Record crowd: Over 13 000 at George Old Car Show

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GEORGE NEWS - A record crowd attended the George Old Car Show 2024, held at Eden Technical High School in the heart of the Garden Route City on 10-11 February.

The organising club, the Southern Cape Old Car Club, reported that there were just over 13 000 visitors this year, out-stripping the figures from the 2023 event, which had been seen as the bench-mark figure for this amazing classic car event, which was in its 27^th rendition in 2024.

“It was a great show,” said Waldo Scribante, Chairman of the SCOCC.

“The new layout for the various displays we had this year worked very well, and we had a record number of visitors. It was a joy to see all four fields packed with enthusiasts. The parking was much improved for this year and the iTickets sales worked very well in minimising queues at the new entrance gates we established for 2024”.

The undoubted highlight for this year’s event was the extraordinary presence of eight Mercedes-Benz 300 SL sports cars, launched in 1954 to world acclaim.

This was a remarkable gathering, as only nine of these cars reside in South Africa and this machine was named the Sports Car of the Century in 1999. Seven of the eight 300SLs, built from 1954 to 1962, were in the elegant Roadster or convertible configuration, while for the first time at a car show in South Africa, a dramatic 1954 Gullwing example was seen.

This year a special German theme was adapted for the show, and to add a lighter touch to the proceedings, the International Oompah Band took to the stage on Sunday, 11 February, to bring 2024 proceedings to a rousing close.

As usual with the George Old Car Show, the Main Arena was where the veteran, vintage and classic machinery was given a chance to be seen in action in drive-by journeys past the main stage.

PHOTO GALLERY: Achtung baby! George Old Car Show 2024

But there was plenty of action across all four fields at the show, with a turn-out of well over 1 000 classic cars, motorcycles, trucks and tractors hailing from all parts of the country.

“Above all else, the George Old Car Show is about passion,” said Alewijn Dippenaar, chairman of the Old Car Show’s Organising Committee.

“It takes passion to discover these old cars, to buy them, restore them, and then to keep them running as they should, sometimes even making parts for them which are unavailable. You can see this passion extend through all corners of the show, and this is passed on to our visitors.”

For younger show-goers, one of the undoubted highlights was the large turn-out of modern-day Ferraris, while nearby there was an equally impressive contingent of Porsches, including a very rare right-hand-drive Targa-topped 912 example, equipped with classic Fuchs wheels, which was an option when these four-cylinder examples of the 911 series was introduced in the mid-1960s.

Very rare Buick 1937 Opera Coupe.