NZ industry mourns Trevor Hudson

PORSCHES old and new parked three and four deep around the Auckland Ellerslie Convention Centre for the funeral of New Zealand motor industry businessman Trevor Hudson yesterday.

The funeral was held at the centre to accommodate the large number of family, friends and industry colleagues who turned out to farewell Mr Hudson, who died this week aged 82.

Respected as a businessman and liked for his infectious grin and a habit of helping anyone he thought might need it, Mr Hudson spent his whole working life in motoring, beginning by pumping fuel at his father’s Levin Austin dealership in 1947, the day after he left school.

A prime mover in the development of the Levin motor racing track, he relocated to Auckland in 1967, working for Ross Jansen in the BMW franchise.

Colin Giltrap called when Jansen sold his retail business, and in 1980 Hudson became managing director of European Motor Distributors, initially handling VW, Audi and Porsche, and later adding Bentley, Aston Martin and Rolls-Royce.

But his favourite was Porsche, in part, he said, because in a smaller company the affinity between distributor and manufacturer was more intimate when he started, Porsche’s total production was around 18,000 per year.

Mr Hudson’s connection became more personal still when he and then boss Sir Colin Giltrap bought a 1958 right-hand-drive four-cam-engined Porsche 356 Carrera hardtop, the only right-drive hardtop four-cam 356 built that year.

Although initially acquired as an investment, Mr Hudson drove it whenever he got the chance and the beautiful cream car was guest of honour at his funeral.