In some circles the term ‘hot hatch’ refers to small front-wheel drive–powered cars of European decent, modified generally with an outrageous excess of fibreglass bodykit, oversized wheels, a few tonne of audio gear, neon lights and TV screens. Thankfully Shane and John Poulton’s idea of a hot hatch is somewhat different.

Having both always been fans of the Torana hatches because of their light weight, racing pedigree, and rarity, when the father and son team found a decent starting point on Trade Me they jumped at the chance to own it. Unlike their Camaro (see last issue), with the Torana they knew exactly what they were getting and how much work would need to be done to get the car (more…)

What started as a means to keep warm and dry on the way to work turned into a 10-year obsession to create the ultimate street machine.

After riding motorbikes for 20 years, Lee Smith decided it was time to invest in a car to keep him warm and dry on those ugly Christchurch mornings. Lee knew he wanted a V8, liked the look of Holden Statesmans and wanted something he could do skids in. After talking to friends with a tad more knowledge of cars than himself, Lee decided he would need to spend a lot of coin on the motor if he wanted to get a heavy Statesmen to do proper skids — a lighter-weight Torana was the perfect solution.

After going for a ride in one that was for sale, and thinking it was cool, he bought it. He hadn’t even driven the car — in fact he had never even driven a V8 before.

As it happened, Lee’s new purchase had more rust in it than metal. But thanks to Lee finishing his painting apprenticeship at the time, it wasn’t long before the rust was fixed and the car painted in bright yellow. (more…)

Clarke Hopkins’s Torana blurs the line between show car and race car, but that doesn’t mean it’s all show and no go.

One of the driving factors (excuse the pun) behind car modification is that we are all looking for different things from our vehicles.

For some, the ultimate goal is for a car to be as fast as possible in a straight line. Others aim to turn as many heads as possible, while a select few attempt to defy the laws of physics by raising or lower their cars as much as possible.

Clarke Hopkins, however, was torn. As a result, he built a race car. He’s also ended up with a show car. It’s just that in Clarke’s case, both cars are in the one package.

Right Time, Right Place (more…)

If you call yourself Torana-mad, you’d better have the car to back it up. Karl Draper sure does.

Karl Draper grew up rurally with three brothers, dirt bikes and a father who indulged in a bit of V8-powered jetsprint racing, surely all the ingredients for petrol-headedness appearing at an early age. The old man would toss him a spanner and say, “Fix it yourself, boy,” then walk off muttering something about not having all day to mess about with kids’ experiments.
At a younger age than most, then, Karl found himself on the road to mechanical enlightenment, and the sense of pride that comes with modifying cars.

Karl has had a strong love of Toranas from an early age. His condition was diagnosed as terminal after he painted one too many Escorts in the Torana signature black-over-anything scheme, and then started to flare the guards on them for that tough A9-Escort look. In his defence the Escorts were all he could afford at the time, and building a faker, er, replica is almost a rite of passage in the car scene.

Fast forward a few years to a work function that would provide the catalyst to start his latest build. Karl owned a Torana by then, but a chance meeting with the back end of a truck on the way to grab some ice, and the terminal outcome that resulted, meant more than just a new body was required for the next build.

(more…)

The October issue of NZV8 has just hit the shelves, so grab a copy today.

In this month’s issue we have a jaw-dropping ’79 Chevrolet C10 pick-up cover car, it has a flawless interior and comes packing a 383ci small block Chevy engine. Other feature cars include a ultra-rare Buick GS and a unmissable Torana LX with a blown 406ci engine and a tough stance. We travel over the ditch to check out the Motorex 10 car show, and get down to Palmerston North for the big annual swap meet. We show you a brilliant home-built ’79 Camaro with a 550hp factory big-block engine and stick shift. We also get up close on a 2005 Ford GT endurance racer and see just what makes it so special. We also have a special article giving advice on how to modify your ride to really stand out from the crowd.

All this plus the usual advice and technical information, readers’ rides and competitions to keep you up to date with all that’s happening on the NZ V8 scene. Pick up a copy now before they sell out!

Click here to subscribe to NZV8 magazine.



The team at Mitchell Race Xtreme (MRX) have a huge weekend planed for the Boys Day Out in Hamilton this weekend. Over the weekend long event there will be a competition offering a half cage, Bride style bucket seat and a Chicane single layer race suit as well as a ride in a top drift car as prizes.

Keeping the MRX team busy will also be the fact they are building a roll cage on site live throughout the event. If you’re heading to Boys Day Out, make sure you pop into the MRX stand and see how they are progressing. They will also have some awesome cars on display including Clarke Hopkins’ CMC Torana a wild RX-3 and a brutal V8 powered Saker.

For more info on what MRX are all about check out www.mrx.co.nz

For more info on the Boys Day Out this weekend visit www.boysdayout.co.nz

Holden Torana TV Commercial