Author: paul@classiccarafrica.co.za

PORSCHE’S FRONT-RUNNER

Porsche purists will argue that the engine is in the wrong place and because the cooling is done by water the Porsche 924, 944 and 928 variants aren’t worthy of the famed Stuttgart badge. But we think the front-engined homologation special 924 Carrera GT, with…

BLOWN AWAY

Giorgetto Giugiaro, the man behind Italdesign – one of the most successful automotive design firms of all time – can list the likes of the Alfa Romeo 105/115 Series Coupés, De Tomaso Mangusta, Iso Grifo, BMW M1, Lotus Esprit S1 and Maserati Bora on his…

THE WHEEL DEAL

On 23 March 1981, Mike Hailwood died in hospital, two days after some twat in a truck did an illegal u-turn in front of him on a freeway in England. Hailwood had a long association with this country. At the end of 1957, when he…

MULTI-CYLINDER MADNESS

So you think Grand Prix bikes are complex now? To see some really trick kit, you need to go back in time to the 1950s and ʼ60s. Today the manufacturers and outside sponsors all pay super-fit young professionals millions of dollars to ride their remarkably…

TEUTONIC ORDER

We all know that the likes of the Ford Model T, Model A, Galaxie and Mustang come from the USA, while the UK is responsible for some smaller Fords such as the Anglia, Cortina, Escort and Capri. How many of us think of Ford and…

EVERYTHING KEEPS GOING RIGHT…

In the 1970s South African motor manufacturers often attempted to break all kinds of speed and reliability records in order to promote their products. Such record attempts by Fiat with the 125 and Volkswagen with three 411s (with the evocative folk-tale names of ‘Jakkals’, ‘Wolf’…

INAUGURAL DISTINGUISHED GENTLEMAN’S DRIVE

On 26 September, thousands of dapper drivers took part in the largest and most stylish global vintage automotive enthusiast event. The first event of its kind, The Distinguished Gentleman’s Drive, targeted its inaugural event toward establishing flagship drives around the world, to raise awareness and…

THE TOP 5

If you’d bought a Renault 5 in South Africa in 1979, you could’ve claimed to have the best example in the world. This was no made-up intoxicated pub-talk bragging – it was fact – direct from Renault of France – and judged on specification, quality…

THE BULL FIGHTER

50 years ago the Matador Motors Marauder hit the South African streets and race tracks. It was no Lotus wannabe, but rather a bullish ‘maak n plan’ solution to the need for an affordable performance option intent on promoting motorsport in South Africa. To celebrate,…

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