By George, she's a beauty

All roads will be leading to the Eastern Cape town of George for the George Old Car Show taking place at the Eden Technical High School from February 10 and the two-day event  has so far drawn entries from as far afield as Thabazimbi in Limpopo Province, Upington in the Northern Cape, Gauteng, the Free State, and even two entries from Windhoek in Namibia!

The line-up of cars will showcase a sweep of time in South African motoring history that dates back more than 100 years, to modern cars that have already achieved 'instant classic’ status and, from Alfa Romeos to Zephyrs, they will all be there.

The main show day for 2024 will be on Saturday, February 10, while the Sunday has been designated a ‘Family Day’ with entertainment provided by the International Oompah Band to add a German feel to the proceedings, as this year’s show has been given a special German theme.

Traditionally there are no shortages of German-built machinery at the George Old Car Show and once again there have been strong entries featuring Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen, DKW and Borgward machinery.

Support from Car Clubs has also been impressive. There are notable entries from the likes of the MG Car Club, the Kombi Owners Club in the Western Cape, the Rover Motorcycle Club in Hogsback in the Eastern Cape, as well as the Mercedes-Benz Club of South Africa and a massive entry from the Concept Crew Car Club from the Despatch area in the Eastern Cape. A contingent of 10 cars from the Morris Minor Owners Club will be travelling to the show from the Cape Town area.

“The drive-by component of the George Old Car Show is an on-going highlight of the event and makes our show stand out as something completely different,” says Waldo Scribante, Chairman of the Southern Cape Old Car Club. “It enables show goers to find a comfortable seat and experience all the cars as they drive by in groups on the main show field.”

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An interesting entry this year is from Wessie van der Westhuizen from Thabazimbi in the Limpopo Province. In 2019 he saw a genuine 1904 De Dion-Bouton at the George Old Car Show, owned by Tom van der Vyver. Working only from photographs, Wessie has since created a replica of the De Dion, and he will be showing this car in George this year.

At the other end of the motorised spectrum, interesting entries from the Eastern Cape recall an era that was pivotal to many of today’s older petrol-heads. Growing up in the 1960s and ‘70s, many enthusiasts enjoyed their first motorised experiences aboard 50 cc motorcycles, or buzz-bikes, as they were called then. Driver’s licenses for 50 cc bikes were available to 16-year olds, and high school parking grounds were awash with these rip-roaring machines.

This year in George, a number of 50 cc machines will be shown representing the crème-de-la-crème of the buzz bike brigade. From Gqeberha comes a collection of Zundapp and Kreidler 50 cc bikes that were the toast of the town in the early 1970s. And in the early 1960s, the hot tickets were the Italian bikes from Garelli and Maserati (a sister company to the famous sports car maker). These mini-Italian stallions will be travelling to George from Port Alfred.

A number of classic motorcycles have also been entered, including the likes of Ariel, Douglas, Norton, Velocette and Francis-Barnett. And topping off the two wheeled brigade will be a strong entry of Vespas from the George area!

Mercedes-Benz will have a massive representation at George Old Car Show 2024, headlined by no less than eight original 300SL machines, the all-time classics sports cars built between 1954 and 1963. The Mercedes-Benz Car Club stand will have iconic examples of these famous German machines harking back to 1913, whilst including examples of modern Mercs, such as the SLS Gullwing and AMG GT supercars.

BMW, too, will be well represented, by some unusual examples of the Bavarian marque, including a Bauer Cabriolet version of the 323 model from the 1980s, a highly desirable 325iS ‘Shadowline’ from the 1990s and more modern examples of M3 and M5 performance sedans.

British sports cars ruled the roost in the early 1950s through to the early 1970s, and there will be a massive turn-out of MGs, ranging back to the late 1940s TC examples to the more modern MGs from a decade or so ago. At least one example of the famous MGA Twin Cam model will be on display, as well as many variants of the famous MGB, which sold here in great numbers in the 1960s and 1970s. Other classic British makes, such as Austin Healey, Triumph and Morgan will also be on show.

American makes from the likes of Ford, General Motors and Chrysler will also be represented through many eras, including those of the Fabulous Fins decade from the 1950s.

Tickets are now available through iTickets. Log on to the iTickets website using this link: https://itickets.co.za/events/475607

Colin Windell

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Backdraft gets national status

Backdraft Racing has been granted National Championship status for 2024 by Motorsport South Africa and will contest the South African Endurance Series (SAES) as the National V8 Roadster Championship with 15 cars expected to make the start at each of the six rounds.

This adds another feather to the SAES cap, giving the series its fourth National Championship category to run alongside the SA GT Championship, South African Endurance Championship, and the Index of Performance Championship.

Backdraft Racing is headed up by former South African Driver’s Champion and Daytona 24-Hour winner, Tony Martin who says: “The idea of identical cars in a cost-contained formula evolved as a concept to add a new dimension to the SA Endurance Racing Series and being granted national status is confirmation it has worked.

“It is not a gimmick, and the cars are all prepared to within a couple of horsepower of each other and are identical in every other way. They are extremely competitive, and over the past couple of years we have constantly refined and improved the cars in terms of reliability and the cost to run them - and all 12 of our cars finished the Nine Hours of Kyalami at the end of last year.

“I am extremely excited with this development, and we hope to be able to grow the field and there is quite a lot of interest coming from foreign competitors.”

The South African Endurance Racing series consists of six events - two rounds at Kyalami and one each at Red Star Raceway, Aldo Scribante and East London - and are a mix of between three and 5-hour races except for the final at Kyalami, that will be a marathon 9-hour event.

Backdraft Racing Manager (and cousin to Tony), Brian Martin adds: “This will add a whole new dimension to the series and hopefully will attract more people to come and race in our class with the rest of the endurance field.

“The Backdraft Roadsters are open-top racers powered by a 300 hp Lexus V8 engine driving the rear wheels and they are raw, powerful, and purpose-built race cars. There are no electronic aids such as traction control or anti-lock braking. They are true driver’s cars.”

For the 2024 season some of the cars will run with a closed roof and Tony Martin says: “We will run comparisons between the open top and closed top and then get a consensus from the various teams, but I think the closed top has a really nice look and feel to it.”

The cars that will contest the national series were previously classified as Class E. That now falls away to be replaced by the Roadster designation while the other classes (A, B etc) running highly modified versions of the Backdraft cars will continue unchanged.

CEO of the Southern African Endurance Series – Wayne Riddell says: “This is just reward for the hard work put in by the Martin’s. When we took over the series, Roger Pearce told me the Backdraft Roadsters were a good bunch of guys that need some small refinement to become a great class. I took this information to heart and have worked closely with the Durban based guys and they have harnessed my commitment and delivered without failure.”

Riddell went on to say: “Our series needs to be the starting point for young South African racers, who want to follow in the footsteps of the Van Der Linde’s brothers, Kelvin and Sheldon and Jordan Pepper. We currently have the likes of Stewart White, Mikaeel Pitamber and Kwanda Moekona, all racing in our series, as well as competing in endurance races overseas.

“I have been informed that we have other youngsters who have raced with us last year, also racing in Europe this year. This is where I think the National V8 Roadster National Championship class will come into its own.

“The Backdraft stable now offers a reliable car at cost effective pricing to youngsters who want to enter the series, and now that it is a National Championship Class, I expect to see an increased demand for the Roadster cars.”

Endurance racing has always been an integral part of South African motorsport from the very early days at long-gone circuits such as Grand Central to the Springbok Series of the 70’s and, of course, the Nine Hour that attracted top teams and drivers from around the world.

The SAES series has grown from very humble beginnings 14 years ago under the guidance of Roger Pearce and in 2021 the SA GT class joined his stable the following year when Wayne Riddell took over the helm of the series under the new ownership, he was able to secure that the SA GT category became a national championship followed by the Overall Endurance and Index Of Performance the following year. The addition of the V8 Roadster class now makes it 4 National Championship classes in the Series.

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Simola Hillclimb entries close soon

If you are hankering to get to the top and quickly, there are just a few days left to lodge your entry for the 2024 Simola Hillclimb, whether it be in the ‘Golden Oldies’ category or that rip-snorter you have been pouring your heart and soul into.

Entries close on January 31 and slots for what will be the 14th running of the event from May 02 to 05 are filling up fast. 

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“The Simola Hillclimb is an invitational event where all of the applications are reviewed according to strict criteria to ensure we deliver an exciting and diverse line-up of cars and drivers across the various classes,” says sporting director Geoff Goddard.

“We have had a superb response from Simola Hillclimb regulars and several new competitors, which has no doubt been bolstered by the high profile and success of the 2023 even and to date we have received around 140 applications, split between Classic Car Friday and King of the Hill.

“The more applications we receive the better we are placed to choose a line-up that keeps the event fresh and engaging for the spectators that attend, as well as for the many fans around the world that watch the livestream.”

Classic Car Friday allows for a maximum of 65 competitors while King of the Hill is restricted to 84 entries. Successful applicants will receive a formal invitation by February 9.

The Simola Hillclimb showcases some of the most extreme, valuable and fastest cars in the country and an equally impressive line-up of local and international drivers. Competitors vie for glory on the tight and twisty 1,9 km Simola Hill course which is located in one of South Africa’s most scenic towns along the world-renowned Garden Route.

The event comprises Classic Car Friday on May 3 for the ‘golden oldies’, as well as two days of roaring King of the Hill action on May 4 and May 5 for modern road and race cars that range from mild to completely wild.

One of the big innovations for this year is the addition of the new class B10 for Modified Street Cars. This allows enthusiast owners with modified or tuned street-legal cars to compete for class honours.

One of the main drawcards for fans attending the Simola Hillclimb is they can get close to all the action, with numerous spectacular viewpoints located along the  course, either in the formal grandstands or the open grassed areas. For the ultimate Simola Hillclimb experience, VIP Hospitality packages are available with an unrivalled view of the start line complemented by first-class catering.

The main event is supported by an extensive array of activities and attractions to enthral fans of all ages throughout the weekend including car shows and displays, the extremely popular parade laps through Knysna, regular demonstration runs, a variety of vendors in Gasoline Alley and a delectable range of local food and beverages.

Ticket sales and upgrades are open and are all seamlessly processed through the event website for General Entry, VIP Hospitality, VIP Parking, Turn 2 Grandstand or Esses Grandstand seating, as well as Pit Access tickets.

Colin Windell

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Having fun with the Suzuki Fronx

In a fortuitous coincidence, the “Long and Winding Road’ by The Beatles popped up on the playlist as I started the swooping curves on the road between Sudwala and Sabie in Mpumalanga, the 4/4 timing of the song almost like a sine wave mirror of the road ahead.

Driving the Suzuki Fronx 1.5 GLX Auto and getting into the rhythm of the curves – just quick enough for it to be fun but not enough to produce white knuckles on Mrs W who was sitting beside me and absorbing the glorious scenery, the issue of compromise came to mind.

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In every facet of life compromise is a player in what we do - my compromise was keeping under the speed limit to mitigate Mrs W’s trepidation on really winding roads. The second, happening at the same time, was the four-speed auto gearbox fitted to the Fronx.

Sure, it would benefit from a modern six or eight-speed auto shifter but that would add significantly to the price of R344 900 and move it up into a bracket for which it was never destined - so, the compromise is understanding and living with the fact it will have to drop a cog or so to maintain momentum of inclines.

Having experienced this on the initial launch drive, I decided to experiment and used the N4 and the standard fitment cruise control to see how it would fare at keeping to the set speed of 120 km/h and what this might do to the fuel consumption.

As to maintaining the speed there was no problem and the changedowns happened early enough so little momentum was lost and, as far as consumption went, the average of 6,2 l/100 km was quite impressive.

On the return journey along the same N4, I kept cruise control off and went a ittle quicker on the downslopes and slower on the inclines trying to minimise gear changes and simply became an irritating mobile chicane on the road, achieving no significant reduction in consumption.

Where no compromise was offered, or needed, on the round trip that also included long sections of dirt road within the Kruger National Park, was in terms of the overall comfort and driveability of the Fronx and, for a car that sits in the budget stream of the compact SUV category, seat padding and design along with the interior layout punch well above their fighting weight.

For some perspective, the price rivals to the Fronx GLX would be the Nissan Magnite 1.0 Turbo Acenta Kuro auto,  Chery Tiggo 4 Pro 1.5 Comfort and the Mahindra XUV300 1.5TD W6 SE (although this has a manual gearbox).

The coupé SUV body style, with its bold front grille and sloping roofline, offers a stylish choice in this market segment, and  styling options, such as roof rails, daytime running lights and alloy wheelsare standard fare.

Enough Space

The five-door Suzuki Fronx is 3,995 metres long and 1,765 metres wide. It rides on a 2,520-metre wheelbase, meaning there is enough space for five adult occupants in the cabin.

Other vital statistics worth noting include the luggage volume, which measures 304 litres with a full-sized spare wheel. This grows to 605 litres with the rear seatback folded forward. All models have a 60:40 split folding rear bench seat.

However, the boot is quite deep so there is a large lip to overcome when loading or, especially, unloading heavy items.

The top-spec GLX Auto offers a comprehensive specification list with a slightly larger touchscreen, keyless entry with push-button start, a heads-up display and four additional crash bags compared to the other derivtives in the range.

All versions of the Suzuki Fronx have a leather-clad multi-function steering wheel with buttons for the Bluetooth cell phone connection, audio controls and cruise control. The steering wheel is adjustable for height and on GLX  there is also adjustment for reach.

Standard Specification

Also included across the range are power windows front and rear, automatic climate control with rear-seat ventilation, central locking, electric power steering, dual rear-mounted USB charging points, a front-mounted 12V charging socket and a centre console box that doubles as both an armrest and storage compartment.

As with virtually all Suzuki models, the infotainment screen offers full Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality.

The GLX also has a full-colour information screen in the instrument cluster and, in keeping with the silver accents outside, it has silver trim in the cabin and door handles matched with faux leather inserts in the door panels.

Power comes from a 1,5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine that delivers 77 kilowatts at 6 000 r/min and 138 Nm of torque at 4 400 r/min. The Fronx weighs in at 1 010 kilogrammes, giving it a great power-to-weight ratio.

The numbers may not look impressive but the lightweight package means 138 Nm is more than adequate for what the Fronx is intended to do and this is quite important - it is intended to be an urban runabout for the most part and more than capable to undertaking the annual family holiday trip.

It is not designed or set up to be a challenger on the road to a Swift Sport. Simply, it is cost-effective mobility.

Greater Protection

Underpinning the Fronx is the lightweight Suzuki HEARTECT platform that offers greater impact protection at a lower weight. In the Fronx, Suzuki has fitted a rack-and-pinion steering system, a MacPherson-strut front suspension with ventilated disc brakes and a rear torsion beam suspension system with drum brakes.

Safety comes in the form of  six crash bags), ESP (electronic stability programme), hill hold control (HHC), anti-lock brakes with electronic brake-force distribution (EBD) and ISOFIX child seat anchors on both sides of the rear bench seat.

Every Suzuki Fronx is offered with a 5-year/200 000 km mechanical warranty and a 4-year/60 000 km service plan. A comprehensive 5-year roadside assistance plan and a 6-year unlimited kilometre anti-corrosion warranty are also part of the purchase price.

Colin Windell

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Porsche Taycan electrifies the Nordschliefe

Old school petrolheads should feel a shudder up the spine at the thought of an electric Porsche Taycan doing a 7min 07,55 sec time on the Nordschliefe.

Driven by Porsche development driver Lars Kern in a pre-series Taycan, the lap time is a whopping 26 seconds faster than he was on his last record drive, in a Taycan Turbo S Sport sedan equipped with the performance package back in August 2022.

“Twenty-six seconds is half an eternity in motor sport. Lars’ lap time of 7min 07,55 sec on the Nordschleife is sensational, putting the Taycan in the same league as electric hypercars,” says head of the model line, Kevin Giek. “And the impressive thing about it is that over several laps, Lars clocked almost exactly the same time.”

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“I pushed as hard as I could, but that was really all I could do,” says Kern.

The Nürburgring-Nordschleife was at the exclusive disposal of the experienced racer for the day of fast laps. For safety reasons, the test car was equipped with the legally prescribed roll cage, along with racing bucket seats.

Compared to the 2022 record in a Taycan Turbo S, the times were significantly better: the pre-series car was a good 25 km/h faster heading into the Schwedenkreuz. To illustrate the difference further, by the time Kern crossed the finish line near Grandstand 13 (T13) this time, he would have only just been passing the entrance to the Nordschleife, about to enter the Antoniusbuche section, during his record drive in the Taycan Turbo S in 2022.

This put the distance between the pre-series Taycan and the current Turbo S at more than 1,3 kilometres – a figure that illustrates the leap in performance achieved on the 20,8 km course in Germany’s Eifel region.

Colin Windell

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Busy launch year for SA auto industry

Whatever the trials and tribulations awaiting South Africans in 2024 - and Eskom wasted no idea in dousing the lights - it is a busy year for the auto industry with plenty of new and updated product heading to market.

So, here is a short teaser of torque titillation outlining some of what is in store.

On the CHANGECARS schedule the launch season kicks off with the Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe and this followed just days later by the GLE SUV and Coupe - and as this is mere weeks away, we will bring you full details and pricing as they are launched.

There was quite a lot of talk last year about the prospect of  a Renault one-ton bakkie - the Oroch - but it appears economic conditions have made this unfavourable and the launch has been shelved for the time being.

However, expect to see a facelift for the Renault Kiger, probably in the second quarter along with an update to the Triber, while the feasability numbers are being crunched on the introduction of the third-generation Duster - launched as the Dacia Duster in Europe last last year.

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Unconfirmed at this stage are the possible launches of the Arcana SUV and updates versions of the Kangoo and Trafic commercial vehicles.

Ford started to spread its passenger wings late last year with the introduction of the Puma and this continues in 2024 with the latest generation Mustang and the like introduction of the Territory that will play in the same sandpit as Toyota’s RAV4 and other similar SUV’s.

South African models are likely to get the1,8-litre EcoBoost turbo-petrol enginemated to  a seven-speed automatic gearbox.

Both the Torneo Custom passenger hauler and Transit Custom panel van are likely to be refreshed and upgraded during the course of the year.

Mazda is also going big in 2024 and the first of its offering will likely be the CX-60 Takumi that is an addition to the range and sports a V6 turbo-diesel engine. Going bigger, is the CX-80 that is a narrow-body version of the 7-seater CX-90.

The latter half of the year could well see upgrades to the CX-3 and CX-5.

BMW is hinting at releasing four new products as well as several updates to existing models lines and the eighth-generation 5 Series will start the action during the first quarter to be followed in the second quarter by the X2.

For some time BMW has been ramping up its Rosslyn plant to take on the manufacture of the all-new X3 plug-in hybrid model - this still to be revealed to overseas audiences - while at the harcore end, the M3 Touring is on the cards along with refreshes to the 3 Series and 4 Series.

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MINI has a relatively quiet 2023 but is going big this year with the all-new Hatch and Countryman introducing and new platform for the Hatch (currently only in BEV form) and the Countryman being based on the BMW X1 platform.

Black is the new black for Audi with Black Editions of the Q2, A3, S3, Q3, A5, S5 and Q5 all expected to ease out the darkness during the year, while Urban editions are likely for the A3 Sportback and Q2.

A big change, though, is the familiar A4 will be phased out to be replaced by the A5 - Audi now using even numbers on its nomenclature to identify electric versions.

Volkswagen will be launch-busy and are introducing the facelifted Touareg and T-Cross, the later likely around the middle of the year.

That is just a sampler of what is likely for this year but, by no means all.

Colin Windell

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