It’s a little crazy to think it’s been 20 issues since our gold-covered 200th issue. This month, in NZ Performance Car Issue No. 220. we’re bringing you some crazy cars as usual, mixed with a good-sized serving of tech to keep you up to date.
While I don’t think it’s any surprise to most people, editor Marcus Gibson is rather fond of the rotary engine. In fact, he was seen jumping for joy at the sight of Aaron Keech’s 20B-powered RX-3. There’s a reason why it’s on the cover, and if you’ve ever seen Aaron’s previous FC RX-7, you’ll know why we placed it there.
Connal Grace caught up with the boys behind the Hoonicorn build. It turns out that the build team features a bunch of Kiwis. The car, which rose to fame through Ken Block, was recently unveiled in Ken’s latest Gymkhana video.
Peter Kelly, aka Pedey, left the NZ Performance Car team last year after a nine-year reign as editor. He and partner Taryn went exploring the world, but recently returned to the country, and before they could leave again Marcus managed to catch up with Pedey to talk about his partner and himself, and his G-Nose 280z. The car, which has been built over the past few years, has become one of the cleanest Fairladys this side of Japan.
Rene Vermeer wanted to know more about the process of running a NEO VVL VE head in a rear-wheel-drive car. He was lucky to catch up with Brendan from pTen Developments about the process, how to go about doing the build yourself, and why the process is worth doing in the first place.
Just in case you’re more into the RB engine over the SR engine from Nissan, we’re talking RB30s with Nick Horwood about his four-door, RB30-powered R32 Skyline that unlike many, isn’t built for drifting.
Contributor Richard Opie headed on down to Leadfoot Festival to give us the best coverage around on the lucky drifters who managed to slide up the hill, and the classics that raced up also.
Chris Smith headed along to the Ardmore Airport to check out the Ardmore Showdown — a day playing host to both air shows and road shows. While some drag raced along the strip, others drifted against planes and helicopters to see who was quicker. All in the name of a bit of weekend fun, the day brought out some uncanny members to be raced.
But if you want to see any more … well you’re just going to have to go buy the magazine.
Check it out now on your local’s shelf!