Famous cars and drivers at Autospectacular
PETROLHEADS were in their element at the 40th annual Autospectacular on Saturday.
Classic car lovers were treated to nearly 300 vehicles, from 35 car and motorcycle clubs, together with a bevy of individual entries.
Highlights included a Packard Senior Super 8 Coupe given to pioneering American pilot Amelia Earhart and a Ford Mondeo driven in 1994 by Kiwi Paul Radisich to victories in the British Touring Car Championship at Donington Park and Silverstone.
Having recently flown down from Auckland, Mr Radisich said he was impressed by the quality and range of the entries at the annual car show.
‘‘It’s awesome . . . the different array of cars that are here, from new to old, it’s brilliant.’’
Standing beside the Mondeo, powered by a 2litre V6 Cosworth engine delivering 300bhp, Mr Radisich, now managing director of Aegis Oil, explained he had reunited with the car seven years ago after a long separation.
‘‘This car was built by Andy Rouse Engineering in the UK. It’s a car that I campaigned in the British Touring Car Championship in 1994.’’
‘‘I did I think about 45 races in this car, won a couple . . .
In 2011, he tracked the car down in Wales. It was in a sorry state with a blown engine. It has since been restored to its former glory and lives a quiet life at the Highlands Motorsport Park.
‘‘We had a run about two years ago just to make sure it did actually fire up.
‘‘But other than that no it’s just been sitting in the museum, like me, growing old.’’
Head of the organising committee Kevin Casey said he expected about 4000 people would have passed through the gates. Many of those would have come from Central Otago, where the Autospectacular had drawn strong support over the years.
‘‘We never know until it’s all over but generally speaking we get about 4000 through.’’