Table of contents for No 309 July - August 2024 in NZ Performance Car

By the time this issue reaches your hands, we will all be gearing up for the chilly season. Hoodies will be out in full force, and cars will be tucked away for their winter hibernation, undergoing some well-needed maintenance and upgrades. We’ve had a good run; sure, there might be fewer events, but now’s the perfect time to roll up your sleeves and get those projects ready for the summer. On another note, the Rotationals Drag Festival was a success! We all came together and raised $8,030 for the I Am Hope Foundation, absolutely smashing our record from our last event at Mt Smart Stadium. This just proves how awesome and positive our car community can be. It’s all about coming together to celebrate what we love and making a…

Kase, congratulations on the big win! Two round wins and a massive 442 points overall are great going. Can you tell us a little about how you felt before stepping up to Pro? We’ve been told it’s a big jump. “Hey, sure, thanks for that. We [PB Drift] came into the season with no real expectations other than to prove I belonged; I was thinking maybe a top 10 would be nice. After the first round, it still didn’t really sink in, but after the second round and once the team fought back and kept us on track I started to really think we could make something of the season.” Have there been many adjustments moving to Pro? “Yeah, this year is the first time I’ve really just focused on…

Inspired by many big American Honda builds of recent times, Matt Pussell had dreams of a B series monster of his own. Growing up in the early 2000s NZ Honda scene was like being in a candy store for him. Those days of the DA, EG, DC, and the iconic EK chassis bring back some serious nostalgia. Having already tinkered with multiple DA Integras, high comp NA and turbo, Matt decided to switch gears and dive into a hatchback. He gave everyone a heads-up that a major build was about to go down within the Flame Performance roller doors. The team at Flame Performance took on the challenge of building Matt’s Civic in-house. Their mission? Get it ready for the Chrome Expression Session, which was just a month and a…

You might recall a few years back when NZ Performance Car dabbled in the street meet scene in issue 285 by featuring the Rotationals: Winter Meet, held on an empty industrial road in Hobsonville, Auckland. Rotationals have always been about keeping the NZ car culture and community alive and kicking, inspiring the next wave of car enthusiasts by bringing the scene together for casual hardparks and cruises. It’s a nod to that grassroots spirit that kicks off every car enthusiast’s journey and truly brings everyone together. Over the past years, Rotationals has kept the momentum going with street events across Auckland. What started as small meets held in empty car parks and public roads quickly grew from a couple of hundred to thousands of attendees. But as the meets became…

As the summer of 2001 approached, the four MCs and two DJs of Jurassic 5 dropped what would go on to be their biggest track, ‘What’s Golden’, a hip-hop ode to doing things ‘old-school’ and espousing their commitment to staying true to that very cause. Superficially, that could come across as a carelessly literal and painfully tedious link to the Benson & Hedges gold hue that flows across the jelly-mould curves of the Sierra Cosworth draped across these pages. But if we dig a little deeper and consider the iconic Ford touring car in its current context, these two entities share a little more than you might think. It’s been some 34 years since this Sierra first hit the track, racing among the Group A era on Australian soil. The…

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Hey, John. What drew you to the world of performance cars, and how did you get started in this passion? What was your first car? I started out owning and restoring air-cooled VWs — modifying them, as there was always a quest to go faster. Water-cooled VWs were a natural progression, and once turbos came along, that opened up a whole new world of possibilities. My first ever car was a 1974 1303s Beetle, which I drove for about a year before taking it apart to restore it. However, my first daily driver was a UK import 1989 Golf GTI 16V. Being young and naive, I thought I had something quick. I loved that car and tried a few times to buy it back, but it was never for sale…

HERO CONTRIBUTOR TODD WYLIE I wouldn’t use the word ‘hero’, but more describe myself as an experienced shit-talker. I was lucky enough to join the NZPC team as assistant editor way back in 2004. Yep, I’m old … back then, it was more common for us to fax spec sheets to people than send them via email. But, for the flaws of the time, it will likely go down in history as the best period in the import scene. Creativity was rife, with every build being created to be wilder than the next person’s. The AutoSalon show series played a large part in that, and in my own automotive journey, where I was fortunate enough to build up a car that took home its fair share of awards. I worked…

David Newton isn’t a name that many would recognise, but that may change once he heads across the Tasman as a time attack competitor at this year’s World Time Attack Challenge. While little is known about the build at this stage, and like many it will keep evolving, when the name Hartley is involved in the engine build and the number 1000 is thrown around, this team won’t be intending to just make up numbers. The critical turn one at Sydney Motorsport Park awaits, and we will be watching the free livestream keenly to see how David progresses throughout the two days.…

“Ornamental frogs!” Thanks to Tina, chances are you recognise at least half of this month’s cover duo. Yes, it is that car, and no, the owner has absolutely no regrets about being part of a TV campaign. If you have attended any event in the past few years, chances are you’ll also recognise its garage-mate RX-7 and may have made the link between the distinctive gold themes. Proud west Aucklander Bevan has a tough choice each week when he decides which toy to use to relieve the stress of running a business. As the owner of Hydroflame Plumbing and Gas, he spends his weekdays in a lifted Ford Ranger before coming home to enjoy the fruits of his labour. He opens the shed and can choose from a pair of…

For performance car lovers, the word ‘stock’ is a dirty, dirty word — well, that is right up until any car becomes ‘classic’. Pissing off the purists and anyone else for that matter isn’t at the top of Cody Hamilton’s list of things to do, but building a car for just yourself and nobody else will inevitably raise eyebrows and leave middle-aged men in cargo shorts and white New Balance shoes feeling mildly offended. As you can see, this Supra is one that has no middle ground; it has been built to be hammered on and is a product of that good ol’ Kiwi ingenuity and ‘can do’ attitude. Cody has always been a Supra kind of guy; his first foray into the Supra world is currently undergoing its fourth…

”ON TRACK IT’S ALL ABOUT THE THE LAPTIMES, PUSHING FOR AN EXTRA TENTH ALWAYS Time Attack isn’t just a battle against the clock. Stitching together an optimal lap is a balance between driver, car, and conditions. At times, it’s an absolute war against critical components of your car across multiple track sessions. Brett Celliers’ weapon of a Subaru WRX took out top honours in the Unlimited (slick tyres) class, but not without the sacrifice of a couple of axles to the car gods. Alex Reid and his beautiful S15 Silvia with all of the aero came home as bridesmaid after an incredibly consistent season of improvements and showing how much difference a bit of seat time can make to overall results. The never-ending stable of Rivers’ automobiles gave us the…

Picture this … you’re sitting at the dinner table with your significant other, and all of a sudden, they turn to you and say, “I’m quite keen to plan a top 32 drift event at Taupo with international drifters, but what I’m also keen to do is ensure that all five of our own Choice cars are prepped, tuned, and rewrapped ready for those international drifters.” You sit there and think about how busy you both are, and if your partner has gone a bit mad, then you realise how amazing it would be, and somehow you find yourself saying: “Let’s do this!” You then start talking about how that competition would look, the required work, and where the internationals would stay. Would people actually enter? The logistical challenge and…

CHROME NIGHTS A free event in central Auckland? Jumping on the Hardpark vibe, the Premier Events team have further added to their stable and put on a free event for all those who had previously registered for a Chrome event. Think Caffeine and Cars after-dark vibes. Was it successful? Well over 1000 reported cars and traffic gridlock says yes. That was in winter weather too! There was a little something for everyone, from classics to JDM to high-end Euro and even the odd big rig. The Premier Events team are diving right back in, already announcing Chrome Nights 2, scheduled for September 14th at the Auckland Showgrounds. Don’t miss out!…

Downtime Entertainment is pretty quick on the trigger with ‘pop up’ events, and Impulsive 4.0 was one of those added to King’s Birthday weekend. Enthusiast events tend to attract a hard-core follower, and this was no different, with the usual culprits appearing and disproving the theory that many of these cars are summer-only cruisers. The sounds of rotary engines from 12A up to 26B were heard in all manner of ports, and as is always the case, the burnout pad was a real favourite, with a solid four-plus hours of skids being thrown down.…

As soon as the words ‘Hi-Power Performance’ are mentioned in an article, you know you’re in for a treat. Renowned for building New Zealand’s finest RBs, their engine bays are a work of art, boasting top-notch workmanship, high power figures, and colour schemes that are absolute engine-bay porn! Kaleb, a 25-year-old Aucklander (yes, you read that right), entrusted his R34 to the wizards Ethan Lowe and Duane Huxtable to work their magic. After multiple engines, gearboxes, and revisions, the project is finally complete, resulting in a lethal street weapon. But it wasn’t all about high horsepower from the get-go; Kaleb’s passion for performance cars traces back to the 2000s, heavily influenced by the D1 scene and his old man’s involvement in the car community. It all kicked off with a…

There is something special to be found in the sound of hundreds of 4G63 engines all in one place. The engine code is forever associated with being the power plant of choice for the Evo 0 (insert ‘debate on’ as to whether it’s a real Evo) up to Evo IX models before the Evo X received the 4B11. Mitsubishi Owners Day holds a special place in this writer’s own heart as an enthusiast day, where you’ll hear a mix of conversations about everything from who has managed to acquire an ’80s Mirage to speculation around who might be pushing 1000hp now or fitting up a billet block for track/drag use. In my case, it’s also been 20 years since we debuted our Evo build at Auto Salon under the guise…

NZPC: Hey, Graham, that Civic of yours is a bloody pocket rocket! Wanna spill the beans on your history with performance cars? Yeah, this car is a handful, that’s for sure. Where do I start? Hmm, pretty much once I started high school, my obsession with performance cars began when I got my licence at the age of 16. I went from driving a Mitsubishi Evo GSR to a Honda Civic Type R. Then, I started craving that ‘fast fast’ feeling again, and that’s why I ended up deciding to build the K24 Turbo EG. In what state was the Civic in when you got it? Did it take long for you to start modifying it? I bought this Civic as a factory auto 1.6-litre, rolling on stock wheels, and…

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