We were booked to go to Arrowtown in February and somehow I was alerted that the Ayrburn Classic car show was on while we were there – algorithms! To show what a good wife I might be I booked two tickets for Saturday.

Arrowtown resonated with the sound of cars from Thursday, some of which were in the show and some of which were just cruising! Maybe we could have just sat on our front porch and seen the show for free!

We had a week of patchy weather with a keen southerly leading up to the show but the day dawned clear if still a bit fresh! Layers of clothing, a sunhat and sunblock required.

Ayrburn is primarily a hospitality site below Millbrook golf course, which will have some very high end property developments in future. Lunch at the Woolshed was very good!

Our impressions:

There were a lot of Ferraris, in the main display and in the car parks – of all ages. The Ferraris had a crackle off event which was impressive.

There isn’t an apparent plan in how the cars were parked up in the display (except maybe the Ferraris!). The various car marques were mixed up which Philippa liked, and the ages were also all over the place.

There were two very large vintage cars. Later we were treated to a driving display by the MAB Special, a restored pre-1910 racing car powered by a 1918 V12 aero engine and a replica 1930 Auto Union, powered by a 27-litre Merlin engine — used for Spitfires, that latter owned by Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger. The driver gave a huge donut display on The Dell, which was both an exhibition of skill and sheer craziness.

There were 10 Mercs plus some new dealer AMG’s. This included Auckland member Neale’s Pagoda which they only just let him take in because it was white as they already had 2 dark ones. Sort of fussy folk down there. There were 2 R230 SL’s, an SL55 with supercharger and an SL350. There were several newer GTR’s with various roof configurations and a red SLS AMG6 2 litre gullwing, as well as 2 older Merc limos.

This event is different to both the Ellerslie and B&E with an auction which was claimed to be a bit slow but got over 50% sale rating.

We didn’t bump into anyone we know but we met a chap from Auckland who had driven top down all the way to show his green TR6, and the guy who has brought his Saab-900 convertible back to NZ from the US – only Saab in show! One of the weirdest cars was the all-terrain Bentley, complete with mud toned body wrap.

Ayrburn have already notified us of the dates for next year – 19-21 February 2027. If you are in the neighbourhood (and don’t want to play golf) it is a grand day out.

 

Ken and Philippa West

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