EMW6 (1983-1989)

This is another ‘what if’ car. It was a brilliant design, it handled well on the racing track, and it was powered by a small block Chev. This alloy-bodied car was the brainchild of a very skilled car builder by the name of Cliff Everson. The ‘E’ is for Everson, with the ‘MW’ being a nod to the car that inspired it — the BMW M1. The number ‘6’ came about as it was the sixth, and, possibly, the best, car that Cliff had designed and built. All the panels were hand beaten, with most of the mechanical parts — apart from the ZF transaxle and motor — coming from the Holden Commodore. The Commodore also provided the windscreen, tail lights, styling for the bumpers, and various other sundry bits. The car was sold only in turnkey form. Cliff believed that he needed to sell three cars to break even, but, at around $100K each in 1980, they were not cheap. However, with the prototype on the road and demonstrating what it could do on the track, there was a lot of interest in the car. With two buyers lined up, Cliff was confident that he could sell at least five, so he decided to put the car into production. He made enough panels for five cars but decided to build just three initially. At the time, Cliff’s factory, Everson Welding Works, was heavily involved in converting Chevrolet trucks into ambulances for the New Zealand health system. Unfortunately, when that dried up, he found himself unable to cover the cost of manufacturing the three cars, so he downsized his priorities and the cars were worked on only as time permitted. The new owners had a long wait to receive their cars, with the last of the three being finished in 1989. A fourth car was started but later scrapped.