Classic cars' nostalgia trip revs up interest

If you were hoping to check out the classic cars gathering in the Far North, you're out of luck - Alvis has just left the building.

The Alvis Car Club of New Zealand held its annual get-together in Kerikeri at the weekend, with two dozen gleaming, hand-built cars making their way north, one coming all the way from Invercargill.

The club put on a display at Kerikeri Domain on Sunday covering the range of cars produced by the Alvis Car and Engineering Company from 1920-67.

The most coveted vehicle on show was an open-top Speed 25, a 1930s racer said to be the best car made at the Alvis plant in Coventry, England.

Club member John Wallace said reaction to the display had been "superb".

"We expected a few people, but we've had several hundred," he said. "There's a real fascination for all things old. Perhaps we're all on a nostalgia trip."

Sunday's show was followed by a gymkhana of light-hearted driving challenges, while yesterday club members headed up Ninety Mile Beach to Cape Reinga - by bus.

Earlier, they had driven the scenic road to Whangaroa via Matauri Bay, and visited Kerikeri's steam sawmill, Okaihau Fire Museum and Waimate Mission.

An estimated 60-70 Alvis cars are still on the road in New Zealand, including about seven in Northland.