THE EMPIRE

Bulletproof cars, are nothing new, neither are Bulletproof Range Rovers, but for the first time, Landrover themselves are building a dedicated Bulletproof model of the Ranger Rover. Jaguar Land Rover have a Special Vehicle Operations Division, normally responsible for very fast versions of the Range Rover Sport and Jaguars, they …

The 3 series is regarded as the benchmark compact sports sedan that everyone else in the market is competing against, but it wasn’t the first. Arguably the Jaguar MKII was the first great compact sports sedan, and in 1959 it set the benchmark. So what happened, how did Jaguar lose …

The first R32 Skyline GTR caused a major upset in the automotive world and instantly gained a mythical status amongst hordes of teenagers when it came out in 1989. It was then rapidly updated with the rest of the Skyline range with the R33 and R34 models before the Skyline …

Yeastie Boys The Sly Persuader. Fuck me, someone mixed wine into my beer! And I like it! Yeastie Boys are known for pushing boundaries and being a little daring with mixing flavours, and this is a great example of that work. Aged by for 18 months and made from an …

Tuatara APA   Just a damn good beer. Citrus and pine flavours over a good solid malt base This is a bit of a classic from Tuatara, one of the country’s larger craft brewers. It’s become one of the staples and given its classic taste and blend of hops and …

This is a spicy beer that delivers. Built on dark malts it’s a strong black lager with depths of flavour thanks to chipotle chili being nicely balanced by blue agave syrup, coco nibs and vanilla. Sometimes lots of chili doesn’t work in beer, sometimes it does. Garageproject made it work …

Super Alpha from North End Brewery. When wellington is the centre of beer then the Kapiti Coast becomes its north end. Light and slightly fruity to start with, then subtle lemon and a gentle bitterness. There is nice coriander note that comes through at the end Lovely beer, subtle and …

It is always tempting to review any new Mini with reference to the original, but that would be like reviewing the new Mondeo with reference to the Model T. It is a pretty pointless thing, brands move on, new models come out, new technology, new safety laws, and changes in …

Red Ryder pours a lovely deep red colour with a nice strong head. The Rye is not overly sweet and sits under a nice hop bitterness. Not a lot on the nose, but it’s a really lovely easy to drink beer with mixed citrus tones and little pine on a nice …

Chances are if you were born in the 70s then either your father, or your mates father owned a Cortina at some point. The first Cortina, the MK 1, came out in 1962 and set a new standard for mid size sedans. It was a great looking car, and for …