More than 12 Arrowtown and Frankton firefighters tackled the blaze that destroyed a newly erected $130,000 garage located just metres away from a private Lockwood residence on Lower Shotover Rd, west of Lake Hayes, at 1.30pm.
The large metal-framed, three-door garage contained new bicycles, karts, personal belongings and a $250,000 2006 Ford GT sports car, all owned by the Coyle family, who moved from northern California to Lower Shotover in June.
Engineer John Coyle said: "I moved my car in there last night and it is now gone. I have no idea what happened. I just got here."
Mrs Coyle said an electrical fault was the suspected cause of the fire, but they did not know for sure yesterday.
"We were miles away helping another family move into their house. We got a call saying the shed was burning down.
"We were worried about our dog inside the house and got over and saw this. One good thing is it was far enough away from the house."
Mrs Coyle said their three children, aged 7, 8 and 13, "were all at school, so that's good. The fire service were quick and did all they could".
Mr Coyle said the Ford GT - one of only two in New Zealand - was insured, but the garage was not.
Arrowtown Fire Station Officer Leeroy Mullings said the garage was "well alight and dangerous" when crews arrived on the scene.
Firefighters used breathing apparatus and water and foam to protect the house and prevent the inferno from spreading before extinguishing the buckled garage.
