A Whangarei car boasting a mighty 803cc of raw power has done its owners proud, making them champions of the national classic car rally.
Frank and Dale Appleton and their beloved 1956 Austin A30, known affectionately as "Mum's A30", won the rally held in Napier earlier this month.
Mrs Appleton said the
"really cute" car was reunited with the family this year after spending about 14 years in a museum.
"Mum's A30" was first owned by a Miss Radcliffe of Radcliffe St, Whangarei. It then belonged to Mr Appleton's mother, Alma, who owned it from 1968 to 1986.
"Earlier this year we found it for sale at a private car museum in Waihi ... Frank recognised it immediately and we decided it had to come home, which it did, and now sits happily beside Frank's late dad Jack's Humber Super Snipe once more."
Mrs Appleton said her mother-in-law was "overjoyed" to see her old car back home.
"Mum's A30" hasn't yet travelled 40,000 miles: Only 2000 miles were added to the clock while it was away from the family, another 1000 at the rally.
It travels comfortably at 50mph (80km/h) and has a fuel efficiency worthy of any modern "micro car".
"On the rally we may have been a bit slow, but at 40 miles per gallon (5.8 litres per 100km) it was probably one of the most fuel-efficient cars there," she said.
The rally was a week-long event which got "like-minded people together to admire each other's cars" while exploring different locations and competing on set courses designed to test navigation, observation and automotive knowledge.
Mr Appleton, an auto tools sales rep, drove while Mrs Appleton, a car sales yard administrator, watched for clues.
She said 165 cars took part, including a number of Northlanders, with the rally held every second year in alternate North and South Island locations.
