Tony Quinn: Former Motorsport driver and entrepreneur on the revised edition of his book 'Zero to 60 and Beyond'

The Mike Hosking Breakfast

The story of self-made millionaire Tony Quinn is fairly well-known, but there’s more to the tale.

Quinn made his fortune through pet food and confectionary but is a keen motorsport driver and the visionary behind Highlands Motorsport Park in Central Otago.

Originally released in 2016, his book ‘Zero to 60’ is getting a facelift, ‘Zero to 60 and Beyond’ sharing new stories in ten new chapters.

Quinn told Mike Hosking he was inspired to write down his life story by his grandfather.

“My Grandfather, who was Irish, got involved in the IRA when he was a young fella, and he had a fantastic, interesting life,” he said.

“And when he died, there was nothing written down. And so there was no official record, if you like, of his life.”

Quinn’s book started off as a personal project, a record for future generations as opposed to an official biography.

“I was just gonna write my story so that the generations behind me could read all about why I did the things that I did, and that’s how it started.”

It wasn’t until he found a freelance author to write his story out properly that the idea of publishing it came into being.

“One thing led to another,” he said.

‘Zero to 60’ became a number one best seller in New Zealand, flying off the shelves and going through several reprints, and after seven years, Quinn decided to revise it.

“There has been so much happened in the last seven years."

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