NZ man's ultimate way to beat rush-hour traffic

For sale. Current owner says 'it creates havoc wherever it goes'. Photo / supplied

Anyone thinking of invading Akaroa, wanting to beat rush-hour traffic, or even those flummoxed by the new give way laws could be lining up to buy a Cold War tank.

It is fully roadworthy, with current rego and WOF, with a top speed of 60km/h. It's numberplate, GBH4U, not to mention its grenade launchers and 105mm howitzer gun means you could be the undisputed King of the Road for around $150,000.

Christchurch businessman Gerard Dalry has listed the Abbot FV433, a 1966 ex-British Army tank, on popular auction site Trade Me and has been flooded with more than 160,000 page views this month.

"It would be a massive drawcard for a shopping mall or something, but it's also a s***-load of fun too," says the owner of local firm, Protranz Earthmoving Ltd.

"The interest has been incredible. I've had offers of everything, including a bach. I'm sure someone will pick it up."

The killer machine spent most of its life based in Germany, patrolling borders along the Iron Curtain.

Mr Dalry, 46, imported the tank from the UK in 2009 and is the only one of its kind in New Zealand.

For the last three years, he's used it for charity fundraisers, weddings, stag parties, and A&P shows.

"It creates havoc wherever it goes," Mr Dalry says.

"I've only ever received one complaint about it when an elderly chap got a bit of a fright when he saw it driving down the road.

"Some cops came and asked why I had it on the road. I told them it was fully roadworthy, with rego and WOF, and they couldn't believe it."

The K60 Rolls Royce multi-fuelled engine runs on diesel, petrol, kerosine or "a mixture of any of these," says Mr Dalry, who also says it's cheap to run. "Fuel is basically free as we just collect mixed fuel from workshops and throw it in."

It is fitted with rubber tracks, meaning it doesn't tear up the asphalt, and can also be used indoors.

It also has an amphibious kit, which "means it floats", and is the only one of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.

But the bit that excites most people, from small boys to grannies, is its massive cannon.

"The gun has a range of 19-miles in a straight line - you could fire a shell to Akaroa, or Burnham," Mr Dalry says.