Owners’ clubs have long been essential to the Porsche story, supporting the brand from its earliest days while forging precious memories and lifelong friendships. This spring marks 50 years of the Porsche Club New Zealand, a small but close-knit community that tailors the Porsche ownership experience to its unique southern hemisphere setting.
The creation of the Porsche Club New Zealand can be traced back to Auckland resident Allan Bremner, who put a notice in the New Zealand Herald in 1975 inviting Porsche owners to attend an informal gathering in nearby Milford on 7 December. Just 10 cars made the journey, including 356, 911, and 912 models. But the day would mark the official founding of a club that has continued to grow and evolve with every passing year.
Today, Porsche Club New Zealand has just under 1,000 members. However, membership is allocated per household, and with the high number of couples within the organization, the real number of active members is closer to 2,000. This relatively small total has many benefits, with an easygoing and welcoming philosophy that encourages.
A welcoming club culture
“We’re very conscious of keeping everyone included,” says club president Ash Powell. “We have a very healthy 356 following in the club, but also a sprinkling of SUVs and Taycans. Of course, we’re primarily a sports car club, which means 911, Boxster, Cayman, and transaxle models of all eras, right up to the latest GT cars.”
Powell and his fellow volunteers are acutely aware of the importance of inclusivity and accessibility, as one of the club’s most recent recruits reveals. “We’ve got a very young member, just 17 years of age,” Powell reveals, “and he’s saved hard, working jobs after school, and has just bought an early Cayman. And we embrace that because this is the next generation of our club. There’s no exclusivity. We’re totally open and welcoming.”
Great driving routes and stunning scenery
Porsche Club New Zealand hosts various annual events on the country’s North and South Islands, from the yearly Concours and Christmas picnics to more localized and low-key drive-outs to nearby vineyards and into the country’s dramatic mountains. Club weekends away are a regular fixture, too.
“They’re not European roads by any means,” Powell says, “There’s quite a lot of loose stones, bumps, and hollows, and we still have a few unsealed roads in rural areas, but there are great driving routes and stunning scenery. Some of our organized Sunday drives offer long or short route options, which suits certain model types and drivers! The South Island, in particular, has the mountains to enjoy, and the scenery there is very similar to southern Germany or Austria.”
Club Racing
Porsche Club New Zealand also holds an annual club racing championship, which has expanded significantly in recent years with the introduction of a new entry-level series. “We’ve had our own race series for many years and have recently started up a Boxster class following the American model,” Powell explains. “And that has grown with a starting grid of 25 plus cars. But there’s still everything from 994 to 992 GT3 models in there, too, so it’s a good cross section. The series has rounds at most renowned tracks through New Zealand and is televised.”
Grand Napier Parade
To mark its 50th anniversary, in March, the club teamed up with Porsche New Zealand to stage the Grand Napier Parade, a four-day celebration of past and present featuring 250 guests and around 130 cars. With the stunning art deco town of Napier as its base, the itinerary included organized drives and vineyard lunches around the Hawke’s Bay region, a Concours competition, and themed displays, with Porsche Brand Ambassador and former factory driver Mark Webber being a special guest for the parade. He was interviewed by Australian TV motorsport pundit Greg Rust at the event, along with three retired club series drivers.
Make-A-Wish
As part of the celebrations, Porsche New Zealand extended a special invitation to 11-year-old Oliver Elder through its partnership with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Ollie, a Hawke’s Bay local living with Cystic Fibrosis, rode alongside Webber in a Carrera GT as the lead car in the main parade.
“In 2024, Porsche New Zealand proudly supported three wishes, contributing to Porsche’s global goal of granting 356 dreams – a number inspired by our first model, the Porsche 356,” says Greg Clarke, General Manager of Porsche New Zealand. “We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to offer Ollie this extraordinary Porsche experience in his hometown.”
It’s a further testament to the support and inclusivity that Porsche Club New Zealand has nurtured for the last half-century. “From our humble beginnings to becoming one of the world’s recognized Porsche clubs,” Powell adds, “our focus has always remained on fostering camaraderie among enthusiasts and celebrating the engineering excellence that defines Porsche.”
