A love of all things ‘car’ brings Keith back to the Leadfoot Festival again, with the beautiful Northland Special. For a Jaguar lover, this is a dream come true. This car has such a fascinating history, having many transformations along the way since first being built in Wellington. Keith has driven many different types of race car over the years but not many can beat the iconic Northland Special.

Keith Hamnett - 1950 Northland Special

A love of all things ‘car’ brings Keith back to the Leadfoot Festival again, with the beautiful Northland Special. For a Jaguar lover, this is a dream come true. This car has such a fascinating history, having many transformations along the way since first being built in Wellington. Keith has driven many different types of race car over the years but not many can beat the iconic Northland Special.

1950 Northland Special:

The long history of the Northland Special is amazing. It was the winner of New Zealand’s first ever grand prix at Ohakea in 1950, driven by John McMillan. It was built at the Jackson Engineering works in Wellington as a single seater with a tubular frame and its original transmission was from a series M Morris, powered by a Ford Mercury V8, which at that time was considered to be the prototype for a range of racing cars.