BurgerFuel

FULL THROTTLE, SINCE '95

Posted by BurgerFuel

It’s in our DNA.

BurgerFuel’s love affair with car culture spans over 25 years and we’ve been living and breathing anything and everything Speed & Custom ever since. We look back on everything that’s put the FUEL in BurgerFuel, since ‘95:

THE FLEET

The BurgerFuel fleet is made up of customs, classics and muscle cars built in ‘the muscle car era’ between 1965 and 1972 and, like our burgers, they are all customised in some special way and brandish the iconic trademark 3-tone fade pearl paint job.

Four machines reside at HQ and Franchisees throughout the country own a wide range of branded custom classics – they might be parked proudly at store fronts, seen cruising the streets on the school run, at local events…or sit languishing at the mechanics, waiting for some rare part, to be flown in from the states, to get it cranking again. Anyone who owns a classic will know well the investment, in both time and the dollars, not to mention foregoing reliability all together. Just getting from A to B shouldn’t be an expectation, but a bonus, when your rolling in a ride that’s been around for 30+ years. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.

The BurgerFuel Franchisee Collection consists of a varied and ecclectic range of machines, such as a: a ’71 Chrysler Valiant Charger, ’66 Chrysler 300, ’72 Holden Kingswood, ’72 Ford Torino Ranchero, ’67 Plymouth Barracuda, ’69 Chevrolet Camaro, ’71 Ford Torino, ’75 Holden Ute HJ – and the list goes on..

The BurgerFuel Head Office Collection: Our pride & joy, the rare ‘72 Ford Fairmont (produced by Ford Australia from 72 – 73), the ‘64 Buick Riviera, ‘65 Dodge Coronet and ‘70 Oldsmobile Cutlass.

A FULL THROTTLE MENU

Our burger names pay homage to all things cars, from the Bacon Backfire, V8 Vegan and Ford Freakout, to the American Muscle and Burnout. And a glance back at the menu from the early days show we’ve always been keen on a bit of word play, with burger names like Chicknition Pear, Studnut Stilton and Pontiac Pickle.

Some cringey, some pure genius – but one thing’s for sure, we’ve got plenty more Burger/Car puns where those came from!

AUTO-INSPIRED STORE DESIGN

Each and every BurgerFuel is unique and designed to set our instore environments apart from the rest. Look around and you’ll find subtle hints of auto influences throughout the dining room. From the specially engineered Piston Doofer dispenser and retro car interior inspired bench seating, to the hanging ‘lollipop’ signage above the counter, a nod to speedo dials on a dashboard. Perhaps, the most infamous is the spark plug chandeliers, made bespoke and hung above most stores' communal tables (watch your head). Next time you’re in Taupo, stop by and check out the car parts suspended from the ceiling.

SPEED & CUSTOM EVENTS

You’ll usually see a BurgerFuel customised classic or two roll up to most events on the car enthusiasts’ calendar. Many stores host their own local cruise nights through well-established relationships with car clubs, treating customers to their very own ‘Show & Shine’ experience at the store front, as they grab a burger.  

Keep your eyes peeled for purple machines cruising through these upcoming events:

Beach Hop, Coromandel: 25 - 29 November, 2020

BurgerFuel Port Road Drags, Wellington: 29 November, 2020

Takapuna Rocks, Auckland: 24 October, 2020

Kumeu Hot Rod Show, Auckland: 16 - 17 January, 2021

 

FAST FRIENDS OF THE FUEL

Be it within HQ, our franchisees and staff, to our Friends of the Fuel and customers who send us pics of their 'Sunday Driver' (usually in various stages of restoration), we attract the car-mad and those with a need for speed. Here’s a selection of our petrol head mates that are worth a mention:

VEEKS

Vika (aka Veeks): National treasure, key figure within the HQ walls and integral part of the BurgerFuel promotions and events team. Authentically passionate and knowledgeable about cars (probably knows more than your Dad) and with her own ride that’ll make any girl or boy racer green. Don’t hate her cause you ain’t her.

KINGI

Kingi: Our beloved BurgerFuel franchisee of 4 Wellington stores, avid car collector, top drag car racer and adrenaline junky since he was a baby. On a path to smash his records, making his cars NZ’s fastest NZ small block street legal cars.

KAT

Kat Benson – BurgerFuel Mitsubishi Evo VII pilot, self-proclaimed ‘girl racer’, champion Time Attack race car driver and world class chick who we’ve sponsored since waaay back. Our longest standing motorsport Friend of the Fuel and most loyal and patriotic to the purple. Also, now a new Mumma, to beautiful baby Zoey.

ANT

Ant Pederson: Originally sponsored in free burgers and a BurgerFuel cap or two, racing driver in the V8 Supercar and Supertourer categories and raced as part of Super Black Racing Team. All around good bloke and absolute legend.

BurgerFuel: Full Throttle, since '95.