ferrari 625 tasman - pat hoare

[AMCO72]

Wasn't it a cobbled up 'bitsa' with a sports car engine. Apparently was a cantankerous old bitch!!! [sorry thunder427]....it shouldn't have been with a fairly mildly tuned 4 cylinder engine with modest horse-power, compared to a GP. This is where I got ballsed up. Hoare going to Ferrari for a new engine for it and coming home with a complete car, a V12 at that. What a leap of faith....4 cylinders to 12. Now they, could be, and often were cantankerous....the Roycroft car for instance. Maybe it was our mechanics here in NZ who didnt quite understand these things, or maybe not enough money to keep them fresh, but none of these imports ever lived up to their name. Makes me feel very proud of our special builders here in NZ with their old flat-head V8's and Jag engined contraptions, that could sometimes give these things a run for their money. Always thought the Maserati was a far better car anyway, and I have to wonder why a historian would spend 15 years of his life researching a car that was unloved and clearly a dog. I think I have answered my own question....because he is a [an] Historian!!

[Howard Wood]

The NZ inferiority complex extends to racing cars as well. The best of the NZ specials, from Muriwai beach racing specials to Formula Pacific are every bit as innovative and well built as many other much celebrated marques.

The second Hoare Ferrari was as rough as guts in many ways and not from dodgy repairs either. I have not seen the car since removing the "GTO" body but there is the conundrum for the restorer. Do you replicate, complete with flaws or rebuild as it should have been built (or to 21st century standards)?

Anthony Bamford of JCB fame/ fortune had a '70s F1 Ferrari which he wrapped around a tree "test driving" the thing up the driveway of his stately mansion and John Anderson rebuilt the tub. Subsequently the car was sent to Ferrai for its annual service/ WOF who angrily demanded to know who had been working unauthorised on the car, as the rivets all lined up!

[Milan Fistonic]

A newspaper clipping from when Hoare was trying to sell the car.

[David McKinney]

Wasn't it a cobbled up 'bitsa' with a sports car engine. Apparently was a cantankerous old bitch!!! [sorry thunder427]....it shouldn't have been with a fairly mildly tuned 4 cylinder engine with modest horse-power, compared to a GP. This is where I got ballsed up. Hoare going to Ferrari for a new engine for it and coming home with a complete car, a V12 at that. What a leap of faith....4 cylinders to 12. Now they, could be, and often were cantankerous....the Roycroft car for instance. Maybe it was our mechanics here in NZ who didnt quite understand these things, or maybe not enough money to keep them fresh, but none of these imports ever lived up to their name. Makes me feel very proud of our special builders here in NZ with their old flat-head V8's and Jag engined contraptions, that could sometimes give these things a run for their money. Always thought the Maserati was a far better car anyway, and I have to wonder why a historian would spend 15 years of his life researching a car that was unloved and clearly a dog. I think I have answered my own question....because he is a [an] Historian!!

Hoare raced the 4-cylinder car for three seasons - 1958 in detuned state, and not very competitive, 1959 kept breaking piston rings, 1960 fast and reliable and nearly won the Gold Star
The V12 was also fast and reliable - was second in the Gold Star in 1961 (to D Hulme, 2.5 Cooper-Climax) and won in 1962
Roycroft's problems with his earlier V12 were largely a result of budgetary restraints