSO D’ELEGANZA V ILLA D’ESTE
BACK TO THE '60S — NEW ZEALAND'S GOLDEN ERA
SUBSCRIBE TO NEW ZEALAND CLASSIC CAR SIX MONTHS
ONE YE AR
T WO YE ARS
$54
$98
$169
SAVE
SAVE
SAVE
$11 1 year digital sub only $49
$33
$94
TO SUBSCRIBE
W W W. M AGS TORE . NZ OR 080 0 727 574 Offer ends Sunday, 19 August, 2018. Terms and conditions: 1. New Zealand delivery addresses only. 2. Offer available on subscriptions purchased through Parkside Media only. 3. Prize sent to subscription recipient unless specified otherwise. 4. Offer available on print subscriptions only. 5. Best of The Shed worth $19.90. 6. See www.magstore.nz for full terms and conditions.
S U B S C R I B E T O D AY –