Collector’s Run – Collecting Cars 2025 meet

There are now plenty of car meets on the enthusiast calendar around New Zealand. One of the more high-brow events is the Coffee Run, hosted by Collecting Cars. We went along to check it out.  

There’s something about a car meet on a sunny Sunday morning that just feels right. Collecting Cars struck it perfectly with its recent Coffee Run, held at the ASB Showgrounds in Auckland. As the second local event of its kind by the international car sales outfit, there were high hopes for a large turnout, given the popularity of the first.  

According to the brand’s website, over 800 cars turned up in January 2024, but that was with automotive superstar Chris Harris in attendance. Despite Harris not attending this new event, or being part of Collecting Cars at all anymore, hundreds of car enthusiasts still turned up with their precious metal to display.  

Given New Zealand’s car culture, shows and meets like this can be extremely varied in terms of who turns up. But Collecting Cars seems to attract a certain type of demographic, one that’s seemingly just as interested in watches as it is with cars. 

Because of this, I felt right at home in the car I had managed to wrangle for the event — the Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S E Performance. And while that name might sound complicated, it isn’t half as complex as the powertrain that this SUV uses. While I won’t bore you with all the details, the twin-turbo V8 has been replaced by a turbocharged 2.0-litre four banger hybrid. And though it doesn’t sound anywhere near as good as the V8 model, this plug-in hybrid makes 500kW and over 1000Nm of torque, eclipsing the 350kW that the V8 made.  

The bottom line is this GLC 63 still feels like a force of nature on the road, the lack of a throaty soundtrack is sorely missed, but the 3.5-second 0-100km/h time is almost enough to have you forgetting about the V8 entirely. But anyway, back to the meet.  

The calibre of cars on show felt like the pinnacle of what you could expect to see on any given morning around Auckland’s more affluent suburbs. I was joined by a friend at the event, who was probably Collecting Cars’ most recent customer at the time. Only a day earlier I had gone with him to collect his “new” BMW E92 M3. There was no question as to whether or not his six-speed manual coupe, finished in Interlagos Blue, was a more appropriate fit for the event.  

In terms of sheer value, the headliners included a pair of Lamborghini Aventador Roadsters and a Ferrari 812 Superfast. These V12-equipped Italian performance machines will always grab attention, but I’d argue there were far more interesting vehicles to be seen in the sub-12 cylinder category.  

An ultra-rare Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren was also in attendance, an example with a history in New Zealand. This specific car has made headlines for being offered for sale locally a couple of times, with it most recently selling on the Collecting Cars website. The top bid for this black beauty sat at $569,388 when the hammer dropped, which seems like a bit of a bargain, considering how a number of the limited ‘722’ edition cars have sold for well over $1 million.  

Though nowhere near the value of European supercars, I was stunned by the group of factory-fresh FD Mazda RX-7s in attendance. In my opinion, they are one of the few cars from the mid-90s Japanese glory days that look perfect in stock form.  

Auckland’s Porsche brigade were also out in force, with a slew of 911s gracing the carpark. These ranged from early Turbo models through to new GT3s. The highlight of this bunch for me was the 997 GT3 RS with its iconic red accents. Though it would make a Porsche purist turn in their grave, the incredibly low 964 was a real standout for me, and the ‘BROKE’ personalised plate was a nice touch.  

Supercars aside, the real value at an event like this comes from the weird and wonderful machines that get pulled out of garages on special occasions. You could also lump the pair of Audi RS2s in with the Porsche crowd on a technicality. This pairing drew a lot of attention from the if-you-know-you-know crowd.  

A gorgeous NSU TT stole the show for me here, with its dinky proportions and 13-inch wheels. The orange roll cage in the rear, and angry engine tone hinted at performance that may have been anything but cute. Filling out the other spots in the weird and wonderful category was a Yugo, wearing period correct Macedonian plates, and an Autozam AZ1 with its signature scissor doors standing to attention.  

As the meet drew to a close, the usual teen crowd flocked to the exit in the hopes of seeing some high horsepower displays. Considering the location of this meet, and the type of crowd it drew, the lack of burnouts probably disappointed these young folk, but kept Collecting Cars’ hopes of another event there alive.  

Though the turnout wasn’t as large as Collecting Cars’ initial event in 2024, it was still an impressive showing of all things vehicular. Given the turnout of Porsches at this event, it comes as little surprise to learn that they are Collecting Cars’ bread and butter. Since its inception, more than 2,800 Porsches have been sold on the platform, including over 300 911s across every generation.  

Edward Lovett, Founder and Chief Executive of Collecting Cars was very complimentary of the South Pacific’s car culture, speaking after the event.  

“New Zealand and Australia are home to some of the rarest and most exciting collector cars in the world,” he said. “Car culture down under is strong. You can see this in both countries with the number of cherished classic and collector cars that regularly get out of their garages and on the road.” 

Given the success of this event, it’s likely Collecting Cars will host these events more frequently. And I figure this should only contribute in a positive way to New Zealand’s car culture, that’s showing no signs of slowing down.