Motorsport

Leo Leonard

The first F5000 car: This post has appeared on the F5000 Facebook page, but we figure it deserves a place here too. In May 1967 George Begg designed and knocked up, in six weeks, a single seater racing car powered by a standard Chev V8 motor with upturned “BRM” style stub exhausts. It was a […]

Continue Reading...

Motorsport

Is the V8 Bubble About to Burst?

The news today that Shane van Gisbergen is quitting the Australian V8 scene and returning home is obviously rocking the V8 Fans to the core. But below is a piece I wrote two weeks ago for the NZ Motor Racing Weekly email letter. I believe the glory days are over — and not just because […]

Continue Reading...

Classic

Blast From The Past: Ford Mustang

OVERSTEER ROAD TEST: Ford Mustang The Ford Mustang stands to this day as the fastest selling car of all time. When the car made its debut at the New York World’s Fair on the 17th of April 1964, Ford sold 100,000 in the first three months of production. People like Frank Sinatra and Debbie Reynolds […]

Continue Reading...

Classic

Superbird

BEEP BEEP — ZOOM!: This is a very rare bird indeed. It’s a 1970 Plymouth Superbird Roadrunner which followed on from the similar, but not identical, Chrysler Corp bedmate, the 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona. No prizes for guessing that these cars were designed with oval NASCAR events like Daytona in mind, but they were also […]

Continue Reading...

Classic

Mitt’s Dad was a car bloke!

OVERSTEER looks at the automotive legacy behind Mitt Romney (Please hold cursor over image for caption) What’s the link between failed Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney and CLASSIC OVERSTEER? Ol’ Mitt’s Dad was George W. Romney, the man who oversaw the ending of Hudson and Nash and the introduction of Rambler as a brand. It’s […]

Continue Reading...

The writer tackles the famous Carousel corner in one of his later visits Classic Motorsport

The Green Hell

(Please hold your cursor over the images to see the caption) When it comes to talk of motor racing circuits, the inherent dangers of Pukekohe with its fences, narrow space between track and spectators, power poles and trains, doesn’t hold a candle to what they call, the Green Hell — the Nurburgring. I first drove […]

Continue Reading...

Classic

Automotive Ambitions

When I was a teenager and my parents bought the shop next to the boatsheds at Brighton near Dunedin, I was in the midst of my initial car-mad phase. I was quite eclectic in my tastes — British, American or “foreign”, I didn’t mind, although I steered away from the mundane and preferred oddballs, or […]

Continue Reading...

One of the rare racing appearance made in 1935 by the Bitmore. Note saddle fuel tanks Classic

Heroic Failures

One at both ends – OVERSTEER looks at the bizarre Alfa Romeo Bimotore (To read photo captions, please hold your cursor over the image) Grand Prix racing in the mid to late thirties was totally dominated by two teams, Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union (a name created specifically for the cars) — both were funded by the […]

Continue Reading...

Classic

Blast From The Past: Fiat 124 BC

OVERSTEER ROAD TEST: Fiat 124 BC I will get something off my chest straight away here, I love Italian cars. Yes they will let you down from time to time and parts can be scarce depending on the make or model, but in my mind there are very few car-building nations that can match the […]

Continue Reading...