24s David Hinton

Saloons were introduced at Stratford in the season of 1968/69, and, the cars initially referred to as productions, were a far cry from today's purpose built V8 monsters. The early vehicles included Mk 1 Zephyr, Holdens, Vauxhall's with standard car chassis, body and engines. By 1982, the cars were running on methanol with fiberglass bodies and lap times were down to around 17 seconds.

Today's Saloon cars have increased dramatically in cost with $50,000 for a complete Super Saloon not unheard of. These days the Super Saloons generally run (Chevrolet) V8's running at 600-700 horsepower, while the chassis's ranging from Corvettes to Mustangs. Lap times are now down around the 16 second mark. The track has enjoyed great success on the national scene with a record 10 NZ championships won by Stratford drivers.

Limited Saloons
The younger cousins of Super Saloons, the Limited Saloon compete with several restrictions such as capping the engine capacity to limit the speeds and costs of these cars.

Class Rep: Steve Kay