We need to talk about that whole ‘number-eight wire’ mythology surrounding the notion of innovation and ingenuity in Kiwi motorsport.
The sentiment is pretty clear, it’s a synonym for a specific breed of pioneering, enterprising spirit that us Kiwis are so fiercely proud of. It’s that ‘get ‘er done’ mentality, making do with just the resources at hand to accomplish a goal. Not only is it associated with a scarcity of resources, but it also seems to run hand-in-hand with budgetary and/or time constraints.
It’s a simple concept to grasp. But, we’re balls deep in the 21st century now, and we’d wager that, along with the skinned knuckles, empty wallets and precarious mental states of those burning the midnight oil in the shed chasing those split seconds, we wouldn’t know a bit of good-old fencing wire if it smacked us on the arse.
We’ve moved on. The resources at hand have changed, and in an age of CAD modelling, composites, CNC machining and even 3D scanning technology, the Kiwi garagista has evolved. We’re going faster, and doing it more safely and more reliably, all the while still churning out bespoke bits of machinery that maintain that ‘underdog’ reputation so proudly upheld by our remote island nation. Jarred Morgan’s EK3 Civic presents a perfect example of number-eight wire consciousness, brought forward into 2024. It’s an endurance racing weapon intended to run hard and reliably for at least an hour on end, and it’s bristling with a plethora of solutions developed in-house by
