New Zealand Classic Car 375, March 2022

An immaculate ’56 T-Bird leads the issue. Its provenance is itself a classic American tale. Owner John Rae knew both of its American owners, giving the car unimpeachable authenticity. Among the thousands produced, it’s also likely to be completely unique. Mazda’s rotary engined cars are zoom-zoom-zooming in value, so several are now making the journey back from boy racer territory to factory standard. Very few avoided that territory altogether and yet one Bay of Plenty owner shows usf two of them, an RX-2 and an RX-3. We also highlight another Japanese rotary, Suzuki’s high stakes and highly sophisticated RE5 motorbike from 1975. Another engine tech, two-stroke, features in another pair of fascinating DKW cars and for the purists we have Alfa Romeo’s symphonic coupé, the 1750 GTV. Plus we have Michael Clark lunching with promotor and race caller Brian Lawrence and Donn Anderson on an unforgettable trip to Rio to sample a Fiat Punto Turbo.