Source: Motorpress /Stuart Johnston Communications
This year the Cars in the Park gates at Zwartkops will open at 6 am on Sunday August 4
With over 2 500 classics, vintage, veteran and special-interest cars and trucks expected for Cars in the Park on August 4, 2024, visitors are sure to find the plethora of special old-timer cars an amazing spectacle. For more information visit the Pretoria Old Motor Club’s website on http://www.pomccitp.co.za or visit the club’s Cars in the Park page on Facebook.
Tickets are available through iTickets at R120 for adults, while children under-12 are admitted free.
To make this year’s event even more exciting, a number of cars on display will be celebrating milestone anniversaries in their histories, and to add to the fun, we have compiled a list of cars that can mark 2024 as a landmark year.
Topping the list for fans of benchmark supercars will be the Mercedes-Benz 300SL, the original version that was launched in 1954 and went on to be named the Sports Car of the Century in 1999. The original 300SL (there have been later models with the same designation) was regarded as the fastest production car in the world 70 years ago, and with the tallest rear axle ratio specified, could top 260 km/h! Small wonder that the list of owners reads like a who’s-who of Hollywood glitterati.
The 300SL was celebrated for its outlandish gullwing doors in its first coupe iteration, while engineering boffins noted it as the first production car with a direct petrol-injection engine.
Those who rate Teutonic engineering as the finest of its kind will also note that the Porsche 911 turns 60 this year. The iconic body shape in fact made its debut in Frankfurt in late 1963, but it was first badged as a Porsche 901. As Peugeot owned the rights to three-numeral model nomenclature with a zero in the middle, Porsche changed the name to 911 when it went on general sale in 1964.
Remarkably, the essential 911 body shape is still employed 60 years later, with the trademark flat-six-cylinder engine still hung out behind the rear axle. As a wise man once said: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
An Italian car of a completely different character, but no less desirable, is the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint, which turns 70 this year. This beautiful car, offered in both open-top Spider and Coupe form from 1954, was extremely advanced for its time, notably featuring a twin-cam engine, and multiple carburettors in Veloce trim. The immortal styling was by famed Italian designer Franco Scaglione, who was with the Bertone studio at this time.
Bertone was also responsible for an equally memorable shape, that of the Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GT, which arrived in 1964. The engine in the Giulia was pretty much an evolution of the Giulietta, but now displacing 1600 cc. Its five-speed gearbox and super-accurate steering made it a delight to drive, and it was plenty quick enough, with a top speed of close to 180 km/h. The basic Sprint GT shape continued in production for over a decade, and many were assembled in South Africa at the Alfa Romeo plant in Brits.
A car that was not going to win any beauty competitions in sedan form was the Borgward Isabella, (although coupe versions were much easier on the eye). The German Borgward was introduced in 1954, and carved a huge reputation in South Africa as a super-fast open-road car, capable of 145 km/h cruising all day long, when many rivals battled to reach the 130 mark. This was remarkable as its four-cylinder engine only displaced 1500 cc!
Sadly, financial problems saw the company close its doors in 1961, but the car was so well built, and so popular in South Africa, that a large number of examples survive. So, despite no spares back-up since 1961, you will see dozens of Borgwards at this year’s Cars in the Park!
A car that is quite scarce on the roads these days is the original BMW 5 Series, the car that established BMW as a major player here when it was launched in 1974. From the early 1960s BMWs became available in small numbers, such as the 700 Coupe, the 1800 and 2000 sedans, the luxury 2500, 2800 and 3.0S models, the Glas-bodies SA models and the highly-rated 2002 coupe.
But the 5 Series, built at BMW’s then-new plant in Rosslyn, struck a chord with South Africans and challenged the mid-sized Mercedes-Benz models for market leadership in this segment. Remarkable to think that the 5 Series is half a century old this year.
Another highly successful model was the Cortina bakkie, and in 1974 the potent Big Six version was launched with a 2,5-litre V6 engine. The Cortina bakkie was a South African development of the Mk 3 Cortina sedan and so successful it was exported to England!
The Cortina 2500 Big Six Pick Up was rated with sports-car-like performance at the time, had a top speed of 175 km/h and could accelerate to 100 km/h in 10,8 seconds. The later 3,0-litre versions were even quicker. The Cortina bakkie was a top-selling light commercial vehicle here for many years, continuing in production well into the 1980s after the Cortina sedan line had been replaced by the Sierra.
Talking of fast Fords, the Ford Sierra XR8 turns 40 this year, having been launched with a 5,0-litre V8 Mustang engine in 1984, as a homologation special to do battle with the likes of BMWs and Alfa Romeos on the race tracks. Just 250 examples were built and the most famous of these was the highly modified Wesbank Series car raced to great effect by Willie Hepburn, and nicknamed “The Animal”.
An animal of an entirely different sort, and king of its own specific terrain was the Unimog. This giant off-roader celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, having been launched in Boehringer, Germany in 1948. Unimogs have traditionally used production Mercedes car engines, and the majority were diesels, but they were most famous for their unique flexible chassis and massive ground clearance, thanks to the use of portal axles, which saw the wheels connected to the drive shafts by a gear set that raised the axle line impressively. A similar drop-gear system was used on the early VW Kombi to gain good ground clearance.
Unimogs have been built by Daimler Truck since the early 1950s, and became famous here in the 1970s due to their use in the South African military. They are used all over the world as fire-fighting machines in remote areas, as well as ambulances.
The Unimog Club in South Africa is surprisingly well-supported for such a specialised vehicle, and the club members have been regular attendees at Cars in the Park for the past two decades.
Other manufacturers celebrating big milestones this year are Fiat, which is 125 years old in 2024, and Chrysler, as the first car with a Chrysler nameplate was built and sold in 1924.
One of the biggest 60-year celebrations at Cars in the Park 2024 will be that of the Ford Mustang, which first went on sale in America in April 1964. Ford Mustangs have enjoyed massive popularity all over the world ever since, and notably in South Africa since late 2015, when the first right-hand-drive Mustangs became available for general sale here. But many left-hand drive examples were imported here from mid-1965 onwards, and through many generations of the Mustang nameplate.
There are doubtless many other cars with significant milestones this year, and some of these may well be amongst the 2 500 classic expected at the Zwartkops Raceway on August 4. A crowd of over 10 000 spectators is expected for the 42nd running of the biggest car show in South Africa.
This year the Cars in the Park gates at Zwartkops will open at 6 am on Sunday August 4 for the admission of old car owners to display their cars. Classic cars for display need to arrive before 8.30 am. The general public will be admitted from 8.30 am onwards. The show will end at 4 pm on Sunday.
Topping the list for fans of benchmark supercars will be the Mercedes-Benz 300SL, the original version that was launched in 1954 and went on to be named the Sports Car of the Century in 1999. The original 300SL (there have been later models with the same designation) was regarded as the fastest production car in the world 70 years ago, and with the tallest rear axle ratio specified, could top 260 km/h! Small wonder that the list of owners reads like a who’s-who of Hollywood glitterati.
The 300SL was celebrated for its outlandish gullwing doors in its first coupe iteration, while engineering boffins noted it as the first production car with a direct petrol-injection engine.
Those who rate Teutonic engineering as the finest of its kind will also note that the Porsche 911 turns 60 this year. The iconic body shape in fact made its debut in Frankfurt in late 1963, but it was first badged as a Porsche 901. As Peugeot owned the rights to three-numeral model nomenclature with a zero in the middle, Porsche changed the name to 911 when it went on general sale in 1964.
Remarkably, the essential 911 body shape is still employed 60 years later, with the trademark flat-six-cylinder engine still hung out behind the rear axle. As a wise man once said: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
An Italian car of a completely different character, but no less desirable, is the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint, which turns 70 this year. This beautiful car, offered in both open-top Spider and Coupe form from 1954, was extremely advanced for its time, notably featuring a twin-cam engine, and multiple carburettors in Veloce trim. The immortal styling was by famed Italian designer Franco Scaglione, who was with the Bertone studio at this time.
Bertone was also responsible for an equally memorable shape, that of the Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GT, which arrived in 1964. The engine in the Giulia was pretty much an evolution of the Giulietta, but now displacing 1600 cc. Its five-speed gearbox and super-accurate steering made it a delight to drive, and it was plenty quick enough, with a top speed of close to 180 km/h. The basic Sprint GT shape continued in production for over a decade, and many were assembled in South Africa at the Alfa Romeo plant in Brits.
A car that was not going to win any beauty competitions in sedan form was the Borgward Isabella, (although coupe versions were much easier on the eye). The German Borgward was introduced in 1954, and carved a huge reputation in South Africa as a super-fast open-road car, capable of 145 km/h cruising all day long, when many rivals battled to reach the 130 mark. This was remarkable as its four-cylinder engine only displaced 1500 cc!
Sadly, financial problems saw the company close its doors in 1961, but the car was so well built, and so popular in South Africa, that a large number of examples survive. So, despite no spares back-up since 1961, you will see dozens of Borgwards at this year’s Cars in the Park!
A car that is quite scarce on the roads these days is the original BMW 5 Series, the car that established BMW as a major player here when it was launched in 1974. From the early 1960s BMWs became available in small numbers, such as the 700 Coupe, the 1800 and 2000 sedans, the luxury 2500, 2800 and 3.0S models, the Glas-bodies SA models and the highly-rated 2002 coupe.
But the 5 Series, built at BMW’s then-new plant in Rosslyn, struck a chord with South Africans and challenged the mid-sized Mercedes-Benz models for market leadership in this segment. Remarkable to think that the 5 Series is half a century old this year.
Another highly successful model was the Cortina bakkie, and in 1974 the potent Big Six version was launched with a 2,5-litre V6 engine. The Cortina bakkie was a South African development of the Mk 3 Cortina sedan and so successful it was exported to England!
The Cortina 2500 Big Six Pick Up was rated with sports-car-like performance at the time, had a top speed of 175 km/h and could accelerate to 100 km/h in 10,8 seconds. The later 3,0-litre versions were even quicker. The Cortina bakkie was a top-selling light commercial vehicle here for many years, continuing in production well into the 1980s after the Cortina sedan line had been replaced by the Sierra.
Talking of fast Fords, the Ford Sierra XR8 turns 40 this year, having been launched with a 5,0-litre V8 Mustang engine in 1984, as a homologation special to do battle with the likes of BMWs and Alfa Romeos on the race tracks. Just 250 examples were built and the most famous of these was the highly modified Wesbank Series car raced to great effect by Willie Hepburn, and nicknamed “The Animal”.
An animal of an entirely different sort, and king of its own specific terrain was the Unimog. This giant off-roader celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, having been launched in Boehringer, Germany in 1948. Unimogs have traditionally used production Mercedes car engines, and the majority were diesels, but they were most famous for their unique flexible chassis and massive ground clearance, thanks to the use of portal axles, which saw the wheels connected to the drive shafts by a gear set that raised the axle line impressively. A similar drop-gear system was used on the early VW Kombi to gain good ground clearance.
Unimogs have been built by Daimler Truck since the early 1950s, and became famous here in the 1970s due to their use in the South African military. They are used all over the world as fire-fighting machines in remote areas, as well as ambulances.
The Unimog Club in South Africa is surprisingly well-supported for such a specialised vehicle, and the club members have been regular attendees at Cars in the Park for the past two decades.
Other manufacturers celebrating big milestones this year are Fiat, which is 125 years old in 2024, and Chrysler, as the first car with a Chrysler nameplate was built and sold in 1924.
One of the biggest 60-year celebrations at Cars in the Park 2024 will be that of the Ford Mustang, which first went on sale in America in April 1964. Ford Mustangs have enjoyed massive popularity all over the world ever since, and notably in South Africa since late 2015, when the first right-hand-drive Mustangs became available for general sale here. But many left-hand drive examples were imported here from mid-1965 onwards, and through many generations of the Mustang nameplate.
There are doubtless many other cars with significant milestones this year, and some of these may well be amongst the 2 500 classic expected at the Zwartkops Raceway on August 4. A crowd of over 10 000 spectators is expected for the 42nd running of the biggest car show in South Africa.
This year the Cars in the Park gates at Zwartkops will open at 6 am on Sunday August 4 for the admission of old car owners to display their cars. Classic cars for display need to arrive before 8.30 am. The general public will be admitted from 8.30 am onwards. The show will end at 4 pm on Sunday.
Tickets bought at the gate will cost R140 for adults.
The show will end at 4 pm on Sunday.