Draft:Paul Halstead
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Comment: Please use {{cite web}} or similar for references 7,8,9. Please also use them inline. See Help:Ref. CopyleftEverything (talk) 01:41, 18 June 2026 (UTC)
- Comment: Also, some or most of the links are Wikipedia links; we don't link external links to Wikipedia pages. ~ŤheŴubṂachine-840≈ ● ✒️ 10:47, 16 May 2026 (UTC)
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Paul Anthony Halstead (18th May 1946 - 6th February 2026) was an Australian businessman who worked in the information technology recruitment industry and founded Giocattolo Motori Pty Ltd, a short-lived Australian sports car manufacturer.[1][2]
Early Life Halstead was born in Prahran, Melbourne, Australia. He was educated at De La Salle College Malvern. [citation needed]
Career in information technology
Adaps and early career (1964–1972) Halstead began his career in 1964 as a COBOL programmer with the Victorian Railways in Melbourne.[3] In 1967, he joined Adaps Ltd (Australian Data Processing), a Melbourne-based computer bureau founded in 1964 by John Thompson and Peter Monahan, where he worked in sales.[4]
Computer People (1972–1976) In 1972, Halstead was recruited by Rupert Bayfield of Computer People, a London-based IT recruitment firm. Over the following four years, Halstead served as general manager and the company expanded to become a significant IT recruitment organisation in the United Kingdom.[3] He also established Computer People's New York office.[3]
Adaps People (1976–1984)
[edit]Returning to Australia in 1976, Halstead formed a joint venture with Adaps Ltd called Adaps People, which provided IT contractor services. The company established offices in multiple Australian states.[3] Halstead sold his interest in the business in 1984.[3]
Later IT career (1996–2014)
[edit]In 1996, Halstead and former Adaps colleague John Thompson re-established a company using the Adaps name, specialising in IT contract services.[4] The company continued to operate as an IT recruitment firm.[4] Halstead was a finalist in the 2002 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards.[3]
Automotive career
[edit]De Tomaso Australia and the Toy Shop (1984–1988)
[edit]In 1984, Halstead purchased the Australian De Tomaso distributorship from Ken Mathews.[1] He established a dealership called the Toy Shop in North Sydney, which retailed De Tomaso, Lamborghini, Ferrari and Porsche vehicles, as well as Chopard products.[5] De Tomaso Australia exported Australian-manufactured Ford V8 engines to Automobili De Tomaso in Italy for use in the De Tomaso Pantera.[1] The associated engineering workshop in St Leonards also constructed a modified Pantera race car, engineered by Barry Lock and driven by Kevin Bartlett, which competed in Australian GT racing.[1][6] The Toy Shop ceased operations in 1988 following a combination of adverse exchange rate movements between the Australian dollar and the Italian lira, the discontinuation of the Australian Ford V8 engine (which ended the export credit arrangement with De Tomaso), the introduction of the luxury car tax, and rising interest rates.[5]
HAL Design 2006 - 2024 Halstread's final project was never intended to be a commercial one and was ultimately stillborn. Again with Barry Loch he engineered and partly built a V16 high performance sportscar. This was intended to be the Giocattolo Hypercar for road or track use. A factory was fitted out in Laverton, West of Melbourne and a prototype advanced.
Over several years, about this time Halstead also built the HAL supercharged 427 GTO Monaro show car https://www.streetmachine.com.au/features/2004-hsv-gto-coupe-paul-halstead-427ci-ls7 assisted by a variety of outside fabricators and engineers and suppliers. As Halstead's health declined he accepted that he could not complete the Giocattolo Hypercar and the project was sold.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Telford, Simon (7 February 2026). "Vale: Paul Halstead, Aussie fast-car dream maker". Street Machine. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
- ^ Allen, Guy (11 February 2026). "Farewell Paul Halstead – Giocattolo creator". Unique Cars. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
- ^ a b c d e f "Paul Halstead". go2hal.com. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
- ^ a b c Philipson, Graeme (1 August 2017). "ACS Heritage Project: Chapter 31". Information Age. Australian Computer Society. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
- ^ a b Wood, Matt (6 July 2017). "Meet The Giocattolo Group B: Australia's Unsung Super(car) Hero". Petrolicious. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
- ^ Wood, Matt (8 December 2017). "Giocattolo Group B: Aussie Super Car". Unique Cars. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
- ^ https://www.justcars.com.au/news-and-reviews/vale-paul-halstead/1079279
- ^ https://www.smh.com.au/national/nab-executive-owns-slice-of-agency-20020910-gdfmce.html
- ^ https://www.carthrottle.com/post/kg8ee4j
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