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Cape Town - A gratifying aspect of the very first Concours South Africa, held at Sun City in September 2016, was that the event attracted entries from outside the borders of SA.
Indeed, the overall winner, Fatima de Abreu with her 1985 De Tomaso Pantera GT5, hails from Gaborone in Botswana. And the country-wide impact of the event was emphasised by Show and Shine winner Manana Nhlanhla, who hails from Botha’s Hill in KwaZulu Natal!
Interest from abroad
For 2017, the event has already attracted strong interest from the UK and Europe.
Chris Routledge, owner of Coys of Kensington, the internationally famous auction house, will be attending as a member of the judging panel and he will also host an auction of motoring memorabilia and possibly a small selection of classic cars on Friday, August 4.
READ: Africa’s only BMW 2002 Turbo headed for Concours SA
UK-based Robert Coucher, the founder and editor of internationally-acclaimed classic car magazine Octane, will be a welcome addition to the 2017 judging panel. Robert has been steeped in the world of collectable cars since childhood, and in fact grew up in Cape Town before re-locating to England in the 1990’s to become a major figure in the classic car world.
Judging categories for 2017
The event's organisers Paul Kennard and Ross Crichton said: “We have completely overhauled the judging categories for 2017. For example, the first category will be for cars from 1900 (Pre-War Vintage), while the second category will be for cars from 1939 (Post-War Vintage). Thereafter we will have categories extending up to 1990.
“Each category will have two classes, Restored and Preserved. So at the same time, we have added more categories and made each one more specific. There will also be a Resto Mod category for modified classic cars, and a Show & Shine Category, for people who want to enter their cars in a less-competitive format. Here the emphasis is on general appeal, rather than a nut-and-bolt approach to correct specification and originality.
“In essence, this format will remain in place for the next three years, because it gives consistency and stability to the competition, allowing entrants to plan ahead.”
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For 2017, Concours South Africa is limiting the total number of entries to 150 cars. Entrants should register their cars on www.concourssa.co.za. Details on how to achieve this are on the site and easy to follow.
The organisers are encouraging car clubs to enter a selection of their members’ top machines for this year, but there are no prerequisites for entrants to belong to a classic car club.
Kennard concludes: “We are hugely proud of what we have achieved in a short space of time. I want to emphasise that Concours South Africa will be on a level with the great concours events of the world, such as Pebble Beach, Villa d’Este and the Windsor Concours of Elegance.”
