For more information visit www.classiccarshow.co.za
Since the 1950s Johannesburg’s southern suburbs have been a hotbed of American V8s. That was a time when American manufacturers were engaged in the first phase of the horsepower race, and in this decade horsepower outputs rose from around the 100 mark from the likes of Chevrolet, Ford and Chrysler to over the 300 mark by the end of the decade.
The Classic Car Show
In fact, many experts point out that the late 1950s was the dawn of the muscle car era, and not the 1960s, as is popularly supposed.
The Classic Car Show organizer Paulo Calisto can testify that this spirit of V8 muscle will be very much alive south of Johannesburg’s CBD on Sunday July 6, 2025, as he discovered when he organized his very first classic car show back in 2012.
“I approached a restaurant in the area for parking space, expecting a few hundred cars at most and I was absolutely floored when thousands of cars turned up. I had to scramble around like crazy to make space for all those giant V8 American classics. I realized then that there was a huge interest in classic cars of all sorts in my area and I have been working hard ever since to promote this spirit at Nasrec Expo Centre, which has been my host venue for The Classic Car Show for over a decade.”
“The South”, as locals refer to the area where Nasrec is located, is even today sprinkled with original V8 American cars from the late 1950s that can be heard burbling around the smaller streets of the older suburbs. These cars have been lovingly preserved in tiny lock-up garages or under carports, and today they pay tribute to a movement in the US which featured not only suddenly massive horsepower increases, but some of the most creative and outlandish styling that was never even dreamed of in the previous decades.
The great thing about the 1950s decade was that all the major players in American car production participated in this unspoken competition to have the most horsepower and the longest, tallest or sharpest tailfins.
Chevrolet unofficially entered the horsepower race in 1955 with its first V8 model in the classic Chevy Bel Air, a two-door model that even today is one of the mainstay classics that turn up each year at The Classic Car Show. Not only did Chevrolet offer a horsepower jump of over 50 per cent from one year to the next, but its styling struck just the right note with its comparatively modest tail fins and – by the standards of the late 1950s – subdued chrome-work.
Acres of chrome and front ends that resembled human faces with toothy mouths and wide eyes were a feature of the 1950s cars from Chevrolet, Ford, Chrysler, Oldsmobile, Buick, Pontiac and many more brands. The real transition to what we know as muscle cars today began in the 1960s, when engines grew almost overnight from 4,2 litres to 7,0 litres and more. Horsepower outputs jumped to over the 400 mark in the big hi-performance V8 models, while a whole new class of smaller cars signaled the dawn of what is known today as the muscle car era with the advent of the Ford Mustang in 1964.
General Motors followed suit soon afterwards with the Camaro, and Firebird, while Chrysler launched the famous Dodge Charger.
Today the southern suburbs of Jo’burg produces the best restored muscle cars in the country, with standards that even surpass those achieved by American builders. These muscle cars traditionally form a focal point of The Classic Car Show each July, and a mouth-watering selection is expected at Nasrec in the area accessed by Gates 5 and 7 on Sunday, July 6, 2025.
The Classic Car Show obviously also caters for British and European cars from the classic era of the 1950s, ‘60s, ’70s and ‘80s and this coming Sunday’s event will be no different. Early staid Morris Minors and Austins will vie for space alongside upright Ford Anglias and Wolseley’s of the era, while a perennial favorite at each and every Classic Car Show will be seen in the form of the 105E Anglia with its reverse-slope back window that humourists always joke about as proof against any bird droppings.
Visitors to Nasrec on Sunday should also consider the first renditions of the famous original Mini introduced in 1959 by the British Motor Corporation, and realize how far ahead of the curve this little car was with its two-box styling, front-wheel drive and compact front end with the engine mounted sideways across the nose. It formed the template for all hatchbacks that arrived on the market two decades later in the late 1970s and in the 1999 Car of the Century competition, it achieved second overall behind the Model T Ford and the Citroen DS.
European rarities that are always seen at this event, now in its 13th rendition, and include the fabulous German two-stroke DKWs that sound like popcorn machines when idling or slowing down. Borgwards with ominous East German styling and French cars with more flair like the Peugeots and Renaults of the 1950s and ‘60s will be on display. Of course, no classic car show would be complete without an Italian Alfa Romeo, and indeed, relatively modern versions of Porsche 911s and similar exotics will also be admitted because of their obvious interest-factor.
Young-timer classics that will be allowed access to the classic area through Gate 7 will include the original late 1970s versions of the Mk I Golf, the 1985 original Citi Golfs that created a stir with their red-yellow-blue colour schemes, and Ford Escorts from the early 1980s in 1600 Sport and RS2000 form.
“Since 2013 I have established my own collection of classic cars that today numbers 14 vehicles,“ says Paulo Calisto. “These include the cars I started with, such as a classic Chevy pick-up, a rare Brazilian VW Kombi and a 1970s boat-tail Cadillac. It’s been an amazing journey of discovery for me.”
Classic car owners and one passenger will be admitted free of charge through Gate 7 to the Nasrec Grounds on Sunday July 6 from 7 am onwards, with all classics requested to be on show by 8 am and gaining admittance to Nasrec through Gate 7 on the east side of the venue.
Paying spectators are requested to gain admittance from 9 am through Gate 5 (right alongside Gate 7) and are also requested to book through Computicket, with ticket prices set at R100 for adults and R40 for children under 12. Cash payments at Gate 5 will be received on the day, Sunday July 6 at a cost of R120 for adults and R50 for children under 12.
As usual, a full range of family entertainment will be provided apart from the mouthwatering display of classic cars, and these side-shows will include live music, helicopter rides and jumping castles, while top-notch food and drink will be provided by the best food and beverage suppliers in the Johannesburg South area.
For more information visit www.classiccarshow.co.za
The Classic Car Show for over a decade.”
1950s cars from Chevrolet, Ford, Chrysler, Oldsmobile, Buick, Pontiac and many more brands.
