George, Garden Route (Nov 2024) – If ever a title of “Royalty” were to be applied to a motorcar, that sobriquet would have to rest with Rolls-Royce. Since the first model, a Silver Ghost, was produced in 1907, the magnificent British machine was proclaimed as “the best car in the world“ and by and large Rolls-Royce products over the past century could stake a legitimate claim to that title.
Pierre Malherbe’s 1936 Bentley.
At the 28th George Old Car Show on February 8, 2025, Rolls-Royce and the equally exalted upper-crust British marque, Bentley, will be show-cased as the headline act in a special commemoration for British cars. A demarcated area on Field D at the show venue will comprise the large number of treasured classic Rolls-Royce and Bentley models owned by collectors hailing from many parts of the country.
Rolls-Royce has had a presence in South Africa going way back to 1910, when the first Silver Ghost model was imported here as the official car for the Governor-General of South Africa, Lord Herbert Gladstone. Since then, many Rolls-Royces were imported privately, until after World War Two when the Grosvenor Group were appointed as official Rolls and Bentley agents for South Africa.
The ever-green Mini Cooper, parked next to an MGA.
If Rolls-Royce is considered the monarch, then Bentley can be perceived as the extended, swashbuckling, adventurous branch of “Britain’s Royal Motoring Family.” Bentley was established in 1921 and gained world-wide sporting acclaim for victories in the Le Mans 24-Hour race in 1924, 1927, 1928, 1929 and 1930. Driven largely by upper-class British playboys, the company founded by W.O Bentley was acquired in a take-over by Rolls-Royce in the 1930s, and for decades afterwards, Bentleys were seen as the sporting variants of the more staid Rolls-Royce models.
The most popular British car in the 1920s and 1930s, the Austin Seven.
“While Rolls-Royce and Bentley are jewels in the British crown, we will be celebrating all British marques in our 2025 show on February 8,” says Waldo Scribante, chairman of the organising club, the Southern Cape Old Car Club. “A large number of our members own British classics, and we felt the time was ripe to give these cars their turn under the spotlight. In addition to our members’ cars, there are strong groups of British car enthusiast all along our coast line, and these will deservedly be a huge feature of the coming year’s show.”
Recently SCOCC member Pierre Malherbe completed a 1 200 km tour in his immaculate 1936 Bentley 4¼ Litre four door saloon, with tasty Park Ward coachwork. “The car performed perfectly for the duration of the Erfenis Tour to Tulbagh and back, cruising at 80 to 90 km/h,” said Pierre. In 2024 his yellow and burgundy Bentley was one of the star attractions on the main field near the stage, and this year he is looking forward to sharing lawn-space with some of the exotic Bentleys and Rolls-Royces on the D field at the Eden Technical College grounds in George.
The librarian’s choice in the 1960s, the British Morris Traveller.
In 2025 it will be a one-day show
The other big news for the 2025 event on Saturday, February 8 is that it will be a one-day show. In previous renditions the George Old Car Show has been a two-day event, held over Saturday and Sunday, but over the years attendance on the Sunday has dwindled, in terms of both spectators and especially car exhibitors.
“The reason for the fall-off of cars on the Sunday has been that over the years many of our exhibitors have driven long distances to attend the show,” explained Scribante. “These enthusiasts more often than not had to retrieve their cars early on Sunday morning and head home for a long return journey. Consequently, on the Sunday, big gaps were left on the fields, so that by mid-day on the Sunday only a small portion of classics remained.
“More and more, we felt this was not fair for spectators who had planned to attend the show only on the Sunday, as they were effectively seeing only half a show, or less. So for 2025, with something of a heavy-heart, we are running the George Old Car Show as a one-day event. To compensate for this, we are running the Saturday show an hour longer than before. So the show times for spectators will be from 9am to 6pm.
Other British brands
Apart from the ultra-exclusive marques, British cars sold very well in South Africa, and it is recorded that Austin was registered here as a make as far back as 1912. During the 1920s the diminutive Austin 7 was a top-seller as a city car, and in the 1950s the Austin Cambridge was very popular. The advent of the Mini in 1959 saw the Austin brand gain many new followers, as early Minis were marketed either as Morris or Austin variants of the same cars, bar a few trim differences.
The Morris Minor that preceded the Mini remains a mainstay on the classic car circuit today, the most popular versions being the Minor 1000 with useable performance, excellent road holding and sturdy construction. British Fords were huge sellers in this country in the 1960s, notably the Anglia and the Cortina models, and the Cortinas was amongst the top five sellers here for its entire model duration, ranging from late 1962 to 1983.
British sports cars have long been a favourite here amongst collectors, and the most famous marque is probably the MG. The MG was produced from the 1930s to beyond 2000 in various guises. The most popular models are the early TC with wire-spoked wheels from the 1940s, the TDs with steel wheels from the 1950s and the MGA with sleeker bodywork from the late 1950s to the ‘60s. The MGB that followed the A is probably one of the most popular classics of all in South Africa, with massive club support for these very usable cars from the 1960s and ‘70s.
More up-market cars from Britain include the highly desirable Jaguar E-Types, as well as the earlier XK models. The remarkably well-priced E-Type was perhaps the most desirable car in the world when it was launched with its sexy streamlined shape in 1961, and various versions will be on show on February 8. Back in 1961, the Jaguar E-Type was rated with a top speed of 240 km/h which was astounding for its day.
Less main-stream than the Jaguar are the Aston Martin, always a very expensive up-market car, and the quirky Morgan. The Morgan was hand-built with a wooden frame for its sleek body and low production numbers saw waiting lists of up to five years for these very retro-looking classics.
Decidedly un-retro, but rather cutting-edge in style and performance, is the British Lotus sports car. Produced by F1 racing car personality Colin Chapman in England, the Lotus first appeared as a kit car, but later evolved through delightful variants such as the Elite and the Elan. Screen idol Roger Moore famously drove a submarine version of a Lotus Esprit in the 1977 James Bond film, The Spy who Loved Me.
As an interesting aside, the British Royal family did not use Rolls-Royces as their official vehicles in the early part of the 20th century, preferring Daimlers. During the Royal Tour of South Africa in 1947, a fleet of five Daimlers was used for the tour. Daimler was eventually absorbed by the Jaguar company in the 1960s. Both Rolls-Royce and Bentley are still producing cars today and both marques are on sale in South Africa. In a complicated deal in the late-1990s BMW took over the Rolls-Royce brand, while VW-Audi took ownership of the Bentley nameplate.
Classic cars from all regions will be there in abundance
It should be noted that that up to 1 000 cars are being catered for at next February’s bumper event, and, as usual, a huge variety of vintage vehicles and classics with origins from Europe, America and Japan will be on display, as well as classic and vintage motorcycles, tractors, trucks, modern supercars, and more regular modern cars.
For those out-of-town car exhibitors who might want to extend their stay in the Southern Cape region, the SCOCC is considering organising a post-show tour to explore the scenery in the Overberg Strand region, starting at the show grounds at 11am and extending over a few days. The traditional Vet Tour for Vintage motor cars and motorcycles built before 1930 will also be held in the days leading up to show arriving in George on Friday, February 7, 2025.
The motorcycle display has become more and popular each year, and this year the organisers are planning to have twice as many classic and vintage motorcycles as there were last year.
All-in-all, a wonderful 28th rendition of the George Old Car Show is being planned for early 2025. Waldo Scribante has stressed that pre-booking of tickets will once again be encouraged through iTickets, at a price of R125 for adults, R100 for pensioners, and children accompanied by adults admitted free of charge.
