For one weekend every summer, the streets of a Wellington used to be turned into the country's most prestigious race track.
The Nissan Mobil 500 shut the city centre; its noise and smell permeated the suburbs... but it was the biggest event on Wellington's calendar.
"It used to be the Sevens, that was the party weekend. Wellington 500 was like that, even before then," says Wellington Museum's Tom Etuata.
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The street race ran from 1985 to 1996, and attracted international superstars like Emanuele Pirro and Peter Brock - and fifty-thousand motorsport fans - to the waterfront.
"It was trying to say, not only to the rest of New Zealand but to the rest of the world, that New Zealand, Wellington, the capital city, could put on a race that was as good or as big as Bathurst, or anything internationally," says radio personality Nick Tansley, who won the celebrity race in 1991.
Wellington Museum's celebrating a time when its own backyard was part of the circuit, known as the Monte Carlo of the South Pacific, with an exhibition remembering the capital's past as petrolhead heaven.
"It had a lot of bad press, from other people that didn't like the noise, and inner city residents, but when it was on, it was great, it was a lot of fun," says Etuata, who's curated the exhibition.
The exhibition will run until January 13th, with memorabilia, archive footage, and even a replica track, which young visitors Finlay Wood, Jacob Doolan, and Liam Schicker made a beeline for.
"It's been really fun, and I really liked the way it's put together and it's got a few rather annoying parts!" says Finlay.
"I can't believe right outside there used to be racing!" adds Jacob.
For Tansley, the exhibition has revived memories of chaos, coolness and camaraderie.
"When I went up, after the celebrity race, all sweaty in my gear, and I hadn't gone over a hundred km, Peter Brock was sitting in a car and he gave me the thumbs up, and to me that was a glorious moment."
When it lost sponsors and the waterfront was re-developed, the race ended in 1996, never to return.
"To bring it back? I don't know, I think Wellingtonians now, we're quite eco-friendly and thinking about not using plastic bags and stuff like that," says Mr Etuata.
"You'd probably have to only race for like ten seconds before noise control shut it down!" says Tansley.
It's a chance to remember the past and to inspire dreams of the chequered flag for future generations.
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