Hawkswood Hillclimb 2024

Intro.

This event is a Clubsport advanced sealed sprint, promoted by Ratec Motorsport Inc.

The event is small enough to take it all in and mingle amongst the competitors and there cars. As always the cars not competing can be just as interesting. Was pretty impressed to see an alfa 156 V6 towing an Alfa race car.

Getting There.

At around 130 kms out of Christchurch the trip takes around 1h 45 minutes. Last place to stop for refreshments would be Cheviot, the event is another 15 minutes on from here.

With a good mate available I took the rare opportunity of taking both cars out, grabbing a quick shot of both on the drive home.

First shots.

Grabbed a few shots in the city before heading for maratai/coastal drive.

It’s often said that the 5 cylinder turbo engine found in the Fiat Coupe was over engineered from factory. There are Fiat Coupes out there with 700 bhp plus. Many running comfortably on 300-400 bhp with much of the engine internals being stock.

With just under 220bhp on tap and 310Nm of torque available @2500rpm the Coupe really does shift. At the time of it's release in the 90's it was the quickest front wheel drive car in the world. With the 6 speed car having a claimed top speed of 155 mph or 250 km/h. 

It feels much quicker than you would expect, however the sound is really the best part for me whilst driving. Hopefully the basic video down below shows this. Even with the 60km/h speed limit the car sounds epic! As with most Italian classics, It’s a real emotive driving experience when behind the wheel.

Personal Favourite - Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione

While I would happily take home any of the cars from the hillclimb event, if I had to pick just one, it would undoubtedly be the Alfa Romeo 8C. There's something truly special about seeing such a rare and extraordinary car out in the open, doing what it was designed to do. The sight of an Alfa 8C tackling a hillclimb in New Zealand still blows my mind.

Other standout highlights for me included the Ferrari 360 Modena, the Vauxhall VX220, the BMW 6 Series, and, of course, the iconic Delorean.

Detouring Home.

A worthwhile detour on the way home is turning off in Cheviot and heading for Gore Bay.…..

With more time, it is well worth taking another detour and taking in the Great Pass road. The road runs from the …… turnoff and heads to Waiau.

2025 Event.

2025’s event will be held from Friday 7th - Sunday 9th October. If you’re keen to see a real mix of special cars then make sure not to miss it!