Arise, Sir Colin Giltrap

NEW ZEALAND automotive identity Colin Giltrap was made a Knight Companion of the NZ Order of Merit for services to motorsport and philanthropy this month, but he’s better known for half a century at the forefront of the country’s motoring industry.

Sir Colin started buying and selling Morris Minors as a teenager in New Plymouth, then worked at his father’s tractor and machinery business before moving to Hamilton, which at that time was the centre of the farming industry, where he co-founded Monaco Motors selling up-market luxury cars.

His first dealership was for GM – he still owns the country’s largest Holden dealer – and since then he’s counted a broad suite of brands among his portfolio, including Audi, Fiat, Peugeot, Chrysler, Mercedes, BMW, Toyota, Aston Martin, Bentley and more.

But he says the biggest success story has been Hyundai: “We were the second distributor in the world after Ecuador and in the early days we wondered if we’d done the right thing,” he told GoAuto.

Sir Colin has a long association with sailing and motorsport, and has helped many Kiwi racing drivers at home and abroad, including former US Indycar champion Scott Dixon.

With a personal fortune estimated at more than $300 million, he is also a tireless worker for a number of charities. With his wife, Lady Jennifer, he has had a long-time involvement with the Starship Foundation, a charitable trust that raises money to help sick children and their families.

Now 71, Sir Colin still works at the office every day as chairman of the Giltrap Group but has pulled back a little, selling his massive dealer interests in the UK.