SETTING STANDARDS —

AUTOFEST 2018

You’ll be hard-pressed to catch Alan and Paretauira Togia saying it, but the brains behind event-promotion organization Downtime Entertainment have got to be very pleased with the way their annual AutoFest event has grown into the monster it now is — an automotive festival that can be classed among the biggest in New Zealand. From the first AutoFest, in February 2016, through to the third iteration just gone, the growth and refinement of the show’s formula have been discernible, despite the fact that, at a surface level, things have remained largely as they always have been. The venue is still Waikato’s Mystery Creek Events Centre, and the main attractions of a massive show hall and epic burnout competition remain at the fore. It’s all just been polished and perfected, with existing strengths added to and shortfalls experienced in the past addressed. While the queues of entrants and show-goers snaking up the entry road and onto the main Mystery Creek Road would have given a fair indication of just what to expect, experiencing the show in full effect is really the only way to get

how big it is. A look within the enormous show hall reveals the remarkably high calibre of cars on display, arranged in an open and comfortably navigable format — it is refreshing to be able to take in a static display where the vehicles have a bit of breathing room and aren’t crammed in for maximum space utilization. We’d argue this is the desirable layout — from a spectator perspective, at least — because it is much easier to check the cars out and photograph them, and it keeps quality to a certain standard by limiting space to only the standout entrants. And there were plenty of those — which you can see more of in the photos throughout this article — arranged in a decent mix of V8 muscle and just about everything else. That is one of the more noteworthy features of Downtime Entertainment events: the lack of preferential treatment of different automotive

scenes. If you’re into your cars, there’s a place for you, and it was great to see the old hands get an idea of the way things are done these days, while the younger crowd could gain an appreciation for the more old-school train of thought — custom metalwork or engineering when an off-the-shelf solution doesn’t exist. Perhaps the most telling indicator of this was within the NZ Lowrider Super Show — a separate show hall dedicated to some of the finest lowriders in the country, courtesy of clubs such as Carnales, Old Skool Rydz, and Loyalty IV Life, as well as impressive builds from shops like Waikato Customs and Jokers Wild Kustoms. No less impressive, the Mai FM–sponsored outdoor hardpark sprawled across a substantial

THERE’S NO PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT OF DIFFERENT AUTOMOTIVE SCENES

patch of land and comprised an interesting and diverse range of both individual and club displays. However, where crowd engagement was concerned, it was The Rock FM Burnout Competition that took centre stage. Two qualifying rounds and an action-packed final gave a sensory overload of big revs and clouds as the field pushed their engines to make it to the top. How will the Downtime Entertainment crew take AutoFest to new heights, after this year’s success? Well, they are their own worst critics and have already identified several areas that need addressing. With their ambitious goals in mind, we’re sure that they’ve mapped out a path to get there. Next year’s AutoFest will be bigger, and it will be better — make sure you’re a part of it.

FOR CROWD ENGAGEMENT, THE ROCK FM BURNOUT COMPETITION TOOK CENTRE STAGE

Travelling half the length of the North Island to get to AutoFest, Upper Hutt man Joel Arcus was not there to fornicate with spiders. The ‘SKOOLU’ Camaro is the newest addition to New Zealand’s burnout elite and is motivated by an LS1 topped by an 8-71...

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‘SYCH08’ is a fitting plate for Aaron Jenkins’ wild Torana, which keen readers will be sure to recognize. Built entirely in Aaron’s Waikato garage, the Torana has run an 8.33-at164.17mph quarter-mile, completely street legal. While Aaron was judging...

Matamata Panelworks don’t only build killer Mustangs. This ‘56 Chev Bel Air two-door hardtop is one smooth machine, and it was joined by a super tough ’57 Chev Bel Air. A work-in-progress, the ‘57 featured a new firewall and floorpan, and heavily...

If there was an award for it, Ian Neary’s name was on it. At least, that’s how it must have appeared to some bemused onlookers, as the man just kept getting called up at awards time. We’re not going to harp on about the car too much, but the ‘Eruption’...