3 – 6 August 2017, Sun City Resort
• Judging panel to include two international judges for the 2017 edition of Concours South Africa
• Value in the Classic Car Market conference to be hosted by internationally-renowned HAGI organisation on Thursday August 3
• Auction of motoring memorabilia hosted by Coys of Kensington
• Organisers are expecting a ramp-up of entries to total 150 cars for 2017
• concourssa.co.za website now live. Entrants can go on-line to register for CSA 2017
A gratifying aspect of the very first Concours South Africa, held at Sun City in September 2016, was that the event attracted entries from outside the borders of South Africa. Indeed, the overall winner, Fatima de Abreu with her 1985 De Tomaso Pantera GT5, hails from Gaborone in Botswana. And the country-wide impact of the event was emphasised by Show and Shine winner Manana Nhlanhla, who hails from Botha’s Hill in KwaZulu Natal!
For 2017, the event has already attracted strong interest from the UK and Europe. Chris Routledge, owner of Coys of Kensington, the internationally famous auction house, will be attending as a member of the judging panel and he will also host an auction of motoring memorabilia and possibly a small selection of classic cars, in the Thursday build-up to the main Concours South Africa event, which begins on Friday, August 4.
Also on the Thursday, the world-renowned creator of the HAGI Index, German aficionado Dietrich Hatlapa will host the VCCM (Value in the Classic Car Market) Conference, with expert speakers providing valuable insight into rare classic cars as blue-chip investment.
And as an added fillip to the global interest this uniquely African event has already garnered, UK-based Robert Coucher, the founder and editor of internationally-acclaimed classic car magazine Octane, will be a welcome addition to the 2017 judging panel. Robert has been steeped in the world of collectable cars since childhood, and in fact grew up in Cape Town before re-locating to England in the 1990’s to become a major figure in the classic car world, where he served as editor of Thoroughbred and Classic Cars before creating Octane.
The success of the 2016 event has led to principal organisers Ross Crichton and Paul Kennard expanding and refining this year’s show-down of mouth-watering cars on the lawns of Sun City.
“Concours South Africa 2017 will have the same look and feel as the 2016 event. But there will be more emphasis on hospitality,’ says Ross Crichton. “We will also have a much bigger display area on the lawns outside the main hotel adjoining the Gary Player Country Club. We have gained the extra acreage by moving the date forward to the first weekend in August, as last year we were restricted by preparations already in place for the annual Sun City international golfing event, hosted by Nedbank.”
Nedbank Private Wealth, along with a selected number of other high-end companies, will again be on board for Concours South Africa in 2017, providing exclusive hospitality for hand-picked clients.
JUDGING CATEGORIES FOR 2017
“We have completely overhauled the judging categories for 2017,” says co-organiser Paul Kennard. “For example, the first category will be for cars from 1900 (Pre-War Vintage), while the second category will be for cars from 1939 (Post-War Vintage). Thereafter we will have categories extending up to 1990.
“Each category will have two classes, Restored and Preserved. So at the same time, we have added more categories and made each one more specific. There will also be a Resto Mod category for modified classic cars, and a Show & Shine Category, for people who want to enter their cars in a less-competitive format. Here the emphasis is on general appeal, rather than a nut-and-bolt approach to correct specification and originality.
“In essence,” says Paul Kennard, “this format will remain in place for the next three years, because it gives consistency and stability to the competition, allowing entrants to plan ahead.”
For 2017, Concours South Africa is limiting the total number of entries to 150 cars. Entrants should register their cars on www.concourssa.co.za. Details on how to achieve this are on the site and easy to follow.
The organisers are encouraging car clubs to enter a selection of their members’ top machines for this year, but there are no prerequisites for entrants to belong to a classic car club.
“We are hugely proud of what we have achieved in a short space of time,” says Kennard. “I want to emphasise that Concours South Africa will be on a level with the great concours events of the world, such as Pebble Beach, Villa d’Este and the Windsor Concours of Elegance.”
For more information, visit www.concourssa.co.za
