All Black and Chiefs lock Brodie Retallick has a new project to fill what little spare time he has between rugby commitments - the Broadster.
The world rugby player of the year is overseeing the build of a bespoked hot rod, designed especially to accommodate his large frame.
The futuristic Trackster inspired hot rod will be designed and built by a team at Jonesy's Garage in Hamilton, where Retallick is based.
Instead of being powered by the traditional Chevy or Ford engine, the Broadster will have a Lexus V8 power plant and transmission.
The project is the idea of the Hot Rod Show host and hot rod enthusiast Doug Bell, who met Retallick while he was working on the restoration of his classic 1977 Holden HQ.
“I met Doug when we were working on the Holden, and he came up with the idea for this new hot rod,” Retallick told Driven.
Retallick’s first car was a 1966 Nissan Bluebird, which he bought when he was aged 16.
Since then he has owed a range of classic models, including a fully-restored 1964 Chevrolet Impala, which he sold a year ago to buy the Holden.
As an All Black his every day driving vehicle is a Ford Ranger ute.
“The Broadster will show young people you don’t have to spend a fortune to build a dream car,” he said.
Doug Bell said the engine chosen had been used in various Toyota and Lexus models, with this one coming out of a mid 90’s Toyota Soarer.
“These engines have 6-bolt main bearings and belt-driven quad-camshafts.
“They make 191 kW (256hp) and can easily make over 500HP just by putting a couple of turbos on it.”
The Broadster is being built from scratch, and you can watch its progress on a weekly basis on the Hot Rod Show, screening at 9pm each Thursday on Face TV, on Sky Channel 83.
The hot rod will be built over the next eight weeks, then stripped down, to be rebuilt live during the two days of the CRC Speedshow in Auckland on the weekend of July 16 and 17.
See Doug Bell and Brodie Retallick discussing the initial design and the beginning of the build, on Driven.co.nz