The biggest weekend in New Zealand's annual motorsport calendar is finally upon us.
The Virgin Australia Supercars Championship has rolled into town for the penultimate, and incredibly important, two-race round at the fast and flowing Pukekohe Park raceway.
Current championship leader Scott McLaughlin has a mere 14-point advantage over fellow Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen, who's sure racing this weekend's races will provide two shoots of "no-holds-barred racing".
While the racing on-track is set to provide a thrilling main course, as always with a Supercars weekend, the racing will be paired a range of the best road cars in NZ scattered throughout the paddock and neighbouring parking lots.
So we've delved into Driven's classifieds to bring you five perfect performance cars that will fit in perfectly at Pukekoke this weekend.
Holden Commodore VC Brock HDT
After Holden pulled its factory backing from Aussie touring car racing in 1979, Holden legend Peter Brock purchased the Holden Dealer Team and vowed to continue the red lion's presence on-track.
This presented two problems. First, the dominante LX Toranna was no longer eligible to compete, and secondly, Brock needed some way to finance his new team and development of a new car.
With the arrival of the VC Commodore, Brock saw an opportunity to raise funding with a limited run of specially-modified V8 sedans - and soon after the HDT Special Vehicles was born.
HDTs first vehicle was the VC series HDT Commodore, based on the premium SL/E sedan but upgraded to Brock's specification and tuning.
The 308 V8 engine featured a comprehensive upgrade with work on the heads, inlet manifold and bigger diameter fuel line, increasing power by almost 40kW to 160kW.
Only three colours were offered - Palais White, Firethorn Red or Tuxedo Black - and all featured the HDT stripe. Only 500 examples were ever built.
Ford Falcon R-Spec Typhoon
This should be a Ford Falcon FPV, you say?
Perhaps, but this Typhoon is rarer, and in my opinion, a much more exciting car to drive.
I will admit, i turned my nose up at the Typhoon for years - right up until the day I drove one, which changed everything I thought I knew about Aussie performance cars.
This turbocharged straight-six sedan is one of the most unique cars Australia has produced in the last decade. And while headline performance of 270kW did little to scare its 315kW V8-powered brother on paper, the way a Typhoon delivers its torque is much more savage.
The 4.0-litre engine hits peak torque of 550Nm earlier than the V8 at 2000rpm and remains on tap until 4250rpm.
In testing with Supercars veteran John Bowe at the helm, the F6 R-Spec proved the fastest factory FPV round Winton Motor Raceway in Victoria. According to FPV Programs Manager Paul Cook, the R-Spec consistently lapped between 1.5-2.0sec faster on identical rubber.
Only 300 F6 R-Spec Falcons were built.
Nissan GT-R R32 "Godzilla"
Remember in the early 1990s when Aussie-built machines dominated the Bathurst 1000?
Oh wait, that never happened. Due in large part to a certain Jim Richards, Mark Skaife and the Nissan GT-R R32.
Almost out of nowhere Japan arrived at Australia's premier motor race and swept away all its competition with back-to-back victories in 1991 and 1992.
The win in 1992 was controversial after a red flag ended the race early, upsetting Aussie fans so much that 'Gentleman Jim' referred to them as a pack of... um... just watch this.
The GT-R would also claim victory Spa 24 Hours, UK's National Saloon Car Cup, Pikes Peak and 24 Hours of Daytona.
Nowadays an original, unmodified GT-R R32 is hard to come by, but examples like this grey 1993 version do appear, but now they're considered a bonafide collectors classic and command a decent premium over tuned examples.
Ford Mustang Shelby GT350
Ford still build V8 cars, something that can't be said by their Holden rivals.
So why not rub it in by parking a fully-fledged Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 right by the front gate, just to remind Holden fans what they're going up against when the Mustang debuts in the Supercars Championship in 2019.
Sure the Shelby badge won't appear on the Supercars grid (that we know of), but the sight of those two stripes and aggressive aero body kit is arguably worth the premium.
Packing 392kW of power, 581Nm of torque and MagneRide suspension, this Mustang is sure to leave an impression on any car fan come race weekend.
Read more: 700hp Ford Mustang road test
Mercedes-AMG E63 S
Mercedes-Benz may have left the Supercars Championship behind, but that doesn't mean they've stopped building blisteringly fast four-door sedans.
The new generation E63 swaps natural aspiration and for a pair of turbos and is certainly better off for it. The 4.0-litre V8 now produces 450kW of power and 850Nm in E63 S trim, propelling the 2-tone sedan from 0 to 100km/h in a 3.4 seconds.
As it's also built on the same platform as Merc's flagship S-Class, it's grown a bit inside and out, providing plenty of space for occupants and new luxury items like twin-screen driver displays.
The Aussie-built, V8-powered sedan might be a thing of the past. But Mercedes-AMG's C and E Class sedans still offer the muscle car soundtrack Kiwis love with added European luxury and sophistication.
Read more: Mercedes-AMG E63S road test