For fans of rolling on two-wheels NZ auction house Webb’s is hosting a Classic Motorcycle auction on 19th October with previewing beginning this Friday (Oct 7th).

The auction is attracting local and international interest and follows a successful event in March. So once again Webb’s Managing Director Neil Campbell has gathered some truly historic works of industrial design, spanning more than 100 year of New Zealand motorcycling history.

From the remarkably original 1905 Minerva, coming with its original purchase receipt and three generations of family history, to the Grand Prix raced Bultaco direct from the legendary New Zealand race pilot Ginger Molloy’s lifetime collection. Another extremely rare race bike is the 1975 RG500 XR14. The XR14 was made famous by Barry Sheene who won 3 World Championships.

The collection of immaculate late-1960s’ and early-1970s’ Hondas are set to attract a great deal of attention, so too will the examples of mid-70s’ Triumphs.  Campbell claims; “brand-new stock from this period rarely, if ever, comes to the open market so this is a fantastic opportunity for new collectors”.  (more…)

The annual Renegade Rod and Custom Club SPCA Charity day is all on for this Sunday (September 25th).

The event is a great way to involve the whole family, as well as support the SPCA through various auctions that take place on the day. Last years event even saw some car owners taking home a new pet or two, and organisers have requested no dogs be taken to the event this year.

For 2011, any persons that donate a gold coin will receive a numbered ticket for spot prizes and a change to win $250 in cash.

There will be plenty of hot rods, dragsters and street machines on display, click here to see photos from last year’s event. (more…)

It was last month that we first brought you news of an American man who created the world’s only turbine-engined Batmobile replica (read news). It’s an amazing piece of engineering but is entirely impractical and exists only to help play out the boyhood fantasies of its owner and creator Casey Putsch. But now, Putsch has gone tired of this pricey toy and has put it up for sale on eBay Motors.

The Batmobile has a shape made famous by the earlier Keaton-era Batman movies and is powered by the same Boeing turboshaft engine found in the likes of a U.S Navy drone helicopter. The price tag is a very heavy $620,000 USD, that’s a lot of money to play dress ups. (more…)

The Monterey car week over in the States is one of the biggest automotive events anywhere and the auctions are well known for drawing out unique metal. At last year’s RM Auctions event there was a special Ford-themed sale that put some of the various blue oval concept cars from the last decade under the hammer. For 2011, Ford and RM Auctions have once again teamed up to flog off a couple of unique concept machines.

With proceeds going to charities, the concepts up for grabs are the 2001 Thunderbird Sports Roadster Concept and the 2005 Shelby GR-1 Concept Platform Model.

The Thunderbird Concept (pictured in red) was first shown at the 2001 Detroit Auto Show as a retro-themed production Thunderbird with some extra goodies. The Concept’s long rear-end is shaped by a fiberglass tonneau, like the original Sports Roadster it’s named after. In the cabin the retro theme continues with styling that nods to the Thunderbirds of the ’50s and 60s.

The Shelby GR-1 Concept debuted at Pebble Beach in 2004 and while also sharing influence from the past, it didn’t enter production in any form. It was built to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Shelby Daytona Coupe and features silver paint work with blue stripes and 19-inch wheels. (more…)

Last month we brought you news of a special one-off Mustang built for the world’s biggest aviation event, the EAA AirVenture show in Wisconsin, USA (read news). Each year since 2006, Ford has revealed a new tribute car for the event and this year’s vehicle pays homage to the Blue Angels naval aviation demonstration team.

After it is revealed, the car is then auctioned for charity with this year’s beneficiary being the EAA Young Eagles program which gives free introductory flights to young people.

The car sold at auction for a massive $400,000 USD to an anonymous buyer from California. He wanted to stay anonymous, but that may prove difficult when he is cruising around in the one-off Mustang pictured above. (more…)

In what’s become an annual tradition, Ford in the States has unveiled it’s one-of-a-kind Mustang GT for the world’s biggest aviation event, the EAA AirVenture show in Wisconsin, USA. Every year dating back to 2006, Ford has revealed a new tribute car for the event and this year’s vehicle pays homage to the Blue Angels naval aviation demonstration team.

Inspired by the Blue Angels F-18 Hornet aircraft, the Mustang GT features a liquid blue exterior paint finish with “screaming yellow” stripes along with the Blue Angels script and crest. There’s a unique rear wing and special wheels.

Inside the car receives leather Recaro racing seats displaying stitched Blue Angels crests and offset stripes inspired by pilot flight suits. There’s also unique graphics on the gauges, navigation screen, seat belts and instrument panel. The rear seat has been ejected in favour of a cross-brace to stiffen the chassis for performance driving. But the ultimate ‘Pimp-my-Ride’ touch is Blue Angels sill plates and puddle lamps that project jet images when the doors open. (more…)

With the kiwi dollar enjoying a period of strength against the greenback, many of us are eagerly checking eBay motors in the states to see if there are bargains to be had. Some muscle car searches may have returned this little gem seen above – a Ford Mustang shooting brake.

While the Mustang wagon never got any further than a concept machine for the blue oval, but some enthusiasts have knocked together their own versions. This example was built by oddly named American Joe Ramp and it all looks pretty mint.

Ramp used a 1965 Mustang hardtop coupe as the donor car and proceeded to stretch out the roof and create custom rear side glass along with the fabricated D-pillars. As much of the stock body was retained as possible, so away from the long roof it’s all Ford-built Mustang.

To help shift around the extra weight Ramp upgraded the powertrain by dropping in a 5.0-liter V8 mated to a T5 five-speed manual gearbox. Power is put through to an eight-inch Ford rear-end and 3.00 gears. Custom control arms and upgraded shocks deal with any heavy loads in the rear. (more…)

The one-of-one Pontiac GTO Judge convertible seen here is about to hit the block over in the states and will prove to be a closely watched auction.

It’s a triple black 1969 GTO Judge convertible and is being released for auction by the Pontiac Historical Society, this one-of-a-kind machine was produced out of 108 Judge convertibles in the big 6-9.

Riding on redlines, this masterpiece comes with a Ram Air III-equipped 400-cubic inch (6.6-litre) V8 putting down 366 horsepower through a 4-speed tranny. Its option list includes Rallye gauges, a wood rim steering wheel, an 8-track player and a bonnet mounted tachometer.

In terms of value, the car has been through a complete restoration with almost all new old stock parts and has since had zero miles on it.