Street Machine Australia - May 2018

POSSUM MAGIC
THIS Kiwi Cortina V8 reminds us
that the late, great New Zealand rally
star Possum Bourne began his illustriously
muddy motorsport career in a Mk1 Cortina with
a V8. According to NZ Autocar, Possum bought
the 3.5-litre Oldsmobile-powered beast in 1978
after the transplant was performed by another
Kiwi enthusiast.
On the way to success in many of Possum’s early
motorsport outings, over the next few years the V8
Cortina was rolled, rooted and re-shelled several
times until Possum caught the eye of NZ’s
Subaru distributor. That was the beginning
of his long international rallying success
with Subaru, tragically cut short by
a race reconnaissance accident
in 2003.