Ella's cartoon gets car

A rather cool car will be cruising around the Waikato this month – a Citroen Picasso, with paintwork featuring a colourful family of five.

Gordonton School student Ella McConnell won a colouring competition and the prize was for her art work to appear on the car, which her family are now able to drive for a month.

Ella, 11, is rightly chuffed and says there will be trips to Rotoiti, possibly the beach and a bit of cruising around Gordonton, north east of Hamilton.

She drew her family with colouring pencils and says the judges liked the quirky touches – mum Juanita’s cell phone ringing and Ella draped over the wheel next to Rosie the cat.

Dad, Brent, and younger sisters Zarah and Paris take pride of place on the doors. Then the family pets take over – Stony, the pet deer and the three ponies, Zeana, Indie and Goldi, on the back.

She says it took eight hours for the images to be put on the car. “They had the car under a big red sheet, I knew I’d won when I recognised mum on the side.”

The competition came about, says Principal David McNair, after he’d bought a car from Winger Motors earlier in the year.

“They said they’d like to support the school and then contacted me about the colouring competition. In addition to the car, they gave the school a cheque for $1000, and every one who entered got a little model of a Citroen.”

He is looking for a ride in the car himself – “It just looks fantastic.”

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