# Targa New Zealand Becomes the Silver Fern Tarmac Rally from 2027

New Zealand's Targa is being rebranded as the NZ Silver Fern Tarmac Rally and will run every two years from 2027, with two, five and seven-day options.

Source: https://lotustrails.com/blog/2026-10-04-targa-new-zealand-silver-fern-2027/

Targa New Zealand, which has run closed-road tarmac rallies since 1995, is changing its name and its rhythm. The organisers have announced that the event will become the NZ Silver Fern Tarmac Rally and move to a biennial format starting in 2027.

## The new structure

The plan is a single seven-day event with three ways to take part:

- **Two days:** a regional event with about 300 km of special stages
- **Five days:** the Targa NZ distance, about 750 km of stages
- **Seven days:** the full Silver Fern Tarmac Rally, about 1,050 km of stages

The idea is to let crews choose a level that matches their time and budget while keeping one large event that can attract international entries.

## Why the change

The organisers have been direct about the reason. The domestic pool of competitors is not large enough to sustain several Targa events a year at a time when discretionary spending is under pressure, and running one bigger event every second year is a way to keep it viable without sharply raising entry fees.

It follows a difficult few years for tarmac rallying across Australasia, which also saw Targa Tasmania suspended and then [return under revised rules](/blog/2026-09-28-targa-tasmania-returns-november/).

## What it means for owners

There is no traditional Targa New Zealand this year, so anyone planning to enter has until 2027 to prepare. The tour category for standard road cars has always been a feature of the New Zealand event and is the natural way in for a first-timer.

In the meantime the roads themselves are open. The South Island in particular is one of the best places in the world to drive a small sports car: the [Crown Range Road](/trails/crown-range-road/) between Queenstown and Wānaka is a good place to start, and the passes to the west coast are emptier still.

See the [events page](/events/) for the organiser's site and for the other rallies on the calendar.