Table of contents for No 315 July - August 2025 in NZ Performance Car

Now, how about that cover, eh? We managed to wrangle not one, but two iconic Skylines for this issue and figured, why not run both? You’ve got a wild, 1000+kW billet R34 GT-R and a pristine, restored Hakosuka straight out of Palmy. Two icons from different eras, built in completely different ways, but both wearing the same badge. Safe to say, the result came out pretty damn mint. We’ve gone big on this one with content coming in from all corners of the country. Flip to the editorial team spread on the next page: three full rows of solid talent. That’s the most contributors I’ve had on board since I became editor, and it shows in the depth and variety of stories we’ve packed in. Some familiar names and a…

Luke Fink has done what he always threatened to do and taken the New Zealand drift title offshore through a dominating season performance where he proved that he can and will drive anything and everything. Driving for the JDM Racing team out of Whanganui, Fink set a new five-round season record at 492 points and was never off the podium in any round, with the kind of consistent form and battle prowess that only come from years and years of driving against the world’s best. There was some drama at the final round when the JDM R32 lost an engine in practice, but Christchurch-based Dan Caldwell stepped in to offer his LSX-powered S15, and the title was Luke’s.…

If you live by the title of ‘car enthusiast’ and reside on these hallowed Kiwi shores, there’s a high chance you’ve got a yarn involving a Nissan Skyline. Sure, the old boys have their Holdens and Fords. But for us lot — the DOHC, turbo, all-wheel-drive faithful — the Skyline nameplate is pretty much an integral part of the performance car culture tapestry. It’s one of those iconic badges that’s come to epitomise the power potential of the ‘import’ scene. If there was ever a moment in time that pinpointed the true arrival of the Nissan Skyline among the Kiwi tuner consciousness, it surely had to be within the golden era of used Japanese imports. As the sun set on the 1990s and rose, beaming, into the 2000s, the business…

Dominant. That would be one way to describe the performance of Auckland Evolution at this year’s Mitsubishi Owners Day (MOD). A club with a reputation for being steady and consistent and never really intentionally seeking to stand out, this year, the Auckland Evolution team turned it up and turned out in force, rolling in with over 40 member cars to fully stamp their authority on the event. Rumour has it that President Warren Currie had to remove his slippers to keep count of the awards. We love a feel-good story here at NZPC, and while she will hate me for mentioning it, I’m sure Tiffany‘MSEVHO/MSEVOX’ Douglas will forgive me for noting the pure emotion on her face and in her voice as she held aloft a trophy that she’s been…

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DAVID DASHWOOD AGE: 44 LOCATION: AUCKLAND OCCUPATION: CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER BUILD TIME: TWO YEARS LENGTH OF OWNERSHIP: FOUR YEARS QUARTER-MILE TIME: 9.2 SECONDS AT 243KPH ON AN UNPREPARED TRACK THANKS: THE HARRYS EURO TEAM, FOR TURNING THIS CAR INTO A BEAST; AND ESPECIALLY SCOTT WOOD, FOR ALL HIS SUPPORT AND BEING THE BEST IN THE EURO SCENE NZPC: Hey, David — thanks for sharing your RS3 with us! Can you tell us where your passion for performance cars kicked off, and what pulled you into the Euro scene? It kicked off when I was 18 and got my hands on a Nissan GTi-R RA — an ex-rally car straight out of Japan. It had a roll cage, lightweight spec, close-ratio gear-box … basically a rocket-powered go-kart. That car lit the spark.…

Got Instagram? Want print fame on top of all those likes that fly your way each time you post a photo? Want to show us your whip without actually talking to us? Want to see what other readers are up to in their sheds? Here’s the deal: keep an eye out on our story, where we’ll ask you to share your favourite photo on your ‘gram and tag us. Each month, we’ll handpick some of the best shots to feature right here in print!…

K1NG JZ REVIVAL After what transpired at Chrome last year in August — where the pressure-plate bolts failed and caused a lot of damage to the bellhousing, firewall, and also the back of the motor (where the bellhousing bolts to) — Suhail decided that it was time to create a new and better version of his ‘K1NG JZ’ JZX100 Mark II. After getting the firewall fixed, thanks to Kashif and Atif at The Panel Beaters in Penrose, he decided to start off with a fresh block, forged pistons and rods with Spool rods, new bearings and CP pistons, and a fully built and ported head. He wanted to use quality Kelford parts, so new cams, springs, and retainers were sourced. Platinum Racing Products (PRP) cam gears will help that along,…

I’ve been collecting NZPC for years, so to have my work published and now be named ‘Hero Contributor’ is honestly surreal. Huge thanks to Deven for giving me the opportunity to be part of a magazine I’ve looked up to for so long. I’m Sam Parsons, an automotive photographer and videographer based in Christchurch, or as Instagram knows me, Sam Parsons Photography. I first picked up a camera back in high school, and, funnily enough, it’s also where I met my wife Jess, in photography class. These days, she helps me shoot, edit, and write, and keeps me semi-organised. I couldn’t do this without her. Before photography became my full-time job, I spent five years working as a qualified mechanic, but my love for automotive photography really started in 2015…

The LZ World Tour is arguably the biggest drift event to circle the globe, bringing together drivers from around the world to compete against local heroes — drivers who once could only dream of drifting alongside the world’s best. Taupō, on the other hand, sits on a little island at the bottom of the globe — a place much of the world forgets exists, thinks is part of Australia, or has never even heard of. So, when most thought bringing the two together was nothing but a dream, Guy Maxwell from Choice Events had other plans. A few calls across the ditch later, and 3 and 4 May at Taupō was locked in. The dream was about to become a reality. On the morning of 3 May, as the sun…

For those of us who’ve been mucking about with cars for a while, it’d be a fairly safe assumption to make that we’re all accumulating an expanding knowledge base. With experience comes wisdom, changes in taste, and a greater understanding of what makes ourselves tick — in an automotive context, of course. You’d think that with a steadily growing archive of expertise, the machine choices would progress, evolve, and grow newer, stronger, faster. However, human nature means that we’re also somewhat predisposed to yearning for the past. Nostalgia is a powerful drug, especially for the seasoned octane aficionado. Occasionally, though, these two worlds collide. For West Auckland’s Joel Hedges, one half of C’s Garage, this retina-searing yellow AE86 Levin is the benchmark case in point. It’s the latest build to…

If there’s one name plate that’s remained an icon across generations, it’s the Toyota Supra, which is respected by import tuners and boomers alike. While spotting one here in New Zealand is rare, Christchurch local Jason Ham took matters into his own hands to bring Supra owners together. Jason, known for his standout Supra BOS KA (featured in Issue No. 312), spotted a gap in the local scene. Despite the passion for these cars, the community wasn’t quite there yet. So, inspired by huge, organised Supra meets in Japan, the US, and Australia, he set out to create something similar at home. Slowly, casual lunch runs and chill meet-ups grew, laying the foundation for a club. By 2020, MK4House was officially born. Now based in Christchurch, the club has 34…

WHY A GOLF? Budget. With a $30k-or-under buy budget, we had a few options like a BMW 135i, 335i, older C63 AMG, and even older RS3s. But the facelift Golf R, with its digital dash, updated headlights, and massive infotainment screen, was the clear winner. We’ve been modifying this engine for years now with incredible success and wanted to showcase how it’s done, what to look for, and where to go if something goes wrong. ASSESS AND TEST DRIVE We went to have a look. The car had most of its service history, so we took our laptop to scan for codes. A few were present, but nothing that scared us off. We checked through the service history, and that’s when things started to fall apart. The engine service was…

WYATT VERMAAK AGE: 29// LOCATION: CENTRAL AUCKLAND// OCCUPATION: FIRE ALARM TECHNICIAN// BUILD TIME: SEVEN YEARS// LENGTH OF OWNERSHIP: SEVEN YEARS  THANKS: THANKS TO MY BROTHER JARED, FOR ALL THE PAST AND ONGOING PAINTWORK; ALL THE WHOLESOME WORLD BOYS, FOR ALL THE HELP OVER THE YEARS; AND LIL B THE BASEDGOD; AS WELL AS EVERYONE ELSE WHO’S HAD A PART IN GETTING THE CAR TO WHERE IT IS NOW, OR DEALING WITH ME WHILE DOING SO FAVOURITE DRIFT TRACK: HAMPTON DOWNS CLUB CIRCUIT NZPC: Hey, Wyatt. That’s a wicked S14 you’ve put together. Can you tell us how you got into modifying cars in the first place, and what else you owned before this? I’ve been into cars since young thanks to family influences and watching shows such as Top Gear.…

KARAN SHARDA AGE: 35// LOCATION: NORTH SHORE, AUCKLAND OCCUPATION: CONTRACTOR// BUILD TIME: JUST OVER TWO YEARS LENGTH OF OWNERSHIP: JUST OVER TWO YEARS NZPC: Hey, Karan, what a weapon you’ve built for the strip. First off, how did you originally get into modifying cars? It all started when I first watched The Fast and the Furious—I wanted to be the Indian version of Paul Walker! Back in high school, I’d tag along with older mates to watch drag racing. After school, I’d roll with the boys, help them out — kind of like a bumboy, passing tools, getting hands-on, or just sitting in the passenger seat getting a feel for it all. Every Friday night, it was Mobil on Quay Street. That’s where the older guys with fast, performance cars…

James Wildon’s insane ‘40PSI’ has long been the benchmark in roll racing and, as a result of this, received an invite to cross the ditch and run against what many would argue is the strongest GT-R scene in the world in Australia, with an anchor event in the Motive Video GT-R festival. As of the time we go to print, we haven’t yet had an update on times or speeds for James, but with a string of eights here and more favourable conditions, we expect big things from the JT Performance machine.…

Toots and Mark … remember them? Well, 21 years ago they had a show called Import X, and it was all about the Kiwi car scene. These days, there is either a bit more grey or a lot less hair, but the boys are back in front of the cameras, and to celebrate, they held their first car meet in well over two decades. Starting off at Meremere and then hitting all the regular scene stop-off points, the now much older and debatably wiser duo made the most of being back in the thick of the action and are now looking forward to meeting up with old friends and making a whole lot of new ones. Keep your eyes and ears out for a combination of throwback and all-new content.…

One thousand kilowatts. Not long ago, numbers like that felt way out of reach here in little ol’ New Zealand — something you’d only catch on YouTube, watching drag and roll race compilations from Australia and the States. Sure, 1000hp builds have been around for a while, but now we’re seeing more homegrown machines entering that 1000kW territory, and some of them are still street driven, complete with full interiors. With better access to top-tier parts and local workshops stepping up, Kiwis are truly pushing the limits. A big chunk of that progress comes from New Zealand–made names like Link, Kelford Cams, and Hughes Race Built (HBR), putting the country firmly on the map. Some of the world’s wildest and fastest cars are running parts and tech straight out of…

Considering you’re currently reading a copy of NZPC, there’s a strong chance that you’ve attended, if not at least heard of 4 & Rotary, a series of events showcasing some of the country’s top builds both on and off track. While attendees are welcome to enter any make or model of car they like, no matter where it’s made, you will no doubt agree with us when we say the JDM pretty much runs the show and has done so since the first event was held in the late 1990s. That never prevented purveyors of Euros from representing their side of the scene, though, with a sharp rise in their attendance over the years. Luckily for them, organiser Downtime Entertainment was taking notes, and decided it was time Euros had…

Japfest 2025 made its return to Christchurch’s Euromarque Motorsport Park in April — and this one went off. Run by the crew at Premier Events, Japfest is a celebration of all things Japanese and rotary powered. From drag-spec street cars to tidy cruisers and competition-built machines, it’s a proper mix of what makes New Zealand’s JDM scene tick. This year saw over 200 cars roll through the gates from every corner of the country — some from as far north as Northland — proving once again just how far people are willing to go for the right kind of event. The day kicked off early, with cars lined up from 6am. Cruise sessions, roll racing, drifting, and speed runs filled the schedule, and the track stayed hot all day. No…

Southland local Paul Wigzell’s full-metal-widebody Celica ST165 might be one of the most well-executed Celica GT-Fours you’ve ever seen, and probably takes the cake for the coolest ST165 you’ve come across. It has a menacing, unforgiving look about it, with plenty of subtle allusions to its World Rally Championship (WRC) title–winning past. The skilfully crafted steel body kit respectfully builds on what Toyota originally designed, following the original lines of the car, and in running a 3S-GTE two-litre, he also stays true to the heritage of this all-wheel-drive Celica. With all of this then, you probably wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the creator and builder of this shadowy machine was a long-term GT-Four fanatic. ‘Fanatic’ is definitely one word for it, but Paul puts it differently. He’s a self-proclaimed…

When it comes to celebrating car culture in its rawest, most hands-on form, the 4 & Rotary Ultimate Track Day is about as real as it gets. While the January Nats are all go with show cars, tight deadlines and competition pressure, the April track day brings a whole different energy. It’s more laid-back and all about actually driving your car. No polishing, no tyre shine, just you, your mates, and as many laps as you can squeeze in before the sun sets at Hampton Downs. As soon as the gates opened, cars were already rolling in steadily. Everything from rotangs, JDM and Euros, to classics, Aussie muscle, and even the odd exotic. Convoys pulled in together, claiming spots on the infield to set up camp. Out popped the gazebos…

Turning 40 may be a milestone that many don’t look forward to — a point where some start to consider themselves old-timers. But for Tauranga’s Jamie Smyth, it puts him at the perfect age to remember the late 1990s and early 2000s import scene — a time when VR-4s, Lancers, and WRXs ruled the streets, the strip, and the show circuit alike. Being slightly too young to partake in the chaos, Jamie had to make do with a Mini as his first car. Like many others, he used it as an opportunity to learn the art of handbrake skids. He assures us that skill had absolutely nothing to do with the car ending up wrapped around a fence post on the family farm … Luckily, over the years, not only…