An estimated 5000 people visited New Zealand's newest major motoring event, the Ayrburn Classic car show over the weekend (March 21-23).
The three days of "world-class cars, fabulous dining and entertainment experiences" were held at hospitality precinct Ayrburn, in Arrowtown, near Queenstown.
After a private function on Friday, the doors were open to the public on Saturday and Sunday, with 250 classic and modern luxury vehicles worth more than $250 million on display, including an $8 million dollar La Ferrari and the latest Aston Martin Vanquish.
Other high-end marques including Rolls Royce, Bentley and McLaren were all on display, complimented by individually owned classic cars.
A 1939 Rolls Royce Wraith was named Best in Show. Among some of the other competition categories, a 2021 Ford Shelby Mustang GT500KR took out American Classics and Muscle, Awesome Australians was won by a 1970 Ford Falcon GTHO and a 1964 Vauxhall PB Cresta took out the Kiwi Pioneers category.
Chris Meehan, founder and CEO of Ayrburn's owner, Winton, says he only expects the festival to get bigger: "It’s as big as any car show on the planet. A lot of people have come from the North Island, some from Australia and we think that as the event builds there’ll be a lot that come from overseas and it will really get to be one of the big premiere car shows in the world.
“I think long term, Queenstown has a number of events like NZ Golf Open, it's got the marathon but we think we can be as big if not bigger and it will be one of the premiere reasons to come to Queenstown wherever you are in the world.”
A highlight of the event was the Showcase on the Dell, where the most notable cars on show completed a parade lap before being presented on stage, with each owner interviewed by MC, broadcaster and Giltrap Group communication and PR general manager Shaun Summerfield.
Headlining the entertainment on Saturday was country singer-songwriter Miranda Easten, who also brought her original DeLorean along to take part in the Showcase on the Dell.
Sunday lunch guests had a special appearance by Kiwi rally star Emma Gilmour.
“Ayrburn... is not just a destination, it’s an invitation to have fun and experience the best of NZ’s food, wine and hospitality in a place chosen 160 years ago for being one of the country’s most stunning locations,” says Meehan.
