Driven noticed you driving a 1992 Lancia Integrale Evo?
The Integrale won the World Rally Championship six years running (1988-1993).
It has a 2-litre 16-valve turbo motor 0-100km/h in 6.3 seconds. It is manual and 4-wheel drive.
My car is white and has Martini racing stripes. It is very low mileage. It is practically unbeatable by anything on winding country roads.
And it is one of 21 cars?
I have loved cars since I was 12 years old and asked to give a talk at the Onehunga Rotary Club.
I chose Henry Ford as my topic, and I did a lot of research, including writing to the Ford Motor company in Detroit.
From about 25 years ago, I always owned three or four cars (and felt guilty) but then I had a liberating moment when I realised I was a car collector.
That had the effect of me giving myself permission to buy more.
My oldest car is a 1969 Ford Mustang, but nearly all the cars are Italian and German and are in the decades of 70s, 80s and 90s.
My favourite marques are Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, BMW and Porsche.
The most unusual are probably a 1992 Alfa Zagato SZ, of which only 1000 were built, and a 1991 BMW Z1, which was also limited production and is a two-seater roadster with doors that slide down electronically into the sills.
Would you sell any?
I’ve sold four (Ferrari Maranello, Ferrari Dino 246GTS, Alfa GTA, Jaguar XK150S) but I missed them so much I have managed to buy all but the Jaguar back.
Pictures / Ted Baghurst
Where do you keep them?
I have four garaging locations and also rely on the fact that at any given time, four or five cars are away being serviced or getting warrants.
I sometimes “forget” to pick them up for a while.
Key consideration when buying a car?
Sporty and high performance; relatively rare and low mileage.
Are you a hands-on owner?
No. Continental Car Services do a lot.
The more specialist work, especially on the older cars, is arranged by Robbie Francevic, who knows all the right people to go to.
Your everyday car?
For the last few years it has been a BMW 1M (which is rapidly becoming a modern-day classic partly by virtue of limited production numbers) but I now have a Porsche GT4, which is a surprisingly practical everyday car.
Do you have a favourite?
I usually say “whichever one I am driving that day”, but probably the BMW Z1, which I bought new in 1991 out of England and is now a classic.
The 1973 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS is pretty special too.
Who else is allowed to drive the cars?
Mostly driven by my sons (my daughter lives in London) but I will allow others I have confidence in to drive them.
Dream car?
I have 21 dream cars.
What do you always keep in your cars?
CDs (jazz and blues).
Do you prefer manual or automatic?
Definitely manual. Only two of the cars are auto.
Favourite car colour?
Probably red or maybe yellow. Easy to see.
Pictures / Ted Baghurst
Any personalised plates?
I have the sequence of ITA 1 to 6 on the Italian cars.
Sundry other plates on the rest — VELOCE on the Lancia; THE 69 on the Mustang; 850 on the BMW 1M (just a plate I’ve owned a long time); 911 C4S on a 1998 Porsche 911 C4S; Z1 BMW on the BMW; S GT4 on the GT4; MOSTRO on the Alfa Zagato.
(The Italians called it IL MOSTRO, the monster, because it was considered ugly.)
Most memorable road trip?
Last year, I did a 7000km trip in the South West of the US, including the bottom half of Route 66, a couple of national parks and down the Pacific Coast in a new Corvette ZO6 (which is now part of the collection).
A lot of it was in the desert. Amazing scenery. This year, I picked the GT4 up from the Porsche factory and drove to Milan through the Italian Alps, including the famous Stelvio pass.
Favourite movie car scene?
The car chase in Bullitt with Steve McQueen in a 1968 Mustang chasing a Dodge Charger in the streets of San Francisco.
Favourite race driver?
Robbie Francevic. First because he was dominant in Australia and New Zealand saloon car racing and, secondly, because he has become closely associated with me and my collection and has taught me and my family so much about driving safely and fast.
Pictures / Ted Baghurst
Great day trip out of Auckland?
I think the drive up to Matakana by the coast road near Kaipara is great — lot of winding roads and interesting countryside.
Other drivers ... what irritates you most?
Drivers who don’t put their lights on, followed closely by drivers who sit in the outside lane on the motorway when the inside lane is free.
If you could change one road rule?
I’d like to see the motorway rule “keep to the left” enforced to avoid the dangers of passing on the inside.
Lastly, Auckland’s traffic?
I think that the bus lanes have made the roads more congested as they are empty most of the time.
I am not against them in principle, but I think they should be used more selectively.
— Donna McIntyre