- Honda New Zealand is closing its Nelson facility and auctioning 19 classics.
- Notable listings include a 2000 Civic Type R and a time-capsule 1995 Accord.
- The vehicles are auctioned with no reserve, and all proceeds go to charity.
Honda is shutting down its long-running Nelson facility in New Zealand, and the closure comes with an upside for classic car fans. The company has cracked open its private vault to auction 19 classic models from its Heritage Collection, with every dollar raised heading to local charities.
The closure of the facility marks the end of a 46-year run for Honda in Nelson. The assembly plant first built British Leyland vehicles such as Triumphs, Jaguars, Rovers, and Austins before being retooled for Honda production in 1980, a move that reflected where the market was heading at the time.
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Assembly wound down in 1998, a year after New Zealand dropped its import tariffs and made local production financially pointless. The site then spent the following decades serving as the brand’s National Distribution Center, which is now up for sale.
2000 Honda Civic Type R
That left the company deciding what to do with a warehouse full of classics. The blue-chip museum pieces stay put, so the original NSX, the S2000, and the Integra Type R remain in the permanent collection, while 19 of the more attainable models head to auction through a partnership with Trade Me.
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The undisputed star of the auction is a 2000 Honda Civic Type R (EK9) brought over from Japan. It has covered 154,000 km (95,691 miles), wears Championship White paint, and still rides on its original red Recaro buckets. The naturally aspirated 1.6-liter B16B four-cylinder remains under the hood, though a previous owner added an aftermarket intake and exhaust.
Honda Accords from 1998, 1995, 1989, and 1987 (Aerodeck)
Beyond the original Type R, Honda is auctioning two other track-only examples from 2005 and 2022 respectively. Driving enthusiasts will also appreciate a Honda Jazz RS with a manual gearbox and Mugen upgrades.
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If untouched daily drivers are more your thing, there’s a time-capsule 1995 Honda Accord LXi. Assembled locally in Nelson, the burgundy sedan has covered 7,600 km (4,722 miles), likely making it one of the lowest-mileage fifth-gen Accords you can buy. It’s powered by a 2.2-liter four-cylinder engine mated to a five-speed manual gearbox.
1988 Honda City and a pair of Honda Civics from 1982 and 1994
Another comparably low-mileage and locally-assembled example is a purple 1989 Accord with 33,147 km (20,596 miles) on the clock, complete with leather upholstery, a sunroof, electric windows, and power mirrors. Micro-car fans can also bid on a repainted bright blue 1988 Honda City hatchback showing just 24,000 km (14,912 miles) from new.
Among the scarcest entries in the fleet sit a 1987 Accord Aerodeck, wearing a three-door shooting brake body, and a locally assembled 1987 Civic GTi hatchback.
The high-mileage 1992 Honda Civic hatchback and a rare 1987 Civic GTi
At the far opposite end of the odometer scale is a fifth-generation 1992 Civic hatchback showing 418,563 km (259,985 miles). This locally assembled entry-level car, running a 1.3-liter engine and a manual gearbox, had a single owner from new. It has now traveled farther than the distance from the Earth to the Moon, and Honda kept it in the collection as a rolling argument for its own durability.
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Bidding on 16 of the 19 vehicles is currently live on Trade Me and will wrap up on July 29. Below you can see a video presentation of the fleet by local YouTube channel Kiwi Car Life.
