MOTORING NEWS - A beautifully prepared 1989 Ferrari F40 was the overall winner of Concours South Africa 2017 held at Sun City over the weekend 4 - 6 August.
The special Ferrari celebrated 40 years of the Italian manufacturer in the late 1980s and was also the final project overseen by Enzo Ferrari before his death in 1988. This immaculate example is one of just a handful in South Africa.
The lucky owner is Keith Rivers, one of the founder members of Tiger Wheels organisation and known for his exploits in motocross and motorcycle enduro racing.
Second place overall went to an unrestored and immaculately preserved 1968 Shelby Mustang GT350H, owned by Ravi Chetty of Dainfern. This car was one of the last special Hertz rent-a-car Mustangs produced by Ford and Shelby in 1968. It was imported here from America a few years ago.
In a somewhat surprising third place was an immaculate 1970 Porsche 911 S short wheelbase model, owned by Porsche expert Tim Abbot of Johannesburg. The surprising aspect of this award was that, alongside many more flamboyant and exotic entries, the little Irish Green Porsche looked remarkably understated.
"We have taken a huge step forward with our second Concours South Africa event," said organiser Paul Kennard. "Not only was the entry well up, but the standard of entries rose exponentially over our inaugural year in 2016. This year we had international presence with guests from New York and the UK. We have even bigger plans for next year."
This year the judging panel, headed by Wayne Harley, curator of the Franschhoek Motor Museum, included the CEO of Coys of Kensington Chris Routledge and Octane Magazine Editor Robert Coucher.
The beautiful cars on display ranged in age from a 1913 Buick to a 1989 Porsche 928 S4. Favourites with the public were two recent restorations, a 1971 Dino 246 GTB (the small Ferrari) owned by Vic and Gerhard Campher and Peter Bailey's 1970 Lamborghini Miura S.
Routledge remarked that the overall presentation and setting of Concours South Africa was well up to the standards of the best international events. He said a number of cars at Sun City could compete internationally. "One thing I would like to see next year would be a class for South African home-grown specials, such as the Ford Sierra XR8, the Alfa Romeo GTV 3,0 litre and the Capri Perana - cars that were only available in South Africa."
At a function on the Saturday evening, this year's special guests, Sarel van der Merwe and Ian Scheckter, were inducted into the Hall of Fame at Sun City.
The results of Concours South Africa 2017 were:
Overall:
1. Ferrari F40, 1989, owned by Keith Rivers; 2. Shelby Mustang GT350H, 1968, owned by Ravi Chetty; 3. Porsche 911 S, 1970, owned by Tim Abbot
The Porsche 911 S, 1970, owned by Tim Abbot, was third overall.
Class Winners:
Class 1 B. SS Jaguar 2,5 Sedan, 1939, owned by Roger Martin and Fiona Hampson-Searle
Class 2 A. Volvo PV 445 Wagon, 1958, owned by Vic and Gerhard Campher
Class 2 B. Austin Healey BN6, 1958, owned by Ben Gerber
Class 3 A/1. Mazda R100 Coupe, 1970, owned by Peanuts Fouché
Class 3 A/2. Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III, 1964, owned by Gustav Raubenheimer
Class 3 B/1. Shelby Mustang GT350H, 1968, owned by Ravi Chetty
Class 3 B/2. Porsche 911 S, 1970, owned by Tim Abbot
Class 4 A/1. Ferrari F40, 1989, owned by Keith Rivers
Class 4 A/2. Daimler Double Six, 1989, owned by Steve Koterba
Class 5 Show and Shine winner. MG Twin Cam, 1958, owned by Neville Conchar
Class 5 Resto Mod winner. 1994 AC Cobra replica, owned by Willem Stieler.
The Show and Shine-winning MGA Twin Cam, owned by Neville Conchar.
For more information on how to enter for Concours South Africa 2018 or other information, visit www.concourssa.co.za or e-mail the co-organiser, Paul Kennard on paul@concourssa.co.za.
ARTICLE: ANICA KRÜGER, GEORGE HERALD JOURNALIST
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