Page 3 - Driven Nz News Today

Shane van Gisbergen showed once again that he can seemingly drive anything, anywhere at the top level on Sunday by winning the 66th New Zealand Grand Prix - after starting at the back of the grid from pit lane. Van Gisbergen accidentally set the fire extinguisher off in his car as the field set out on the formation lap prior to the fans grid walk. That meant a hasty return to the pits to clean out the car, his overalls, his boots and a replacement extinguisher. When the race got under way he ha...

Photos / Andrew McRae, Bevan Conley Its been a summer of change for drivers, with some state highways across Aotearoa having had their speed limit recently reduced. Its all part of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahis Road to Zero vision; the aspiration that no one is killed or seriously injured in road crashes. One of the changes affects a section of State Highway 1, just 190 metres long, in Winchester in South Canterbury. The speed limit used to be 100km/h, but has now been halved. T...

Photos / Supplied From the storming at Americas Capitol to the escalation of Covid-19, 2021 has certainly kicked off with a hiss and a roar, and a fire at one of Europes best automotive museums has only added to this.  Located in Hochgurgl, Austria, the TOP Motorcycle Museum housed over 200 classic motorcycles, as well as a few extremely rare cars, and was left a smoldering wreck after the blaze passed through.  According to a local report, the fire started at around four in the morning, and ...

Late last year, a video emerged out of London which showed an over-confident driver behind the wheel of a Ferrari 812 Superfast. After turning all the assists off, he soon learned an important lesson about lack of traction.  Along the same lines, a similar Ferrari was left a mangled wreck after a car wash worker lost control whilst travelling down a busy street in Italy, crashing into multiple parked cars.  Unfortunately for the worker, insult was added to injury when they learned that the 81...

Photos / Supplied And so the race is on with the Toyota GR Yaris: not around a circuit or gravel road, but among the worlds tuning firms to see who can boost the pocket-rocket by the most. The GR Yaris already makes 200kW/360Nm from its 1.6-litre three-cylinder engine in the top-specification trim offered in New Zealand. You could argue it doesnt really need any more. But German specialist DTE has pumped that up to 231kW with a management chip it calls PowerControl X (thats 310bhp for people wh...

Confirming the sad news to  To shed some light on why the German brand has decided to drop the transmission, the spokesperson provided an easy-to-digest list of pros:  "Compared to a 7-speed M dual-clutch transmission (DCT), the current M 8-speed automatic (8HP):" Matches the performance of the DCT Additional gear allows for more closely spaced gears. Improves fuel economy. Allows for use with xDrive all-wheel drive, whereas the DCT transmission was designed for rear-wheel drive applications ...

The Elite is an eight-seater, starting at $99,990 for the petrol 2WD model. The flagship Limited is restricted to seven seats for more space/luxury and starts at $107,990. In each case the diesel is the premium version, with a premium of $7000 (Limited V6 petrol $106,990, diesel $114,990). Palisade is 290mm longer than a Santa fe - but still shorter than a Mazda CX-9. Or most double-cab utes for that matter. Shift by wire transmission (buttons, no lever), three-zone climate control (which can o...

Known as one of the most radically-styled cars of its time, the Lamborghini Countach is still one of the most wild-looking vehicles to grace this earth, but as with all Italian exotics, they dont come cheap.  So instead of forking out megabucks, Fielding resident by the name of Dave Short decided to start building them himself, and started Countess Mouldings, which pumped out Countach replicas for years.  Currently listed on DRIVEN is a finished Countess Countach replica, and while it isnt qu...

While its based on Fiats iconic 500 hatch, the Abarth 595 is a different beast entirely, featuring more aggressive styling, and a spicy little powerplant that will leave you grinning ear to ear.  Just recently, the Italian brand revealed the 595 that has been updated for 2021, and youll be pleased to hear that this new hatch has just as much personality as the last one.  Available in both hatchback and convertible body styles, the 595 Competizione is still powered by a turbocharged 1.4-litre ...

For many, the geothermal landscape is what makes Rotorua really special. The best place to experience it is Te Puia, a 70-hectare site within the historic Te Whakarewarewa Valley, on the edge of the city. Visitors have been coming here for 170 years. Te Puia is home to the Pohutu geyser (the largest in the Southern Hemisphere), mud pools, hot springs and silica formations. But you can also watch master carvers and weavers at work, and hear expert guides pass down stories from their ancestors. O...