A day at Phil Rudd's place for Ferrari fans

Fast cars, loud music and helicopters. It's all very rock'n' roll.

But despite the organiser's impressive aerial entrance, yesterday's Ferrari Car Display at Tauranga Bridge Marina was all about charity.

Organised by legendary AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd, the gold-coin event for the Look Good Feel Better charity drew thousands of enthusiastic, high-octane car fans, keen to see the huge collection of supercars.

MC for the event, Warwick Hall, said there were about 40 Ferraris on show, two of which belonged to Mr Rudd.

"We are trying to keep a count. We are expecting 12,000-plus. It's a beautiful day and it's [for] a great cause," he said early on.

Mr Warwick estimated the combined worth of the Ferraris on show to be about $15 million.

Young Ferrari enthusiast Travis Wylie, from Judea, enjoyed the show with his dad Steve.

"My favourite would be the F40, Mr Rudd's car. The top speed is at least 400km/h. I know some stats, I've got models at home [and] I've got a Ferrari watch," he said.

Travis said the highlight of the day was getting to sit in one of the cars.

"The door handle was pretty hard to find and it had pretty low seats. It was pretty fun," he said.

Dad Steve said, once he saw the show advertised, he knew he had to take his boy along. "He's mad on them. He loves them," he said.

Philip Horrocks, president of the Ferrari Owners Club New Zealand, said the iconic cars were guaranteed to draw a crowd.

"At the end of the day, most of us as kids sat around and dreamed about owning these. There's something about them," he said.

From his own collection of supercars, Mr Rudd had two of his own Ferraris on display - a 599 and F40. He arrived at the event in his own helicopter, mingled with the crowd and posed for photos with keen young motorsport fans. He then enjoyed lunch with friends at his nearby restaurant, Phil's Place.

Mr Rudd said the event was organised as a family day and to benefit his charity of choice.

"The main thing is to get people down here and have a day of fun. Let's make the most of the rest of summer while it lasts. I didn't want this to be an exclusive event, it's not a pretentious thing, it's a family day that a whole lot of people can enjoy," he said.

Proceeds went to the national charity Look Good Feel Better, which has a Tauranga branch.

The charity is a free service offered to women undergoing treatment for cancer. It offers support, guidance and free makeover workshops to keep women feeling beautiful.

Mr Rudd said he wanted to support a cause that did not always get a lot of attention or publicity, but was nevertheless an extremely worthy cause.

And he may organise similar events in the future. "We'd like to do this as a regular thing - it has been a lot to organise and put together but it's great to see all the people here," he said.

"If people enjoy it, why not, let's do it again."